Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i just built a rack for my balls( 1.1 het albinos, 1.0 het pied, and normal females). i'm currently using newspaper as substrate. i've heard good things about cypress mulch though, so i went to Lowes and bought 2 bags of Cypress Rose. it's made by Mulch Manufacturing Inc. the actual contents of the mulch aren't listed on the bag, so i emailed the company to see if the mulch was safe for snakes. they told me it was made of at least 60% cypress, and "other hardwoods", with no chemicals added. does anyone know if this mulch contains pine, cedar, or any phenol producing woods? i was attracted to this mulch for the humidity retension, look, and price ($3.60 for 3 cubic foot), but i don't want to kill my balls! any info would be great.

Pine and any other evergreen are all soft woods, so you should be good with what you got.

Quig

just to let you know I recently saw a tv news special specifically about mulch.What I learned was very astonishing.
A lot of mulch companies are using constuction materials to make mulch.And I would have to guess that about 95 % of the wood used in building homes is treated for natural rot and pest prevention. some of the chemicals that they use in this treatment such as arsenic and cyanide are very harmful to humans and animals.I personally won't use any kind of mulch for my pets after hearing that.What I prefer to use is aspen bedding made by KAYTEE it has no oils and no dyes.It does smell fairly good and you can notice when any part of the tub is dirty.I just thought I would let you know but every one has their own way of doing things.

i also use the shredded aspen for my bps and i think it works great. a little dusty at first but i spray it down as soon as i put in cage. after that its great.