Cypress Mulch: Way too humid?

At the last expo, I bought an enchi lesser pastel female (wasn't going to come home with anything... oops!) who was currently on cypress mulch. I didn't know that until a few days ago, and since she didn't seem interested in eating, I switched her from paper towels to cypress mulch. The problem is that despite the fact that her tub is very well ventilated, the humidity is 95-99%! In other words, I need to lower it ASAP. Any ideas? I want to keep her on cypress mulch, but I'm not sure how to go about that.

Ventilation. When it comes out of a sealed bag it's pretty humid. I poke holes in my bag days in advance usually.

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Originally Posted by anicatgirl

Ventilation. When it comes out of a sealed bag it's pretty humid. I poke holes in my bag days in advance usually.

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The bag was already open and had been for over a week.

Spread some on a cookie sheet or in a baking pan and put it in the sunlight for a few hours to dry out. Or you can just wait a few days, it will dry out eventually.

You can also try using a smaller water dish, and make sure the water dish isn't on the hot side.

It'll be fine. Humidity that high is not unhealthy, standing water isn't all that great, but high humidity is fine. One of the advantages of cypress mulch is that it retains so much moisture that it can greatly increase the humidity without the environment being wet. Besides it'll drop over time, no need to worry.

Sorry to jack your thread but this cypress mulch, do you buy the ones specifically bagged for pets or is it the same stuff you can buy from lowes and homedepot ? Im looking to switch from aspen and heard alot of good about this stuff

Make sure that the cypress mulch is natural and not dyed. A lot of the stuff used in landscapeing is dyed different colors. Also make sure that it's pure cypress mulch and not a blend. Other than that, the stuff you can get at home depot is just as good as the stuff you can get at the pet store (and probably a lot cheaper)

Yeah i figured it would be cheaper outside of a pet store but wanted to make sure it was useable... thanks for the quick reply

You can always do a mix. Use a dryer substrate like retibark and mix it with the cypress mulch.

I use cypress for my boa and it will dry, pretty quickly too. It usually only stays on the higher end for a day or two and it will start to dry up. Ball pythons are fine to have a few days of higher humidity, it wont hurt your snake. You will find yourself spraying the cypress in about a week or two.

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Originally Posted by M.P.C

Sorry to jack your thread but this cypress mulch, do you buy the ones specifically bagged for pets or is it the same stuff you can buy from lowes and homedepot ? Im looking to switch from aspen and heard alot of good about this stuff

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The "blend" cypress mulch at Lowes and Home Depot is only 10% cypress, I called the manufacturer and asked. Otherwise it's 50% pine and 40% "whatever we were cutting that week", which could include black walnut or even cedar. They absolutely did not recommend it as reptile substrate.

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Originally Posted by bcr229

The "blend" cypress mulch at Lowes and Home Depot is only 10% cypress, I called the manufacturer and asked. Otherwise it's 50% pine and 40% "whatever we were cutting that week", which could include black walnut or even cedar. They absolutely did not recommend it as reptile substrate.

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Ohhh well in that case i wont be buying any of that stuff

So it should be fine in a week or two? It won't hurt the snake or anything? If so, that's great.

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Originally Posted by Penultimate

So it should be fine in a week or two? It won't hurt the snake or anything? If so, that's great.

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Correct. It'll work itself out fine. All we need is just a little patience. (Yeah...) :cool:

High humidity is just fine temporarily. I would bet your BP might appreciate the bump up for a small reprieve. As long as there isn't standing water and the BP isn't soaked then you're all good. Even with minimal ventilation the humidity will level out over time. I guarantee that some other forum members will tell you otherwise, but IMO and the opinion of rational herp keepers out there, there's nothing to worry about.

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Originally Posted by BCS

You can always do a mix. Use a dryer substrate like retibark and mix it with the cypress mulch.

I use cypress for my boa and it will dry, pretty quickly too. It usually only stays on the higher end for a day or two and it will start to dry up. Ball pythons are fine to have a few days of higher humidity, it wont hurt your snake. You will find yourself spraying the cypress in about a week or two.

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Yes, good points! I agree. You can even use a smaller amount of cypress mulch as well. Good thing your enclosure is well ventilated that will make it more tolerable for the reptiles. Also the fact that you are not keeping them at high humidity extremes for a long periods of time. Imo, cypress mulch is one of the better substrates out there but only the 100% cypress mulch. Good luck.:gj: