Looks like dung, smells like dung

[Ratmosphere]

Checked on all of my substrate buckets today and found one that was damper than the others. As I mixed the bucket, the substrate started to smell like dung. Closer to the bottom, the wood was pale. This part smelled the worst. I could compare the scent to canine excrements. Wish I could use it for some dung beetle reproduction haha. What could have happened?

 

[Hisserdude]

Sure you didn't actually collect some poop along with the wood?

[Ratmosphere]

It is 100% Traeger oak pellets.

[Kevinswither]

Looks right. My substrate smells like that. Lol.

[Hisserdude]

Yikes, wonder what happened lol! I don't think you could use that for dung beetles, as it's still wood.

[Ratmosphere]

@Kevinswither, have you been mixing it? During storage over the winter, the substrate collapsed and the air holes were blocked so the substrate couldn't breathe. This could be why this happened.

[Beetle-Experience]

Yes, this will happen if you don't mix several times. It changes from aerobic to anaerobic fermentation and can smell terrible. I try to mix mine once a day...

[Ratmosphere]

Yes, the problem was that during the winter the air holes in the substrate collapsed so it suffocated. The substrate buckets with the holes still in it lasted the winter and were mixed today, they are in perfect shape!

[Shade of Eclipse]

I became very familiar with that smell the first few times I tried to make substrate. It definitely got anaerobic--I suggest keeping things a little less wet if possible.

 

It takes a whole day for the smell to get off your hands...

[Beetle-Experience]

"It takes a whole day for the smell to get off your hands..." YES, and out of your nostrils too!

 

I had one mix early on that smelled almost exactly live vomit. I threw the whole thing out, and it was really wet like you mentioned.

[Ratmosphere]

It did linger around for a little bit. I used toothpaste and Hempz lotion to get the smell off.

[Kevinswither]

@Kevinswither, have you been mixing it? During storage over the winter, the substrate collapsed and the air holes were blocked so the substrate couldn't breathe. This could be why this happened.

I mixed it almost everyday. (Sometimes I wouldn't be able to, but a thorugh mixing should do the trick. It's now from 1 month and a half from white pure wood to brown soil like. Doesn't smell too much.

[Ratmosphere]

You're still doing the air holes right? That helps out a lot. Pretty pissed my substrate collapsed. The excess moisture was from rainwater, I guess it got in through a crack in the lid.