Coconut Bedding

[mike7034]

Does anyone else use compressed coconut fibers for bedding and if you do what is the easiest way to dry it out after it expands

Thanks,

Mike

[Lisa]

dry it out? it helps keep moisture up

[mike7034]

I use it dry for my schneider skinks and damp for my water dragon

[asphyxia]

Hey Mike

If your in a rush put it in somthing and blow dry it ?

Brian

[mike7034]

it blows it all over the place i know i have tried it

[Matt_K]

have you tried just putting it on some newspaper and then putting it under a heat lamp?? That should do the trick!

[mike7034]

yeah thats what i am doing at the moment i was just wondering if there were another way to do it

[Dino]

Try putting it in an old pillow case tie a knot in it and toss it in the dryer.

Just a guess..... I have never done it before. Might be worth a shot!?

[reverendsterlin]

I second the dryer Idea, did the same with the forest bed substrate I get but used 3 layers of cheese cloth instead of pillowcase

[casacrow]

I put it in a pan and throw it in the oven on low heat. You will have to stir it up once in a while or the middle stays damp. You can buy the stuff at home hardware real cheap in the gardening section. I think a pack of 3 bricks cost less than $5 if my memory serves me correctly.

[Them and Us]

the first time i used it i put it in the oven on bake at 225 for a long while. but Lisa is right why dry it when its best attribute is holding moisture? just throw it in your cage moist. don't use too much water when you expand it and it won't be sopping wet. it will eventally dry out and if you are using an overhead lamp it will dry out a lot faster.

[nouserpif]

Throw the oven on something like 200-250, and spread the moist coconut fiber across a large baking sheet... check it a lot, to be sure not to burn it.... this is a time consuming, but good way :)
Dan Conner

[eyespy]

Or just spread on cookie sheets and leave it in bright sunlight for the afternoon, when weather and time permits. I'll put a pillowcase over it to keep out bugs and it still works well but takes at least 3 hours.

I only dry it out for my beardies though. It's great slightly moist for most of my guys and gals.

[Pixie]

I've done the oven method myself, spreading it in a pan and baking it for 30-60min. You have to keep and eye on it and stir it up often to get most of the moisture out. Worked for me but was a bit of a pain. I only had a small pan so I had to do 1 brick's worth in 3 separate shots, so it took me almost a whole afternoon!

[mike7034]

Thanks for all the ideas