Cheaper Substrate - Australia

[NickBrahz]

Hey looking to see if there is a cheaper place for substrate out there, i currently buy Kritters Krumble which is $20 for 20L, 20L only fills about 1 enclosure so to refill my enclosures it cost me $60 a hit.

I did some looking around at Coconut Husk and they are coming up really cheap at say bunnings but that is under Mulches, is it the same thing but they slap a reptile brand on it to charge more or is there a difference?

Heres a few examples of what i was looking at.
http://www.bunnings.com.au/brunnings-90 ... k_p2960146
http://www.bunnings.com.au/brunnings-60 ... k_p2961005
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Coir-Power-M ... 3398125045

Wondering if any of those is good to use or something else that isn't quite so expensive, $60 might not sound like much to others but almost all of my money gets sunk into going to specialists and surgeries for my eyes (Keratoconus, for example just had to pay $6000 for 2 surgeries) so if im able to save a few bucks that would be great but i don't want to save money if it comes at the expense of the living conditions of my bubs.

Cheers, Nick.

[freeloader]

Have a look at sugar cane mulch. $13 for a big bag at bunnings.

[Richard.C]

20150531_235819-1.jpg

Some of mine brumating in sugar cane mulch from bunnings

[NickBrahz]

All right thanks, have to go near there so will have a look for it, im due to clean out my enclosures.

[NickBrahz]

Picked up what i would estimate to be 60-80L of sugar cane mulch for $16 from bunnings so will clean out the enclosures in the morning, thanks.

[NickBrahz]

Going to give the coir a try from bunnings, ive noticed since swapping to Sugar cane that having slight humidity problems the lizards bellies are starting to get a bit rough, not sure if thats due to it being winter and heat is on 24/7 so making it drier, if its from the cane or a combination.
Only $10 per 60L of coir anyway so not much money loss if it turns out bad.

[spinifecs]

Hi Nick, how'd you go with the new substrate? I also use Kritters but would love a cheaper alternative. How'd you find the sugercane mulch? Was it dusty or smelly? Thats probably a question for you too Richard, do you find it dusty?

[NickBrahz]

I found the Sugarcane to be to dry personally and a bit plain looking, i swapped over to coir mulch which im testing currently, i prefer the look of it, its $10-15 for the 60-90L of it so not much price difference to the sugar cane, though it does take a bit more effort as you have to add water to the block so it expands, and then drain it and then let it sit in the sun for a few days, stirring once or twice a day for it to dry out, similar to Kritters though seeing they are both coir.

Heres a picture of the coir mulch in use.

CAM01769.jpg

[spinifecs]

Looks great! Exactly the same (maybe a little chunkier) which would be expected I guess. A shame about the extra effort, seems an awful lot, but 60 - 90l for $10 is a huge saving! I know its only been a couple weeks but do you see this as a long term solution at this stage?

[NickBrahz]

Yeah i see myself using this from now on, and the effort isnt really as much as it sounds, my process was pretty short.

Put block in container #1.
Add half the water, let it sit for 5 minutes, then started to break up the block so it was fully submerged and absorbing the water for another 10 minutes or so.
I then with the help of another picked up the container with all the water/coir and tipped it into a second container.
The second container is a 100L black heavy duty tub from, kmart, cost $20 i have holes drilled in it as i sometimes put my lizards in there to hang out in the sun
When i put it into the second tub it drained itself through the holes, then i just let it sit for a few days stirring it couple times a day with a shovel til most of the water was out and then i put it in the enclosure and the heat lamps got rid of the last of the water in it.

[MAN N OX]

Have a look at sugar cane mulch. $13 for a big bag at bunnings.

do the bags you buy have a strong smell because my ones do and im using the sweet garden sugar cane mulch

[kingofnobbys]

I simply pop outside with a rake and gather up a few buckets full of gum tree leaf litter that my mature bluegum deposits on my front lawn , complete with bits of shed bark and twigs, mix it with course grade kritters krumble ( 1:1 ) and my two eastern bts love it.