Zoo Med’s Forest Floor habitat substrate is 100% ground Cypress bark. It’s all natural, looks great in your box turtle’s pen and satisfies his need to dig and burrow. It also helps maintain the humidity your pet needs. It helps keep waste away from your pet and can be easily cleaned.

Keep reading more of the Zoo Med Forest Floor review:

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.                        Sizes               Ease of Use               Safety
.                      Pros & Cons Summary           Where to Buy

Sizes of Forest Floor You Can buy

Forest Floor is available in four sizes, so you can buy just what you need. Not all sizes are available at every store, but according to Zoo Med, sizes it makes are:

• 1 quart
• 4 quarts
• 8 quarts
• 24 quarts

Unless you’re mixing the Forest Floor with another substrate, you’ll want the larger size to make sure you give your box turtle a deep enough layer that she can burrow.

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Ease of Use/How to Use

Forest Floor is ready to use straight out of the bag. Just pour it into your pet’s pen. It’s not dusty, so you don’t need to worry about it getting all over everything. You’ll want a depth that’s about 1-1/2 times the height of your tallest turtle.
Maintenance is simple, too:

• Mist it as needed to keep the humidity high.
• Spot clean it as needed (whenever you see waste material)
• Do a complete change at least twice a year. Of course, if the cage smells even after spot-cleaning, change it sooner than scheduled.

Zoo Med recommends using Forest Floor with Eco Earth and ReptiSand or ReptiFresh. You may need to experiment a little to see what works best for you and your pet.

Many reviewers found this material easy to use, easy to clean and good at holding humidity. At least one reviewer felt it was much easier to clean than coconut-based bedding (Eco Earth).

Others felt that Forest Floor didn’t hold moisture as well as other substrates, like coconut fiber. If you find the same problem but prefer the look of cypress over coconut, one option might be to layer Forest Floor on top of Eco Earth.

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Is Cypress Mulch Safe for Box Turtles?

Wood chips are a good choice for box turtle bedding, but not all wood if safe for them. Some wood, like cedar and pine, contain oils that can irritate and even kill box turtles.

Cypress (which is what Forest Floor is) does not contain anything harmful to your turtle. But it’s not completely safe to eat.

At least one reviewer felt that the smaller pieces can get into your pet’s eyes and mouth too easily. But since many box turtle species live in wooded areas, they’re not likely to mind too much. And swallowing a few tiny pieces stuck to her mouth is not the same as eating large quantities. Accidentally eating a little once in a while is unlikely to hurt her (although there are never any guarantees, just odds). Just make sure she’s not eating too much, either deliberately or accidentally.

Many box turtle’s are messy eaters, so you may want to feed them in a different enclosure, or keep one end of the habitat free of Forest Floor. If your pet is deliberately eating the bark, you may need to evaluate his diet. It could be deficient in some nutrients.

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Forest Floor Pros & Cons Summary

Forest Floor

I WANT IT!

Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

The reviews of Forest Floor are somewhat mixed, especially about how well it holds humidity. Reviewers seemed to either love or hate its performance on this count. No matter what kind of substrate you use, keeping it moist will be key. A ReptiFogger can help.

Pros:

• Looks great
• Easy to spot clean
• Needs a complete change only about every six months
• Not dusty
• Lets your pet dig and burrow

Cons:

• Not safe to eat
• May get in your turtle’s eyes and mouth

Is Forest Floor a good choice for you? It has more pros than cons, but the cons may be deal-breakers for some people. Again, reptile owners seem to either love it or hate it. You’ll have to decide for yourself if you want to experiment with using it, either alone or with another bedding material.

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Check Price and Availability

Different stores sell different sizes of Forest Floor. These sellers may be good options for you, depending on the size you’re looking for:

• As of this writing, PetSmart appears to sell only the 8 quart size (based on the picture posted on the site).
• Buy.com (Rakuten shopping) sells 8-qt and 24-qt bags.
• Find whatever size you need, including the large, 24-qt size Forest Floor Bedding at Amazon.

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