crushed coconut: does it mold?

[Bartman]

The title says it all...does it? Like if i spilt some water on it when filling a dish or something?

I still dont know if thats the exact name but what im talking about is called lizard litter and it looks like small brown pieces of sand. But each little piece is bigger then a grain of sand.

[mykee]

When I used it, it did not mold, but I have heard that it does. Guess I'm no help.....

[varanus69]

never heard of it molding but depending on what you are housing on the stuff i'de keep an eye out for impactions.I had a big problem with my dragons on that stuff.

[beth wallbank]

it does mold with super high humidity......but anything will if you think about it. If it stands stagnant, it will mold. There is no air flow.

[Bartman]

alright thanks, so i doubt this will mold because im housing a sand boa on it and they need a dry environment. I was just thinking if when i was refilling the dish, if some spilt i run into problems.

[spidergecko]

It's called coconut coir.

Originally posted by beth wallbank
it does mold with super high humidity......but anything will if you think about it. If it stands stagnant, it will mold. There is no air flow.

This is exactly how mine moulded. I stored it damp in a bucket for about 6 months. In a terrarium I don't think it ever moulds (maybe in a frog vivarium or something it might ??)

[chamitch]

it is hard but not impossible coconuts are designed to float around in the ocean and stuff

[DragnDrop]

Originally posted by Bartman
I still dont know if thats the exact name but what im talking about is called lizard litter and it looks like small brown pieces of sand. But each little piece is bigger then a grain of sand.

By your description, it sounds to me like that crushed walnut shell substrate. That stuff molds like crazy. I used it years ago when it first came out, and stopped using it almost immediately. I don't think I even used more than one bag of it. It's also an impaction hazard for geckos, but I don't know about snakes, though I'm willing to bet it's the same for them.

[Bartman]

Ill try to get a clear picture of the stuff when i get my digicam back later today

[Invictus]

I would strongly recommend you switch to carefresh or shredded aspen for your sand boa. It is a myth, based on their name, that they are always busied in the sand, but this is absolutely not true. In the wild, they tend to find burrows of other creatures to live in. Sure, they will bury in a particulate substrate if that's all they have, but let me ask you this.... if I buried you in cocnut fibre, would you be able to breathe? Guess what... they can't either.

Please consider aspen shavings or carefresh.

[Linds]

I believe the substrate you are thinking of is crushed walnut shells, not coconut fibre. Crushed walnut shells can pose a lot of problems, as the little pieces have a lot of sharp edges that can cut up your snake if ingested. I use it way back when it came out, but have since switched. To answer your question, I never experienced any problems with mold.

Originally posted by Invictus
Sure, they will bury in a particulate substrate if that's all they have, but let me ask you this.... if I buried you in cocnut fibre, would you be able to breathe? Guess what... they can't either.


Coconut fibre is not at all dense, but rather light and fluffy in its dry form. Perfectly suitable for burrowing species. I would use it any day over shredded aspen, as well as it doesn't pose any serious risks of impaction like almost all loose substrates do.

[Bartman]

Yes, i agree...i dont know forsure about impaction (someone who has kept them for long on this site has told me its fine and i know because they kept them for long doesnt mean they know what their saying but im gonna trust him) but i know that he can forsure breath..i did notice that when he was in sand at first he would stick his head out because now that i think of it he couldnt breath like you said, but in this stuff he can 100 percent breath perfectly fine...its possible your thinking of something else...heres a pic of the substrate...

http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/1953substrate.JPG
http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/1953substrate_1_.JPG