i have found the following
i baught a bag of very fine
coco peat and i must say that it
whas the worst buy i ever made
the peat struggle to absorb water
and dried very fast. my advice is
never use fine coco peat.

I had an experience like this with "Spider peat".
My LPS sold these and I was very disappointed as it had a picture of a Tarantula on it.
Since I couldn't get it to absorb water, I sprayed the enclosure often, but this meant that the fine peat was "blown" into the air by the spray. So the whole enclose was covered in dirt. Very annoying.

I moved over to Coco peat. Darker colour, absorbs very well and keeps the moisture longer. Only drawback thus far are hair like strands within the peat.

Probably different brand than the Coco pear you are using. The one I am using says Reptile resort on the packaging.

Yea i aslo once got the fine peat and i actually still have the semi full bag stashed somewhere! Great disapointment!

My few T's seems much more satisfied with the Spider Resort Coco peat ;]

greatstuff wrote:

i have found the following i baught a bag of very fine coco peat and i must say that it whas the worst buy i ever made ...

What is "coco peat?"

Do you mean shredded coconut husk, by whatever commercial name, from a pet shop or garden supply? Has some company now begun to mill it very fine for some purpose?

Or, do you mean "peat" (aka black peat, peat moss, Canadian peat), basically the dark brown or black, dirt-like substance from the bottom of a peat bog (swamp)?

Or, judging from "a bag of very fine," might you be referring to something called "milled sphagnum?" Sphagnum moss is a peculiar type of moss that grows in a specific type of swamp called a sphagnum bog. It's principle call to fame is that it can hold up to something like ten times its dry weight in water! Usually, milled sphagnum is this moss after it's been dried and ground into a fluffy, light colored, powdery sort of material formerly used in potting soil for its water retentive properties. It's now seldom used because it has become very expensive.

The nature of what you're using is important because each of the aforementioned products has different properties, some of which may not be appropriate for keeping arachnids.

(Google any of the underlined terms for much, much more information.)

... the peat struggle to absorb water and dried very fast. my advice is never use fine coco peat.

Lastly, what are you trying to do with it that requires it to hold water?

the coco peat i use as a
substrate for my t's
the coco peat comes from
Repti-lab and its water
retention is very poor. this
means that i have to mist my
t enclosures everyday, instead
of every 3 to 4 daes like
what spider resort coco provides
is a plesat coco to work with the water retention is excelent and misting is only needed4 to 5 days

yes coco peat is crushed coconut
husks i revered to!

Coco peat also known as coir pith, coir fibre pith, coir dust, or simply coir, is made from coconut husks, which are byproducts of other industries that use coconuts

All tarantula keepers knows what coco peat is.exept if you think tarantulas are kept on newspaper...

some qualities of coco peat are better than others...some soak up and keep the moisture very well, others not. they just make a thin layer and the water just lays on top.

for the holding water part that you cant understant....some keepers pref to keep the substrate moist..some keep it dry.. some species do molt easier when the substrate is moist...

i pref buying a block of palm peat. its inexpensive, and 1 block makes like 9L of peat..it holds moisture great,i mix in 2 cup of coco husks and 1 cup sand. The Ts love it. and its strong enough to support borrows.

it all comes down to the keeper....everybody has their pref of substrate.