There shouldn't be any measurable difference between the floor of the tub and the top of the paper towels... Cypress/aspen/eco-earth on the other hand will have a big difference.

How many sheets of paper are you using? (you only need 1)

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Quote Originally Posted by FoxReptiles View Post
I used cypress for quite a while before switching to paper and have recently been considering going back for various reasons. After doing a lot of similar research, it seemed like extreme heat, extreme cold or mite treatments are your best bet if you're really worried about mites.

After reading many similar threads about this topic, I decided the threat of mites from the cypress mulch wasn't worth the effort in pre-treating for it. I never noticed a single mite in any of my enclosures while using it and it sounds like many other keepers have had the same experience.

Has anyone actually seen or heard of a case of someone getting mites from cypress mulch?
There have been a few threads here with cases. Basically it boils down to the store had mites and they got into the bags of substrate. It certainly isn't terribly common.