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Mycomancer
Psi Cubed


Registered: 09/28/03
Posts: 586
Loc: United States
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Russian Tortoise compost project
#2666026 - 05/11/04 11:10 PM (20 years, 8 months ago) |
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I've been toying with the idea for some time now of making my own compost from alternative sources, and testing their effectiveness in cultivation. My research has been focused mostly in the reptile/amphibian arena, as currently I own a corn snake, tomato frog, and quite recently, a russian tortoise.
Well, the snake is carnivorous, and the frog insectivorous, wheres historically the manure's used have been herbivore based. So, obviously I questioned the plausibility of them, would the proper c:n ratio and microorganisms be present to ignite the composting reaction, and if it did how would it be recieved by a fungus?
Part of the solution is in the food items themselves. Mice for the snake and crickets for the frog. Both high in protein, and the mice high in fats(which I believe i read as being not especially good for fungal growth) But perhaps it's worth a try.
Now this all brings me to my russian tortoise. He is an herbivore, so there exists the precedent of a composting reaction. His substrate is coco coir(no joke), and he constantly make a mess of his food(spring greens, timothy hay, strawberries etc) and tracts it into the substrate(providing organic matter). Not to mention that all his wastes(feces, urine, urates) are also deposited.
So what I intend to do is when it's time for a substrate change, I use the spent substrate in attempt to create a small compost pile, eventually to be tested in a mycelial environ.
One interesting feature of the tortoise dispose is that they eliminate wates via uric acid rather than urea. Uric acid can be eliminated using substantial lower levels of water wastage than can systems based on urea, such as those of mammals. Therefore, tortoises, such as Russians, eliminate nitrogenous waste products with far greater water conservation.
Urates are also expelled, and although i am not sure of there exacting composition, they seem to me to be concentrated nitrogenous waste. Which is very important in composting.
This is why I think russian tortoise compost merits experimentation. This going to be a side project for me for a while. So I will keep you all updated as I move onto each step. 
mycomancer
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ThatDaltonGuy
PermanentlyFried
Registered: 04/07/04
Posts: 213
Loc: USA
Last seen: 20 years, 7 months
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Re: Russian Tortoise compost project [Re: Mycomancer]
#2666102 - 05/11/04 11:24 PM (20 years, 8 months ago) |
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interesting.
-------------------- Let me remind you that the above text is completely false and has been typed to you by an escaped mental patient and shouldn't be taken seriously unless you yourself also have a mental condition. These kind of things need to be taken into consideration by those viewing these threads.
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Mycomancer
Psi Cubed


Registered: 09/28/03
Posts: 586
Loc: United States
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Re: Russian Tortoise compost project [Re: ThatDaltonGuy]
#2666330 - 05/11/04 11:55 PM (20 years, 8 months ago) |
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IMO interesting enough to merit the tests, despite that I come across as a little too knowledgable about turtle poop. His name's Koopa btw, from the mario games.
mycomancer
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Transplant
Janitor
Registered: 05/07/04
Posts: 77
Loc: Texas
Last seen: 20 years, 4 months
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Re: Russian Tortoise compost project [Re: Mycomancer]
#2667600 - 05/12/04 06:16 AM (20 years, 8 months ago) |
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mmmm..im hungry now
-------------------- Will Screw For Shrooms
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