Cypress mulch vs. Newspaper

What brand of cypress do you guys get and where do you buy it?

I think it may have been wood mites and therefore not an issue, if it was mites, the little devils we fear the only way i can see that happening is by buy cheap low grade cypress.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBoyF...e_gdata_player

That's the link to the episode, he doesn't state which mites but the way he says it I took it as snake mites. Also I recently heard of someone receiving a snake from bhb for Christmas with mites so that kinda put questions in my head. Also since I'm going to white plains this Sunday make me be extra careful when checking out their table. Better safe than sorry.

I usually buy the huge bags from the expos and stock up.

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Originally Posted by Slither4

Also since I'm going to white plains this Sunday make me be extra careful when checking out their table. Better safe than sorry.

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I'll be at the white plains show as well :)

Thanks for the link I'm gonna watch it now. The cypress I buy is sold by Home Depot the brand, I believe, is Timberline. Yellow and clear bag.

When using paper substrate, I like to toss a damp sponge in with them. The snakes like to play with it, and it helps keep humidity up. I wash the sponges twice a week in the dishwasher to sanitize and prevent bacteria growth.

I never mist to keep humidity up with papertowels. It seems to stay fine, and my i encountered a bad shed once in 2 of the 4 snakes i own in the same rack. That was my fault tho.. My pin was going into shed, but she tipped her water.... I replaced the towels and didnt re-mist it (forgetting about the in-shed animal), and next thing i knew it, she had pieces on her >:(...

Same with my spider.. Right when he went into shed, i replaced the towels and when he shed, it was in pieces..

Any of the wood mulches can occasionally contain wood mites. Not threatening to your reptile, but prolific and annoying nonetheless.

If you get your mulch from a particularly dirty reptile source, a source that ALSO has reptile mites, the mulch can become a transport vehicle and you can indeed get REPTILE mites from cypress mulch. I have heard of this happening from dirty pet stores, and from an online supplier.

Most mite spottings in mulch are the wood mites, your treatment and approach should depend on identifying the type of mite you are dealing with.

I use both. The cypress works wonders for humidity and the newspaper is free. I usually feed on newspaper as I wet my rodents to provide lubrication and water. It also warms them up to that good temperature.