Reptile & Amphibian Forums

np

Hey,
Cypress Mulch, is a good substrate if you are keeping babies or juvies from 1 month old to 1 year old. For adults and subadults, the requirements are quite different and as such can be treated differently, respectively. As adults they can be kept on news paper or some other type of substrate, like cage liners.

Humidity is a concern for younger animals and so there for, cypress mulch works great with smaller bloods or STP's. However, as bloods mature, humidity levels can be kept at the lower end of the spectrum of what is considered a good value; with 50-60% for adults, and younger animals at the higher end of the spectrum with levels of 70-80% RH.

I agree with Googoo151. Cypress is okay when they are babies... however there are some drawbacks. Quite a few as a matter of fact. Cypress gets the cage slimy and it's easy to grow mold on. You absolutely have to change all of the cypress every week. As with newspaper, it gets dirty too. Another thing, if you are feeding in the cage, your snake can swallow the cypress and that can be bad.
I have personally used cypress for a while, but no matter what I have ever tried newspaper is the end to all my deliberation. Bloods love to burrow, so for a baby cypress might be ideal, but for an adult... I'd go for the newspaper.

I have been using Cypress for juvies to adults for over 7 years with no problems. They love to burrow, even the adults. I misted the mulch every other day, and it keeps their skin looking great. Babies, on the other hand, I have kept on paper towels for about the first 3-4 months after birth.