# Free Mulch and Composting sites?



## MissMooRaw (Jul 18, 2011)

I'm wondering if any of you guys could give me some advice or opinions on this.

Where I live the city has two community compost and mulch areas. The mulch site is free to any residents to use and add too, they have very strict rules on what you can add to the mulch site. Here is what it says you can drop off: "Drop off only leaves, grass clippings, brush or limbs up to 10 feet in length and 2 feet in diameter."

I was wondering if this mulch might be okay for substrate. The city mulches it every few days to break down the branches. It looks like pretty nice mulch. It's brown, I'm not sure how it holds humidity but I was planning on doing the sand and soil mix on one half of the cage and a mulch/coconut fiber mix on the other side of the cage. 

I don't think the compost would be a great choice since the city allows you to dispose dry wall there to be mulched into the compost piles... they also charge $12 for a cubic yard of compost. 

Just wanting some pointers. 

Oh and could anyone tell me how they mix the sand/soil mixture to get it just right? I'm sure its not complicated and it prolly isn't something you can screw up easy. But I read on a few substrate posts that it can get messy if you mix it incorrectly. 

What brands of topsoil are good to use? I've read about Ace and Home depot, is it just the cheap topsoil or a certain brand at those places?


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## Kebechet (Jul 18, 2011)

I don't know about Home Depot, but I just got some basic topsoil at Ace- it was a compost/sand/gravel mix. I also recommend against coconut fiber- it expands when wet, and if your tegu decides some of it looks tasty (mine will try to eat the weirdest things sometimes) there's a high risk of impaction. If you're going to do topsoil, just stick with the topsoil. If it gets eaten, it passes pretty easily. You may even notice your Tegu scratching around for small rocks to eat to help with digestion, which seems to be a natural behavior. This is likely why Tegus sometimes try to eat mulch as well.


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## MissMooRaw (Jul 18, 2011)

Kebechet said:


> I don't know about Home Depot, but I just got some basic topsoil at Ace- it was a compost/sand/gravel mix. I also recommend against coconut fiber- it expands when wet, and if your tegu decides some of it looks tasty (mine will try to eat the weirdest things sometimes) there's a high risk of impaction. If you're going to do topsoil, just stick with the topsoil. If it gets eaten, it passes pretty easily. You may even notice your Tegu scratching around for small rocks to eat to help with digestion, which seems to be a natural behavior. This is likely why Tegus sometimes try to eat mulch as well.



I see, I had read about that and I rather be safe than sorry with her eating the mulch. I just wanted to hear some opinions since there seems to be a big spilt on mulch and sand/soil mix users, I was getting confused reading all the posts and needed some clarification. 

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll give Ace a call to see if they carry the soil you mentioned. Do you think it would be okay to mix a very small amount of the Eco earth into it? Or just rely on the soil from ace entirely?


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## Matt0925 (Jul 18, 2011)

I would stay away from the mulch pile from the city. In my town most of the mulch is from pine trees, obviously a no no. It would be nice to use it, but it dont think it would be worth the risk. 

Cant help you with the soil mix. That is something I am wondering about as well.


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## Kebechet (Jul 18, 2011)

Eco earth is another expanding mulch- if there is any risk that your tegu would eat it, I would stay away. I've used it in the past, but then Link started eating it, and then I heard a horror story about someone's tegu dying from stabbing the inside of their mouths on a piece of cypress mulch... so I just stick with topsoil.


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## MissMooRaw (Jul 18, 2011)

@ Kebechet: :C Yikes, I think I'll take that to heart and just stick with the topsoil mix. I'd like her to be as safe and happy as possible. 

@Mtt: Yea, I was wondering about the quality and the materials in the mulch and if they would be safe for a Tegu, but I think it's a commonsense thing with that since yard clippings may have chemicals on them from yards with a bug problem, or fertilizers and the like. 

Thanks for the help, I think I've got enough to clarify what I need to stick with. 

I would like to hear more from users of sand soil mixes to compare the different methods. I guess I could just start a post asking about sand/soil substrates. 

It would be nice to have a big thread on the various popular substrates just like the threads they have on all the MVB's and food that someone collected info on and posted. Those are always very helpful.


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