Vote for BP.Net for the 2013 Forum of the Year! Click here for more info.

» Site Navigation

» Home
 > FAQ

» Online Users: 685

1 members and 684 guests
Most users ever online was 47,180, 07-16-2025 at 05:30 PM.

» Today's Birthdays

None

» Stats

Members: 75,905
Threads: 249,104
Posts: 2,572,100
Top Poster: JLC (31,651)
Welcome to our newest member, Pattyhud
Results 1 to 8 of 8
  1. #1
    Registered User
    Join Date
    06-01-2011
    Location
    SE Michigan
    Posts
    6
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Potentially Stupid Question

    So in looking at the cost of substrate, I began to contemplate mulch. I can get a large bag of cypress mulch for about $4, but I was wondering if that's necessarily a wise idea, given that mulch probably has more than just the cypress chips, so I thought I would put it out, and let the forum decide. What do you guys think?

  2. #2
    BPnet Lifer dragonboy4578's Avatar
    Join Date
    09-01-2010
    Location
    St. Clair, Michigan, United States
    Posts
    2,661
    Thanks
    1,011
    Thanked 895 Times in 815 Posts
    Blog Entries
    6
    Images: 84
    You have to be careful. A lot of the Cypress that you are talking about is treated to kill insects. These pesticides can cause problems with your reptiles. Also as you already stated many contain wood that isn't cypress.
    “I drink a great deal. I sleep a little, and I smoke cigar after cigar. That is why I am in two-hundred-percent form.”Winston Churchill
    1.0 '10 piebald, 0.1 '10 het piebald, 01 '07 het. Piebald
    0.1 '10 lesser, 0.1 '10 albino, 1.0 '11 Black Pastel het. Albino, 0.1 '11 het. Albino, 0.1 '08 het. Albino, 0.1 '10 het. Albino
    0.1 '09 woma, 1.0 '10 Pewter, 0.1 '11 Lesser Bee
    0.1 '10 Super Cinnamon Woma, 0.1 '10 Mojave Spider, 0.1 '11 mojave, 0.1 Super Chocolate
    0.1 '10 Pastel Yellowbelly, 1.0 '11 Pastel Yellowbelly
    1.1 '10 yellowbelly, 0.2 '10 normal
    0.1 '08 Cinnamon, '08 Normal, 0.1 '10 Orange Ghost, 0.1 Black eyed lucy possible yellowbelly
    1.0 '11 Cinnamon Enchi, 1.0 '11 pastave
    0.1 '10 coral albino Boa, '10 1.0 Sunglow boa, 11 0.1 Motley boa
    0.1 '11 Central American hypo boa, 1.0 Central American Motley
    0.1 '11+T Albino Blood, 0.1 '11 poss het. +T Albino Blood

  3. The Following User Says Thank You to dragonboy4578 For This Useful Post:

    Skittles1101 (04-01-2012)

  4. #3
    BPnet Lifer Rob's Avatar
    Join Date
    02-20-2012
    Posts
    4,653
    Thanks
    1,692
    Thanked 2,646 Times in 1,686 Posts
    You can find 100% pure cypress mulch although. Get the double shredded.

  5. #4
    BPnet Lifer angllady2's Avatar
    Join Date
    08-18-2009
    Location
    St. Louis, MO.
    Posts
    3,642
    Thanks
    1,937
    Thanked 1,914 Times in 1,149 Posts
    I tried mulch once. Once was enough!

    It smelled nasty, stayed way to damp, got everywhere, and my snakes hated it.

    Now, perhaps I just had the rotten luck to buy a poor brand, but after searching exhaustively for pure cypress at no less than 10 stores, it was all I found that was pure cypress.

    Gale
    1.0 Low-white Pied - Yakul | 1.0 Granite het Pied - Nago
    1.0 Mojave - Okoto | 1.0 Vanilla - Kodama
    1.0 Pastel - Koroku | 1.0 Fire - Osa
    0.1 het Pied - Toki | 0.1 het Pied - Mauro
    0.1 Mojave - Kina | 0.1 Blushback Cinnamon - Kuri
    0.1 Fire - Mori | 0.1 Reduced Pinstripe - Sumi
    0.1 Pastel - Yuki | 0.1 Dinker Normal - Akashi
    0.1 Ghana Giant Normal - Tatari | 0.1 Dinker Normal - Kaiya

  6. #5
    BPnet Veteran RobNJ's Avatar
    Join Date
    03-25-2011
    Location
    North Jersey
    Posts
    1,852
    Thanks
    383
    Thanked 789 Times in 548 Posts

    Re: Potentially Stupid Question

    I don't use cypress, though I did when I had a couple display tank set ups...as mentioned, make sure it hasn't been treated with any chemical product, and make sure it's 100% cypress mulch, not a blend of "forest products" or something like that.

  7. The Following User Says Thank You to RobNJ For This Useful Post:

    dragonboy4578 (04-01-2012)

  8. #6
    Registered User snake lab's Avatar
    Join Date
    09-10-2011
    Location
    chancellor battlefield virginia
    Posts
    1,244
    Thanks
    51
    Thanked 442 Times in 317 Posts
    All i use is cypress. You have to get pure cypress. An easy well to tell if its pure is it will say grade a cypress. Mulches are graded. Grade a is pure. No blend. Get the double shredded cypress mulch not the cypress bark.
    [IMG][/IMG]

  9. The Following User Says Thank You to snake lab For This Useful Post:

    mohawk (04-01-2012)

  10. #7
    Registered User
    Join Date
    06-01-2011
    Location
    SE Michigan
    Posts
    6
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Re: Potentially Stupid Question

    Thanks for all the input, guys, I really appreciate it. I shall start my hunt for Grade A, double shredded, and see how it goes. Too damp may actually help to solve some of my humidity problems, actually. I've got the water dish in the middle, but I still have to mist pretty regularly to keep it where it ought to be.

  11. #8
    BPnet Royalty SlitherinSisters's Avatar
    Join Date
    06-26-2008
    Location
    SE Iowa
    Posts
    14,644
    Thanks
    2,135
    Thanked 4,381 Times in 3,885 Posts
    Blog Entries
    4
    Images: 70
    Why not use newspaper or paper towels if you are worried about cost. It's safe, clean, and free if you go with newspaper. I use newspaper in all my racks, only the girls about to lay get aspen.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v4.2.1