Cypress mulch for a couple of reasons.... #1. It does wonders with regulating humidity. #2. IMHO seeing a ball python slid out of a drawer laying on newspaper with a water bowl is kinda upsetting to me. I can see why big time business breeders do it when they have hundreds upon thousands of snakes to deal with... These are my pets and I want to try and make them as happy and comfortable as possible. I dont know if they live in and around cypress mulch in Africa, but I'm pretty sure they dont live on paper towels or newsprint there eitherNot to mention it just looks like crap....