johnny
Archachatina marginata
Posts: 20 
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Post by johnny on Jul 20, 2014 9:25:00 GMT
Purchased a bag of this stuff from Home base as it was only 10 litres and I could carry it home. Anyway, is it okay to use as my GALS dosent seem to like cocoa fibre. If its not is it okay to use just this time.
Many Thanks
John
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Post by morningcoffee on Jul 20, 2014 9:54:59 GMT
Purchased a bag of this stuff from Home base as it was only 10 litres and I could carry it home. Anyway, is it okay to use as my GALS dosent seem to like cocoa fibre. If its not is it okay to use just this time. Many Thanks John Without knowing anything about "West+ Peat Free Multi-Purpose Compost" I can't really tell you whether it's suitable, however almost all composts designed for growing plants will have added fertiliser/feed/"nutrients" and can also be fairly acidic. The reason coir is good is that it has nothing added and a fairly neutral PH level, and holds moisture well for a humid environment. If you mean that the snail doesn't like coco fibre because it's staying on the walls/ceiling as before, I'll reiterate that this is completely normal behaviour for snails. |
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johnny
Archachatina marginata
Posts: 20
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Post by johnny on Jul 20, 2014 10:02:38 GMT
Thanks Morningcoffee. So can I try it and if the snail doesent like it, it will climb the wall or go in the water dish where it is now. I put a reasonable size plate for its food and it has a bit of bark it can climb on also. Thanks for your help.
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Post by morningcoffee on Jul 20, 2014 10:05:24 GMT
Thanks Morningcoffee. So can I try it and if the snail doesent like it, it will climb the wall or go in the water dish where it is now. Both of those things are completely normal behaviour for snails and don't necessarily mean anything about its substrate preference. |
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Post by etana on Jul 20, 2014 10:50:34 GMT
If the substrate has something that really feels bad to the snail, he'll squirm and even make faces when walking on it. A little while ago I tried some kind of very fibery coconut stuff that very, very obviously tickled my poor snails. Turns out it wasn't the same as the Coir stuff that people here recommend.
Now they have sphagnum moss, and like the others said, my snails do spend a lot of time on tank walls, ceiling and decorations, but they walk on the moss completely at ease and enjoy burrowing under it for long time periods.
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johnny
Archachatina marginata
Posts: 20
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Post by johnny on Jul 20, 2014 10:58:25 GMT
Oh. Im not sure whether to try this now. Or shall I put some in the small tank and see what happens.
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Post by muddydragon on Jul 29, 2014 8:10:07 GMT
west+ would suggest it has fertilizers and possibly pesticides. Most non peat composts have added fertiliser because non peat composts are generally a bit rubbish at growing anything otherwise (and that's what it is for!).
I would advise using coir, you could get this from the pound shop or online or a reptile shop.
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johnny
Archachatina marginata
Posts: 20
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Post by johnny on Jul 30, 2014 20:48:23 GMT
Unbelievable that the staff said it was free from pests and fertilizers. I told them it was for a Gals Will be going to the pound shop tomorrow, Also where can I get cheap cuttlebone from please. Although he does seem to go on the stuff. Thanks muddydragon
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Zorst
Achatina tincta
Posts: 734 
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Post by Zorst on Jul 31, 2014 6:47:31 GMT
Ive no choice but to use peat / turf here as I cant get Coir anywhere in a 25 mile radias around me, and peat/ turf is everywhere here as it Ireland. But the GALS here seem to be fine on it n all the other native snails are used to it anyway.
I just make sure that it has damp moss over a fair part of the tank so that they don't have to be on the Peat / turf all the time. Saying that Shellida the tiger snail loves nothing better than to find a nice damp clean bit of peat to dig and burrow into n he's grand and growing into a lovely sized snail.
Zorst
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Post by muddydragon on Jul 31, 2014 8:38:19 GMT
i'm afraid i cant help you with where to get a cheap cuttlefish as i buy in bulk for my snails as i have quite a few  . I'm afraid you'll find that garden centres will say anything to sell their stuff, i bet if you asked "i want to grow seedlings so i need peat or compost with fertiliser in" they'd say it had fertiliser i'ld be extremely suprised if it didn't contain fertiliser of some sort. Zorst: Do you know what's daft about that; the fact that it's almost impossible to get peat in england now, everything has to be peat free or peat reduced nowadays (with a plan to phase out entirlerly by 2020) which means that for plants that cannot grow on anything other than peat (my carnivorous plants for instance) it's almost impossible to buy stuff to pot them in *sigh* some nurseries are saying that they'll have to quit growing entirely even though there are a few sustainable peat sources, and other countries are gearing up production of peat in expectation of bringing more plants which need peat into the country. (it is true however that a lot of gardeners were using peat stupidly - like for improving soil). I might have to come over to ireland and stock up |
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Post by etana on Jul 31, 2014 8:50:16 GMT
Johnny, I've found cuttlebone from pet stores.
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Post by morningcoffee on Jul 31, 2014 8:56:52 GMT
Zorst: Do you know what's daft about that; the fact that it's almost impossible to get peat in england now, everything has to be peat free or peat reduced nowadays (with a plan to phase out entirlerly by 2020) which means that for plants that cannot grow on anything other than peat (my carnivorous plants for instance) it's almost impossible to buy stuff to pot them in *sigh* some nurseries are saying that they'll have to quit growing entirely even though there are a few sustainable peat sources, and other countries are gearing up production of peat in expectation of bringing more plants which need peat into the country. (it is true however that a lot of gardeners were using peat stupidly - like for improving soil). I might have to come over to ireland and stock up For my carnivorous plants (a couple of droseras and a Mexican pinguicula) I usually use Growth Technology Carnivorous Plants Repotting Mix (you can get it on Amazon!) - it's peat and sand, I usually add a bit of coir and perlite too to make it slightly more "airy" and this seems to work really well. More sensitive plants like Sarracenia might need something a bit more specific though! The bags are quite small, 2 litres, which is perfect for me with only a few plants, but if you have lots or very big plants then you might want something that comes in bigger bags  If you're willing to buy online though you can find big bags of peat quite easily to make your own potting mix with - although they seem fairly expensive to me :/ The local garden centre had a couple of really lovely looking Venus flytraps the other day, I'm very tempted... when I was there previously there was a really nice pinguicula that was flowering, but I talked myself out of it... when I went back, it was gone  I'm really fond of my carnivorous plants and want to get a few more different kinds for some variety, but I worry about keeping them fed properly! Do you put yours outside to catch insects or do they do OK indoors, muddy? I previously had a load of fungus gnats breeding in the soil of my Saintpaulia, and a couple of drosera either side of it were getting extremely well-fed, but the gnats seem to have all died off now, so my source of insecty noms for them has gone! Anyway, to get the thread back on topic a bit (sorry for derailing!), coir = coconut fibre which should be the same as what you were using previously, Johnny. In pet shops with reptile sections, you may also see it sold as EcoEarth or Plantation Soil. You can get cuttlefish at pet shops, or look on eBay to find some cheaply, or you could try swapping to limestone flour (calcium carbonate) which you can buy on eBay in quite big bags very cheaply as it's sold for horses. My snails have always loved it and seem to prefer it to cuttle. |
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Post by muddydragon on Jul 31, 2014 9:23:43 GMT
back off topic to answer the plant questions : most of mine are sarracenia which are generally more fussy soil wise, i got a couple of small bags at the last flower show i went to (saturday) but they were expensive for the size but enough for an emergency pot up of one of my sarracenia which is breaking the pot! the trouble with ordering online is the cost of postage, ideally i'ld like a big bag so i wouldn't have to worry for a while which is going to cost a lot to post! for now i'm just keeping my eyes open as the emergency one will be over shortly thanks to the bags from the flowershow. Mine do fine indoors and some do fine outdoors, i've even put my nepenthes out in warm weather. When i was back in derby i used to put them down by the pond in summer and they would absolutly pig out unfortunately where i am now does not have a pond (unless you class my really useful box full of water and a pond lilly as a pond ). Occasionally i'll get a plant which has flies in the compost and then i huddle the carnivores around that which works very effectively as you have found . I have been known to catch bluebottles on the windows and feed them to my big trapped ones but they don't really need that they seem to do fine by themselves. Aslong as they have rainwater or RO water all the time and lots of sunlight they're happy. I let those that die back in winter die back by putting them in a garage window (my house nolonger has garage windows but my utility room has no heating so it has a plug in radiator set to 10oC which should keep them happy i think). So basially they seem fine but if an opportunity arrises to put them near a food source i do (execpt for my nepenthes - i let it pig out once and didn't get pitchers again for a few years just tons of leaves, as it had stocked up enough it didn't need them ) (p.s. i love saintpaulias too and have a little collection of them too - basically my house is a crazy plant lady house) Here's someone who came back from the flower show with me - he eats ground crawling insects such as ants:  |
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johnny
Archachatina marginata
Posts: 20
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Post by johnny on Aug 1, 2014 14:47:48 GMT
muddy dragon. I tried 5 different pound shops in Romford, Essex and had no luck. I went in Wilkinsons and the spag moss was too much just now so I bought a tropical terrain compact brick from a make called komodo. The bag of spag moss would have hardly scattered the surfice.
etana. I found cuttle fish bone in Wilkinsons at 50p each.
The plant replies look interesting, I have for a while wanted to grow wheat grass as it is supposed to be very good for you but I live in a flat.
Thanks all
Johnny
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Post by morningcoffee on Aug 1, 2014 15:20:06 GMT
muddy dragon. I tried 5 different pound shops in Romford, Essex and had no luck. I went in Wilkinsons and the spag moss was too much just now so I bought a tropical terrain compact brick from a make called komodo. The bag of spag moss would have hardly scattered the surfice. The Komodo Tropical Terrain is coir / coconut fibre and should be perfect. |
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Post by moon on Aug 1, 2014 16:46:59 GMT
I buy my coconut fibre from 'e-coco products'. They sell on eBay, Amazon or you can buy direct. It comes in dry briquettes that you mix with water & is excellent for all snails.
I buy my cuttlefish in bulk on-line from a pet shop that advertises on eBay. It costs about £13 for a big box that lasts for ages. It's good quality & keeps well.
I also use an on-line organic delivery company for all my snail fruit/veg. They are based in London & are brilliant because you can order exactly what you want rather than having to put up with a 'veg box' full of things the snails don't like.
I used to trawl around the shops looking for things but gave up when I realised that the internet is really the only way to find the products I needed.
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johnny
Archachatina marginata
Posts: 20
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Post by johnny on Aug 1, 2014 16:56:33 GMT
Cheers morningcoffee.
moon. I will have to try that as he turns his nose up from every except cucumber but he is certainly growing and looking well. Well to me I will have to get a picture and upload it if theres a picture forum. Havent explored the site properly. Sadly addicted to flight simulator.
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Post by etana on Aug 2, 2014 11:15:08 GMT
Johnny, glad to hear you found the cuttlefish bone Yes there is a pictures section on this forum, you only have to host them somewhere else (such as Photobucket for example). Looking forward to seeing your snail |
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johnny
Archachatina marginata
Posts: 20
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Post by johnny on Sept 25, 2014 12:05:20 GMT
Hello again. Moon could you tell me the name of the shop in london where I can order some food from please. And if anyone else has some online shops I could use please.
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Zorst
Achatina tincta
Posts: 734
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Post by Zorst on Sept 25, 2014 14:44:09 GMT
Muddy Dragon, Ive a friend who go's over to the UK quite often by Car or van at least for the time being whilst he shuts down his business. Depending on where you are located if you PM me we might be able to work out getting some peat over to the UK for you. Its crazy I know but a lot of its down to these EU laws that were bought in. Yet Turf (peat) as its known here is still used as a solid fuel to heat houses and burns really well. I'm about to order a load for the winter.
I can get composts etc over here but the Coir I'm still working on.
Zorst
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Post by moon on Sept 25, 2014 20:31:22 GMT
Hello again. Moon could you tell me the name of the shop in london where I can order some food from please. And if anyone else has some online shops I could use please. Hi Johnny, I've posted the link below: www.organicdeliverycompany.co.uk/I think they only deliver to the London area though. Other than that, Sainsbury's & Tesco have a large selection of organic fruit & veg at the moment. |
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. I'm afraid you'll find that garden centres will say anything to sell their stuff, i bet if you asked "i want to grow seedlings so i need peat or compost with fertiliser in" they'd say it had fertiliser 
If you're willing to buy online though you can find big bags of peat quite easily to make your own potting mix with - although they seem fairly expensive to me :/ 
I'm really fond of my carnivorous plants and want to get a few more different kinds for some variety, but I worry about keeping them fed properly! Do you put yours outside to catch insects or do they do OK indoors, muddy? I previously had a load of fungus gnats breeding in the soil of my Saintpaulia, and a couple of drosera either side of it were getting extremely well-fed, but the gnats seem to have all died off now, so my source of insecty noms for them has gone!
