Pacific NW Herpers - Looking for effective, economic substrate!

[STjepkes]

Hello fellow Pacific Northwesterners! I'm looking for a substrate available locally to replace what I've currently been using - Unprinted newspaper primarily, and buying the super overpriced aspen from pet stores as needed. What I'd really love to have access to is cypress mulch, but I can't seem to find it way up here in Washington State.

What do you all use, where do you get it, and how much does it cost you?

Thanks in advance for any information.

[Ax01]

sorry buddy, i use aspen (shredded and chipped) that i still buy from a local pet store. i would like to move to cypress, but the pieces they sell them in are so large and chunky which i don't like (esp. for the BP's i have that like to burrow).

anyway another forum buys from and advises to look for a farm/feed supply store. there's a place in Kent on West Valley Highway that has mounds of mulch, gravel, etc. on their lot. it looks like a landscaping store, but i never stopped by to check the exact mulch they have and their prices. hmmm, now maybe i will.

[Penultimate]

I've been using aspen as of late. You can pick it up at Tractor Supply at a relatively low cost (I believe it's around ten dollars per bag, and the bags are pretty sizable). I also get cypress mulch for some of mine, but I have to either pay pet store price or buy it at expos. Personally I really hate cypress mulch... just... ugh. It gets in the water dishes every single day and it's way too expensive.