Using Cat Litter Wood Pellets for Flake Soil

Satoshiek

Satoshiek

L2
Hi! I've been looking into how I can make flake soil the easiest way possible as I never attempted such thing. I was wondering if wood pellets used for cat litters are okay. They seem to be just plain natural wood with nothing extra added in so I figured it must be ok but I want to confirm. I don't think I can buy wood pellets any other way where I live (at least not in a cheap easy way). Also, is compost/hamster sawdust ok too? Thanks in advance.

 
There are animal-litter or bedding use of pellets available at pet stores or any Tractor Supply Co. kinds of places, and they can be used if your beetle larvae are willing to feed on Pines, Hickory, Pecan, or whatever that is used to make that pellets. I've made couple visits to several stores of Tractor Supply Co., to find out material ratios, and most of them commonly used Pines, Hickory and Pecan. I chose not to use them as Hickory does not seem to absorb moisture very well (easily dry out). Take a look at ingredient info of the product, and see what's mixed in there.

Hamster sawdust is usually cut chips of aspen bedding, not small enough to be fermented, so the answer is big no. (I also read records of mixing with regular substrate, but didn't have a good result either).

 
JKim said:
There are animal-litter or bedding use of pellets available at pet stores or any Tractor Supply Co. kinds of places, and they can be used if your beetle larvae are willing to feed on Pines, Hickory, Pecan, or whatever that is used to make that pellets. I've made couple visits to several stores of Tractor Supply Co., to find out material ratios, and most of them commonly used Pines, Hickory and Pecan. I chose not to use them as Hickory does not seem to absorb moisture very well (easily dry out). Take a look at ingredient info of the product, and see what's mixed in there.

Hamster sawdust is usually cut chips of aspen bedding, not small enough to be fermented, so the answer is big no. (I also read records of mixing with regular substrate, but didn't have a good result either).
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I want to breed Coelosis Bicornis and there is no information whatsoever out there on how to rear them so I don't know if they feed on Pines, Hickory or Pecan. The reason why I'm trying to figure out how I can make flake soil easily is because I live in an apartment and I don't have some kind of outdoor area where I can leave the fermentation to take place. Do you have any idea if Coelosis Bicornis feed on those kids of wood? Also, any tips on how to make flake soil considering I gotta do it all inside my apartment? Thanks for the help!

 
There is a really good post here about making substrate using wood pellets, it's a short video, using Trager (?) brand oak pellets, yeast and bran flakes, I plan

on giving it a try to supplement my forest collected material.

 
kevink said:
There is a really good post here about making substrate using wood pellets, it's a short video, using Trager (?) brand oak pellets, yeast and bran flakes, I plan

on giving it a try to supplement my forest collected material.
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Yeah, that's Ratsmophere's recipe, right? While that's a really good and simple recipe I don't have access to oak, just the kinds of wood mentioned above that are selled as cat litter material. Also, if it has a strong smell or has to be very well aerated it might not be ideal to keep it inside an apartment, but I could be wrong in that. I could do it at the house of a relative and pick it up after a few months no problem, but if it has to be mixed often I can't do that (as it seems to be the case). So I'm clueless on what to do. I don't even know if it will be possible for me to make flake soil given my situation, but I'm hoping someone more experienced to be able to give me some tips and steer me in the right direction if possible.

 
Also, the kind of wood I can get very cheap in here is Eucalyptus wood. Is that suitable for Rhino Beetle larvae?

 
I have no experience with other types of hardwood but I'm assuming that if the wood is decayed enough, it will still be suitable. The substrate making process can be a bit smelly at first. So if I were you, I would mix the substrate outside and then bring it back in everyday or so for the first 2 weeks of fermentation. Please do let us know if the hardwoods that you plan on using is suitable for beetle larvae!

 
Oak said:
I have no experience with other types of hardwood but I'm assuming that if the wood is decayed enough, it will still be suitable. The substrate making process can be a bit smelly at first. So if I were you, I would mix the substrate outside and then bring it back in everyday or so for the first 2 weeks of fermentation. Please do let us know if the hardwoods that you plan on using is suitable for beetle larvae!
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So I do have to mix it everyday, right? For the whole duration of the fermentation process? After you mix the substrate does it stop smelling? I'm a bit concerned with this because if it really smells and spreads through the house I really can't have it inside.

And sure, I'll let everybody know if the wood I'll use works fine for the larvae or not.

 
Satoshiek said:
So I do have to mix it everyday, right? For the whole duration of the fermentation process? After you mix the substrate does it stop smelling? I'm a bit concerned with this because if it really smells and spreads through the house I really can't have it inside.

And sure, I'll let everybody know if the wood I'll use works fine for the larvae or not.
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Well, it is advised to mix it everyday for the first 1-2 weeks of fermentation. However I know some people who got away with mixing it every 3 days or so. When fermentation slows down, you won't have to mix it everyday. This is also when it smells less.

 
Oak said:
Well, it is advised to mix it everyday for the first 1-2 weeks of fermentation. However I know some people who got away with mixing it every 3 days or so. When fermentation slows down, you won't have to mix it everyday. This is also when it smells less.
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Ok then. I will try to make some sometime in the future and I'll let you guys know what happens. I really do appreciate all the help. Thanks a lot!

 
At the risk of promoting an overly successful business- Oak pellets are sold at Amazon. I'm going to try that recipe, but instead of using the bags, I'm going to use a 

composter that I can just spin around every so often. There are substrates sold at a variety of other businesses besides insect related ones- I was given

a link to Greenwood farms mushroom company once, they sell old mushroom compost fairly cheaply using USPS flat rate boxes. I'll post something later on

about my experiences, I've got a want list of natives to breed, and I'd like to give my elephus something to speed up their growth.

Now I see your location Satoshiek, that might change your options, but people do barbeque in Brazil? Don't they? Good luck with your efforts.

 
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kevink said:
At the risk of promoting an overly successful business- Oak pellets are sold at Amazon. I'm going to try that recipe, but instead of using the bags, I'm going to use a 

composter that I can just spin around every so often. There are substrates sold at a variety of other businesses besides insect related ones- I was given

a link to Greenwood farms mushroom company once, they sell old mushroom compost fairly cheaply using USPS flat rate boxes. I'll post something later on

about my experiences, I've got a want list of natives to breed, and I'd like to give my elephus something to speed up their growth.

Now I see your location Satoshiek, that might change your options, but people do barbeque in Brazil? Don't they? Good luck with your efforts.
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As far as I know, the Japanese ferment maitake and shiitake mushroom compost to create the best possible flake soil. It is known to produce big hercules. 

 
kevink said:
At the risk of promoting an overly successful business- Oak pellets are sold at Amazon. I'm going to try that recipe, but instead of using the bags, I'm going to use a 

composter that I can just spin around every so often. There are substrates sold at a variety of other businesses besides insect related ones- I was given

a link to Greenwood farms mushroom company once, they sell old mushroom compost fairly cheaply using USPS flat rate boxes. I'll post something later on

about my experiences, I've got a want list of natives to breed, and I'd like to give my elephus something to speed up their growth.

Now I see your location Satoshiek, that might change your options, but people do barbeque in Brazil? Don't they? Good luck with your efforts.
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Yeah, I'm from Brazil and people here don't really use wood pellets for bbq. That's why I can't find that very easily. But if any decayed enough wood will do as Oak suggested, it should be fine.

Also, how do you make flake soil with a composter? I'm really a newbie in this subject so I'm trying to learn as much as I can.

 
I'm going to find out. I'll follow the ratmosphere recipe and use a tumbling composter instead of the bags. It sounds logical, but then, maybe it won't work.

 
If you do use Wood Pellet Cat Litter, be sure it's made from hardwood.  I'm pretty sure that many of those wood cat litters are made from soft woods (pine, cedar) or a mix of soft and hard woods. 

Good Luck!

 
Satoshiek said:
I once tried to breed Oryctes Nasicornis with hamster Sawdust fermented with wood log but the result was... BAD The nutrition inside Hamster sawdust is so low that it even make larvae development longer and it even took me 11 month to make my larvae into L3. I recommend not using Hamster Sawdust!!
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Andy Heo said:
I once tried to breed Oryctes Nasicornis with hamster Sawdust fermented with wood log but the result was... BAD The nutrition inside Hamster sawdust is so low that it even make larvae development longer and it even took me 11 month to make my larvae into L3. I recommend not using Hamster Sawdust!!
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Good to know you already tried and it didn't work out. Thanks for the reply!

 
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