Aspen VS Cypress Mulch

New cage means new styles! Sammy was on old regular paper towels. I'm picking up a boaphile cage this week or next for him. He just reached the 400 gram mark! I'm so happy my boy is growing. So let's get to the topic. Aspen VS Cypress Mulch. I've heard both pros and cons on both, but mostly cons on aspen. Apparently aspen can become moldy in humidity levels like what a ball python would need, ESPECIALLY during a shed? And Cypress Mulch if it dries out it can harm you snakes belly? I just need to hear everything about both to see which direction I'm going. Also where do you buy your aspen/Cypress? A couple amazon reviews on both say that the bag came with mites/white bugs. Thoughts? Thanks!

Out of the two Ive only used Cypress and really like it.

It has never harmed my snakes when its dry and that doesn't seem possible to me.

I have seen the little white bugs in a few bags but they are not snake mites and have not caused any issue for me. I have seen people bake the substrate in the oven to kill anything in it put Ive never done it.

I struggled to keep my humidity from dropping to 30% every day, with humidity in my house being at 50-55%, and 95% of the screen top being covered with foil.

Cypress mulch was great for humidity, bit of course was more expensive.

I gave coco husk bricks a try. $3 with a $25 order on Amazon. More work involved in getting it ready to be used.

I have recently been giving bath towels a try. I was warned of things like smell in a warm and humid environment. I can change the towel frequently. I foster kittens, so "ick" from the s ake is no big deal when compared to 3-5 kittens with diarrhea.

I say pick what you think you might like and try it out for a month. Each house/setup are going to be different, plus personal preference. Just stay away from pine amd cedar.

I should have added I only use Forest Floor. It is a much better shred. It is always clean and uniform.

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Originally Posted by melcvt00

I struggled to keep my humidity from dropping to 30% every day, with humidity in my house being at 50-55%, and 95% of the screen top being covered with foil.

Cypress mulch was great for humidity, bit of course was more expensive.

I gave coco husk bricks a try. $3 with a $25 order on Amazon. More work involved in getting it ready to be used.

I have recently been giving bath towels a try. I was warned of things like smell in a warm and humid environment. I can change the towel frequently. I foster kittens, so "ick" from the s ake is no big deal when compared to 3-5 kittens with diarrhea.

I say pick what you think you might like and try it out for a month. Each house/setup are going to be different, plus personal preference. Just stay away from pine amd cedar.

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Thanks for your input! Helped a lot :)

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Originally Posted by KMG

Out of the two Ive only used Cypress and really like it.

It has never harmed my snakes when its dry and that doesn't seem possible to me.

I have seen the little white bugs in a few bags but they are not snake mites and have not caused any issue for me. I have seen people bake the substrate in the oven to kill anything in it put Ive never done it.

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I'm trying Cypress then! Thanks for the help KMG :D

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Originally Posted by danielwilu2525

I'm trying Cypress then! Thanks for the help KMG :D

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No problem. Cypress is really great, especially when you need a humidity boost. I guess to be honest I have used aspen but it was for other critters like chickens. I knew from that experience how aspen is and knew that cypress would work better for me with my snakes.

I suppose it depends on where you live. In the South East, humidity is not really as much of an issue as in other parts of the US. The humidity in my snake room averages 50% without doing anything, so I use aspen. I think cypress would be too wet for my needs. If I lived in AZ I'm sure I'd use it though.

Dave

I think I have used about everything paper towel, newspaper, cypress mulch, aspen and coconut chips.

Aspen is great for hatchlings as it allows them to burrow, but it's not great when it comes to humidity and if you spray it it will mold rapidly.

Cypress mulch is great holds humidity but I don't like the large sharp pieces, I prefer a softer bedding for my animals.

Now I use coconut chips, keeps the humidity perfectly, can be sprayed if necessary, is composed of small soft pieces that still allow younger animals to burrow, doubt I will switch back.

What is a healthy range for humidity with a bp? Is there such a thing as too much, understanding standing H2O is not good unless it's for drinking or the occasional soak?

As was stated earlier, a lot of it depends where you live. With me being in Louisiana I've kept the snakes in tubs with Aspen, with holes drilled and a water bowl and have never had any shed issues. I just make sure the water bowl retains water, and if I noticed one going into shed, I misted a few sprays, however I didn't have an issue without misting either. Now in a aquarium, I couldn't tell you as I would never put a BP in one.

Cypress Mulch I used when I had my Yellow Anaconda as it held good humidity, I was picky about what cypress mulch I used though. I at one point opened a bag of forest floor and they had glass in it, I only noticed because I always went through the substrate prior to putting it in my snakes tank for exactly this reason. I sliced my finger on it and I took pictures of it and spoke with Zoo Med. They ended up sending me like 3 free bags, though I wasn't trying to get free bags, I simply wanted them to do a better job of filtering stuff or whatever process they use. I think after that I started getting a certain kind from Lowes, and it was just like forest floor just a lot cheaper. This was years ago though so I don't remember what I used or even if they still make it.

CoCo Husk as Deborah mentioned, is a great alternative. It holds humidity well, and won't mold over and it's not sharp like cypress mulch. I use this on anything requiring higher humidity. You can get the little bricks of CoCo Husk off Amazon for like $3.