Cypress mulch?

[killerphade310]

Hey guys sorry if this has been a topic on another thread but i can't seem to find it, well i was wondering if you guys use cypress mulch for racks, i have a 15qt rack with small bp in it and i want to know if this is a good substrate or should i just stick with aspen? I live in california and summer is here so its going to get pretty hot.

[killerphade310]

Anybody

[Knytemare]

I recently switched from newspaper to cypress mulch, its cheap and i find it good, just make sure the humidity doesnt get too high seeing it holds the humidity quite well.

[JayyPastel24]

agreed cypress can hold 100% humidity, dont spray for any reason keep things from 50-55 maybee 60% for sheeding

[killerphade310]

Alright kool man thanks

[geckobabies]

I use cypress mulch for my ball pythons and have rack systems. It works great. I only buy 100% pure organic cypress mulch, not the blended stuff, but some people have had luck with that.

[mues155]

Just make sure to bake it in the oven at at least 250-300 degrees for 15-20 minutes, to kill any bugs in the mulch.
It will make your kitchen stink like dirt and it takes a while to do but worth it for getting rid of any critters.

[mommanessy247]

i dont have a rack but i did use cypress mulch for a short time last year. i bought a big bag from lowes and then found out that the blends have cedar in 'em.

i was glad to have to do away with it though cuz it really wasnt holding the humidity very well at all. i was having to spray it several times a day just to maintain the normal daily 50-60% humidity, even more to get it up to 60-70% when my girl went into shed. that was way too many intrusions IMHO. i ended up going to a 1/2 mulch, 1/2 newspaper (mulch on the warm side) then finally got to switch it all out when i got the forest bark i'm currently using, which is 100% fir bark.
the rest of the mulch got spread out in my flower garden so i was able to make some use of it.
the fir bark needs to be moistened very well (but i make sure it's not soaking wet) since its in chunks but once moistened like that it holds the humidity for practically 1/2 the day but i also have a very wet (but not dripping) hand towel over 3/4 of the screen on top and 2 water dishes (one of which is directly over the heat pad). so theres a few elements creating the humidity.

[deathadder1069]

Ive used it in the past but im better off with aspen...easier clean up and definitely no bugs to deal with so no need to bake with aspen but if you go with cypress then make sure you do bake it and for sure watch the humidity coz it holds it pretty good. Other than that i stopped using it coz my albino and pastel just looked dirty all the time.