Substrate question

this is what works for me and i was suggested it by azreptile and some other herpvets near the valley.
cypress mulch mixed with some moss. the moss helps with moisture and softening the mulch up a bit.and add some moss on top of the substrate in some spots.

one herpvet even suggested dont worry about the humidity in the enclosure itself but offer a humid hide as the bps come out at night when the humidity is down and the air and land are dryer.he said bps live in burrows and the humidity idea comes from humid burrows bps chill in during the day to escape the heat and move closer to the surface when they need more warmth.
i experimented with these humid hides and found my bp only liked a humid hide on the warmer areas of the tank and the other hides normal.but i dont have problems with humidity anymore thanks to the mulch moss mixture.i still offer a humid hide though

oh ive heard youd have to sanitize the mulch you would get from the garden centers cause they could possibly harbor bad things. i dunno though.to be on the safe side id go petstores even though its a lil more expensive

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Originally Posted by Lferg

Do you just use something like moss to supplemental moister to raise the RH? Why can't I just use oasis foam enclosed in something? Same thing that is used in humidors.... Or even humidity beads..... I don't see why it can't be used in the enclosures. Totally encased so no chance of the animals getting into at all.

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You can try to raise the humidity in the enclosure, and fight an uphill battle.

Or you can provide a humid hide.

A humid hide can be achieve by placing damp spaghnum moss in the hide and re-wetting it every few days.

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Originally Posted by Lferg

I've done a search and it seems that cypress mulch is an acceptable substrate for pythons. Right now I am using kiln dried pine pellets but they do nothing for the RH and are probably sucking moisture out of the air. So is this cypress mulch the same stuff I can pick up at a garden center?

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I've heard to be careful with the cypress from garden centers because it can have other types of wood mixed in and/or be contaminated.