douglas fir bark mulch as a substrate????

[benwallage9]

Hey I just went to Bi-mart and bought a bag of doug fir bark mulch, it was $3.50 for 2 cu ft. I was wondering if anyone has tried using this with there ball pythons and what there opinion of it was. I know that reptibark is made from doug fir bark, and zilla has substrates made from it. Does anyone know how well it would hold moisture? If it molds easy? if i shouldn't use it? any advise or suggest would be great it was only $3.50 so if i can't use it i'll just throw out in my garden but i thought it would be a new cheap alternative..... thanks in advance

[quercus]

I only use reptibark, cause I have an aquarium with a screen lid and humidity has been tough to keep up. I found that the reptibark holds humidity well when misted a few times a day. I recommend fir bark, its been working fine for me so far. Sheds have been in one piece and none is getting stuck.

When it gets old and dry it will get dusty. Also, when I clean the cage I will reuse the substrate once before replacing with new substrate. I put it all in a bucket and rinse the chips really good with hot water, put in a colander and let drip dry for a lil while before covering the bottom of the tank.

[quercus]

I didn't know you were talking about the mulch. If it looks like reptibark it should be ok to use. Just make sure you bake it in the oven at like 200 degrees for half an hour to kill mites if present. I am not sure if the mulch would contain dyes or other contaminants.