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I am worrying about having humidity being to high when i change Rhianon over to her new cage. The cage will be a jungle habitats plastic that is 3' by 2' by 1' (LWH) and i was hoping to use cypress mulch to make it look nicer. Is there anyway to lower the humidity while using cypress mulch?
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0.1 "Tremper" looking Albino Leopard gecko (Lex)
0.0.1 tiger crested gecko (peachs)
0.1 Red blood python (Rhianon)
0.0.1 ball pythons (FELIX!!!!!)
1.1 Feral cats that we adopted (Fuzzy, and Bear)

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Is the cage already set up with the mulch?I would spread it all out and let it dry out before putting it in the cage so it doesn't have that much moister in it.Other wise you could add some vent holes in your new cage.Just a thought.How is the ventalation on the new cage anyway, I wouldn't think it would be a problem unless you were misting everyday and the cage had poor venting.

I don't even have the cage yet. I am going to get it this october for my birthday. the reason why i asked is because my current blood cage (sterilite drawer) holds humidity up the wazoo (i have like 40 ventilation holes and it is still at 65%) and from what i hear commercially made cages hold it even more.
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0.1 "Tremper" looking Albino Leopard gecko (Lex)
0.0.1 tiger crested gecko (peachs)
0.1 Red blood python (Rhianon)
0.0.1 ball pythons (FELIX!!!!!)
1.1 Feral cats that we adopted (Fuzzy, and Bear)

My image Gallery

I think spreading it out into a thin layer and putting it out in the sun for a little bit would be your best bet. I use cypress mulch for my tegu's cage and it takes quite some time to dry out. He likes it moist so its not really a problem. Even when it does start to dry out, its really just the top few inches of his basking side. The rest can stay moist for qiute some time...even with good ventilation.

Hey Roach,
As was mentioned you can try drying it out, but you don't want to dry it out too much, as the whole intent and real purpose for using cypress mulch, barring its appearance, is for increasing humidity to the environment within the cage. Too dry (mulch) will have quite the opposite effect and can cause another host of problems. Too wet, and that too, can lead to its own set of issues. Something in the range of 50-60% relative humidity if possible, is what you should be gunning for.

Get your self a barometer, from Radio shack, or some other online source to help you get some kind of an idea of what the relative humidity is to start, and give you a better picture of the range. Mind you, that these devices are not NIST calibrated, nor are they perfect, but at least give you something to go by. With time, you will come to know what works and what doesn't.

Also, if need be, you might want to consider drilling some holes into the sides of the cage if it is made of plastic, which I am sure it is.

-Angel
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"Until we lose our self, there is no way of finding our self."
-Henry Miller.

are there any precautions i would need to take when drilling ventilation holes in the plastic (1/2" thick HDPP).
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0.1 "Tremper" looking Albino Leopard gecko (Lex)
0.0.1 tiger crested gecko (peachs)
0.1 Red blood python (Rhianon)
0.0.1 ball pythons (FELIX!!!!!)
1.1 Feral cats that we adopted (Fuzzy, and Bear)

My image Gallery

Well aside from keeping any critters out of the cage.. Just make sure to clean up the shavings and you should be ok. I just use a soidering iron for my rubbermaids... but that sounds a little too thick you'd probably pass out from the fumes before you were done lol
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"It's my snake, I trained it, so I'm going to eat it!" - Mad Max, The Road Warrior