Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I hate them...but for those of you that do not know...try mulch.

I have a bumblebee that flat out refused to eat...it only ate when forced too...and force feeding was just a way too keep it alive.

I took some advice and filled its cage full of mulch...with ahide as well and this thing has become a pig on Rat hoppers.

From having ZERO interest in feeding to destroying rats the second they hit the floor of the cage...try it...I have a couple of slow feeders I am going to try this with.

good luck

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Michael Enriquez

OK,

I am intrigued to say the least. Here is why. I have 3 snakes out of 15 that do not feed well. The three are all females. I have never had a male that was picky. But here is the alarming thing here for me. I use newspaper for all my snakes. Only 3 snakes are always messing up the news paper and are always laying under the paper as well. Like they are trying to burrow or get as close to the heat as possible. Is this a coincidence or could it be that they would be happier with mulch bedding. Stay tuned if interested I am going to try mulch for these three. I will let you know if anything changes.

Thanks for listening,
Bill

friend has/had balls that were like that....maybe cobra too if I remember.....aspen bam,,,ate,,,,paper...(run out of mulch)...nothing at all....

balls like mulch ,hides,warm not hot, crowded cramped tight spots with natural hides and stuff....(cork bark ,terra cotta pots,rock,etc)...

..most will eat on paper with no hide .....some take that little extra wild side smell to get them going.....

.....as for mulches......I wrote on here before I was looking for cypress this year and still have not found it......I did not try the cypress blend , I did buy some Country Boy hardwood mulch.....it was heavy, wet, and stank....wierd smell...like cow manure , not the really nasty stuff but just had that manure smell in it....also wreaked of an odd odor....I left it in room to dry a little....smelled better dry....still odd....well...today I was cleaning rodents...pine shavings...I think they bagged them wet and didn't dry them, maybe the dryer broke down ? for awhile...hey were wet, not sure of pine species....BUT, there was that same weird smell in there...wet piney, not spruce,but an odd smell....so the Hardwood mulch...might have some soft wood in it???....it went out to the back yard......for now I still use paper and aspen......and I am still going to look for a good cypress or similar.......

.....good luck.......
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Since it is gardening season I have had great luck finding cypress mulch at Ace hardwares, Home depots, and even the local grocery store. I pick out the larger pieces and throw them in the garden, then use the rest for snakes. I especially use the fluffy "balls" the mulch forms for hides.
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1.1 ball pythons
1.1 kingsnakes
0.1 crazy cat
?.? ASFs
1.0 husband

not in Pa
ACE had country boy hardwood mulch...it's crap....they also had topsoil....well...the topsoil is compost...I got 2 bags to put on top of two half barrel planters my wife decided to buy , just to cover over the composted dirt I made myself and used, wanted good dirt top...their dirt is not as good as my dirt......

....Lowe's has cypress blend......other stores tend to use hardwood mulch or pine bark mulch....the Agway I use likes cedar mulches for some reason....

...here up north the cypress tree tends to be hard to find....

.....good luck....
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I've had luck before finding cypress mulch at Home Depots in New Jersey. The next time I'm in one I'll have to take a look. Depending on what part of PA you are in, it might be worth a day trip for you to stock up on cypress mulch.

but what about the grill for the BBQ? i'm sure that thing kicks out min....30,000BTU it would help with the drying!!

give that grill a second life..........as a dryer!

double work.................dry and cook at the same time!

Pitoon

I think it has a lot to do with Humidity as well...the mulch holds humidity alot better. I have had some snakes that would not eat and I notice their water bowl is dry...replace the water and within 2 days they are feeding again.

I will try my other trouble feeders on wednesday
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Michael Enriquez