I have used both paper and cypress and I'm cypress all the way. Its so hard for me to keep the humidity up with papertowels/newspaper even though I am in south FL (doesnt really matter where you live if your snakes are kept inside). I've never witnessed mites in the cypress I get from Home Depot. Cypress has a natural insect repellant and mold/fungus repellant so in my opinion it makes one of the best substrates for a humid environment. However, even if you do get a batch with wood mites, they wont bother your snake. Spot cleaning it is easy and one of my favorite things about it... its CHEAP! $2 a bag Another big plus for me is the severely reduced spillage of water bowls. It's amazing how just 2 inches of the cypress will keep the bowls from tipping all over the friggin place lol. One more thing.. my snakes like it better. They can dig to the bottom of the tub to create a nice nest/bed place. About half of mine do this, and no, it's not always on the hot spot either so its not because theyre cold. I think it feels more natural to them to have a substrate surround them. Happy snakes mean happy me. Hope that helps a bit