Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Right now I use sani chips as a substrate, but I'm thinking of switching to cypress mulch. It would be cheaper, and more readily available where I live. Right now I have to stock up on sani chips when I go to a show, but I could buy cypress mulch in smaller quantities as needed. I know some of you use it, and I was wondering what the pros and cons of cypress are.

Thanks,
Shelly

Living in Indiana, almost every corner gas station sells 40 pound of cypress mulch. Usually 3 bags for $9.99.
I use it for all my hatchlings, up until they are about six months old. Then I switch them to unprinted newsprint.
I also use it for my WC females. I belive it is more to their liking then any other material that most hobbyists use.
Pro and Con of Cypress:
Pro, it is cheap. Pro, it retains moisture like nothing else. Pro, it does not mold. Pro, you can recycle it. When I clean out cages, I use the old mulch in my flower beds. No waste.
Con, not a very good renewable resource. They cut down acres and acres of Cypress to make the mulch. Con, it's heavy. Con, it's messy.
But, I believe the Pro's out weigh the Con's pretty well.
It's a pain when it comes to cleaning, but hatchlings do wonders on it. WC animals do much better on it then say newspaper or pine shavings.
Won't hurt to try it for a few months, and see how it works for you.
Good Luck
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Ron Billingsley
www.ronbillingsleyreptiles.com

Living in Michigan we especially love using it here in the winter time to keep up the humidity in the animals enclosures when it is hard to do so using everything else, especially things that really can't be wet down. A lot of other substrates can't tolerate being too wet for too long without molding up on you. Its pretty easy to keep up, nice for spot cleaning when you need to instead of full changes all the time, although full changes are still needed. Then as mentioned its heavy, when you have a lot of animals to go about cleaning, you can be looking at some pretty heavy trash bags, and well here garbage men are a bit fussy, too heavy (for them) and they won't take it.

As said there are quite a few pros to using it, and then the cons. Newspaper still is my favorite substrate for a lot of things just because how easy it is to clean up and replace, and well not as messy as woody type beddings can be with the dirt and dustlike particles they tend to kick up.
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-Amelia
ES Tropicals

agreed.........

I like it for open topped cages..for the more closed topped ones (Boaphile's) I use aspen.....

my friend says the same thing too heavy,......nd he is in a carpeted bedroom with racks.....I am in basement.....make a mess it don't matter as much.....

the only thing I was going to say is get it and open bags to see if you need to dry them out a little ahead of time..it's wet at times.........too wet.......depending on the rain that week /month...

Lowe's......$3.40 a bag or so.....prices on everything go up as gas goes up.......(except the 25 cent mice from 2007 or 1990.)

.......
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.

Thanks guys. I guess I'll give it a try for a while and see if I like it. I'm running out of sani chips anyways.

~np

Since cypress is dark and wet naturally, how do you see the wet spots. I use aspen, it is light colored and any spots are obvious.
Mike

Where they poop, I just scoop out an area maybe two or three inches around and all the way to the bottom of the tub, then I either drop a large handful of new mulch in the hole, or I spread the existing stuff around to fill in.

You can tell when it is getting ratty, it looks all funky and starts to smell. I dont wait that long, I will change the whole tub out and sterilize it every so often. I pretty much change the entire tub out in the spring, once more mid-summer, then right before the breeding season. They really dont eat in the winter as much, so from November to March it is pretty much spot-clean only.

Also, I am not sure if they sell cypress treated for insects, but I would be careful buying it at the H-Depot or a gas station? I buy it at a local Agway (I am not sure if this is a national chain or not?) and I made sure to tell them and inquire if the cypress I am buying is untreated. The lady at the Agway told me a local zoo buys it there also for their enclosures and had asked the same questions about it being chemically treated. That would be no good!

Alan

You don't change it when they pee?
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~* Jen *~

Pink Lady Constrictors