Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I found this website
http://s92350988.onlinehome.us/Tegu_care.htm

he recomends "For larger enclosures a mulch substrate is in order. We use a fir mulch as Cypress is not readily available to us on the west coast. The brand we use is Whitney Farms Bark Mulch. It is available at Fred Meyers which is all over this area if you are local. About $2 a bag and two bags fill our 8' enclosure nicely. Put a good thick layer of 6-8" in there so the Tegu has some room to root around and burrow in. They LOVE TO DIG!! I believe Cypress is is the proffered mulch of choice if it's available but my little buddy likes his fir mulch just the same."

just thought I would pass it on as several people have tried unsuccessfully to get cypress mulch on the west coast.
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Bennett

beardiedragon.com
Home of the Florida Orange

Fir bark Still has alot of oils in it. Fir is closly Related to Redwood. I switched to orchid bark. It is heat Treated, It has alot less oils and sent to it then plain fir bark. Thanks Russ

Doug fir is not full of oils. Redwood/cedar are both full of oils that is why they are used as fence posts, decking etc. Termites leave red redwood alone because of the oils in the red portion of it. Termites love eating fur, but dont bother "red redwood". I use a doug fur mulch mixed with peat moss. It works fine so far.
Stephen

The stuff I got from Home Depot was causing a Skin iritation on Both my Adult tegus. WEhen I Switched to Orchid bark It went away. Orchid bark is heat treated Fir. It has less sent in it . Now this is what my vet said to Use ,Who told me that Douglas fir bark Is not the Safest To use.Take care Russ

Howdy, that is from my website.

I have used all the mulches I could ge tmy hands on, cypress being the hardest to get ahold of here on the west coast. Some fellow herper somewhere told me about the Whitney Farms mulch and had been using it for some time. I have used it for my Tegus "bigger years" up through adulthood and it works great. At least the Tegu never complained It is a fine alternative to buying imported cypress for ungodly amounts of $$. It is also cheap and for this reason easy to change out frequently. The other abundant material is river silt which they REALLY like but unlike the mulch it is way heavier and far more costly to change out. Not to mention huge pain in the A$$. Never the less really nice! I have seen alot of fellow west coasters on here and usually point whoever I can to some of the resources I have found. It's not so easy being a reptile nut in the NW, not as many resources. Maybe someday we will catch up?
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Peace!
KofSeattle
Reptile-Like
Here lizard lizard.........

Oh I hope so! Im in Oregon and I've actually found the Cypress mulch cheap at a Fred Meyers, but that is the only place. I havent checked Home Depot though.
-Beth