Reptile & Amphibian Forums

One of my home made cage's. The middle one is for Simmons, my cribo. It is 6' long...the propped open part is his hide box above it. Kind of cool to see him stick his head out and hand down to look around.

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ALthough Cypress has been a mainstay in our hobby for many years, there has also been many documented cases of this mulch causing fatalities ranging from impaction due to the large splinters that are usually associated with this particular bedding in addition to potential pesticide/chemical residuals that have been found in this product (that have also accounted for deaths of captive animals)....I no longer use this stuff. For indigos, I personally couldn't think of a worse substrate to use in light of their feeding behaviors; the use of tongs won't stop them from shaking their prey all over the place which could end up getting a large splinter stuck on the prey (even close supervision may not keep a piece from being ingested). Unless you feed prey in a completely separate container, its probably not the best option. ALso, in light of indigo's amazing ability to defecate on an almost daily basis, cypress mulch provides many nook and crannies for fecal matter to be deposited and fester creating a nice environment for bacterial growth. I'm not bashing those that use it; that's their prerogative but I just want those considering the use of the stuff to weigh all of the pros and cons. I have found that newspaper is perfectly acceptable but does increase maintenance time. Aspen has worked very well for me as high quality aspen is shredded in very small pieces. At home, I am currently using Aspen and provide a humidity box w/an old slightly dampened towel). Care Fresh works well. At my wildlife center, where we have an indigo on display, we have a mix of top soil, sand, ESU Jungle Mix and leaf litter mix that makes for a wonderfully natural looking substrate that is easy to keep clean and doesn't pose the problems that Cypress and other larger particulate-style beddings provide. Just a few long winded thoughts.

As a parting thought, and, as someone who runs a wildlife center who tries to promote good environmental stewardship, our Cypress Swamps are disappearing at a rapid rate and it seems that if we, as a dry community, want to promote good environmental awareness, that we should limit the use of a product that gives more fuel to the fire for environmental destruction (but as in all things, I am sure I am being a bit hypocritical as there are things I do that are damaging the environment like driving my big SUV).

Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center
Lake Forest, IL

>>Here is one sub adult set up.
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>>"Life without risk is to merely exist."
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Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
Lake Forest, IL

Is Cypress mulch a byproduct or a primary product of cypress logging. Gonna get to see a few of those trees as am headed down to Okefenokee in a few weeks. Never been near the place but it sounds great and is on the way to where I was going so what the heck.. Just sort of passing through, but hope to do a little herping/birdwatching/ photography. Anybody been there? Will I see stuff in late February?. Also headed south into Florida for a few days after that.Dreaming of photographing a wild indigo, but I know the odds of that.

I have had LESS THAN DESIRABLE results when using Cypress Mulch in the past.

What type of results you ask?

Well, thats a good question(And I am glad that you asked)
The results that I received were IMPACTION and ultimately death of one really nice ADULT Locality Pituophis (Bullsnake)
That was enough for me, the stuff was fairly expensive, not that easy to get ahold of and was responsbile for the death of one of my nicest snakes? Cancel my subscription please.......

Um.....needless to say, I dont use it anymore.

I use newspaper, or papertowel, or astro-turf(Just kidding, that would be a hard way to go indeed) or soil. I HAVE also used butcher block paper and towels also(No I didnt wash them afterward..I just disposed of them)

My opinions only...

Have a good afternoon,

Fred Albury