Eco Earth bricks or Cypress mulch?

[queenelvis82]

Anybody know which is a better substrate? Obviously I do not want mites and want a substrate that is easy to maintain a constant humidity.
Any thoughts?

[KMG]

It depends on you and your setup. EcoEarth can get dusty when it starts to dry out. I like Cypress Mulch a lot and have used it in most of my cages for a long time. Now Im using a combo of EcoEarth, Cypress, and ReptiBark mixed to my desired liking. I do this as I keep naturalistic cages and it looks more natural.

I only buy Forest Floor mulch as it is clean and uniform compared to the cheap bulk variety.

[queenelvis82]

Thank you for your input. BTW, how do you like your Blood Python?

[Zincubus]

Anybody know which is a better substrate? Obviously I do not want mites and want a substrate that is easy to maintain a constant humidity.
Any thoughts?

I've mentioned elsewhere that whilst Eco-Earth is great for holding moisture it did get everywhere ....on the viv sides and everywhere else when I had my BRB out . I solved the issue by having a thick , rooted layer of lush moss growing on top of the damp Eco- earth.

[KMG]

Thank you for your input. BTW, how do you like your Blood Python?

You mean my four Bloods? I have one big female around 6ft and 30 pounds. She is a big puppy dog most of the time. My other three are younger but have settled down nicely and are well mannered most of the time as well. I like the Bloods thick build and beautiful patterns.

[Sauzo]

I personally like aspen but if I had to choose between the 2 listed, I would use cypress mulch. I used Eco Earth for a year and that stuff is a freakin mess. Sticks to everything, gets dusty when dried, can mold despite people saying it cant. I've never used cypress mulch but I have heard people say they have gotten bags with wood mites in them. Some people will freeze the bags, spray them with PaM or bake them in the oven but like I said, I've never used the stuff. I stick with paper towels for QT and aspen for my their normal substrate.

[Reinz]

I don't understand the dust issues folks are having with Eco Earth.

I've been using it for a few years and have never had a problem.

When you first "install", it is dusty, so all you do is hyper mist. Then pour water all around to pack it down and that's it!
Then do your maintenance humidity and it will stay like a packed clay.

It is awesome.

It's great for ease of regulating humidity as well.

And feeding time - no junk in the mouth!

[LivingwithBalls]

I don't understand the dust issues folks are having with Eco Earth.

I've been using it for a few years and have never had a problem.

When you first "install", it is dusty, so all you do is hyper mist. Then pour water all around to pack it down and that's it!
Then do your maintenance humidity and it will stay like a packed clay.

It is awesome.

It's great for ease of regulating humidity as well.

And feeding time - no junk in the mouth!

Not the dust that's the problem, it's so messy and way too sticky!


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[Sauzo]

I don't understand the dust issues folks are having with Eco Earth.

I've been using it for a few years and have never had a problem.

When you first "install", it is dusty, so all you do is hyper mist. Then pour water all around to pack it down and that's it!
Then do your maintenance humidity and it will stay like a packed clay.

It is awesome.

It's great for ease of regulating humidity as well.

And feeding time - no junk in the mouth!

I had it packed down before and it actually grew mold. It was white like moth balls but harder and gooey. It also smelled kind of musty. I had to do a full sanitizing. It also started growing mold on the wood logs I had in there which I threw out. The problem for me was in winter, it is dry here so I would have to constantly spray it down. I personally don't have humidity issues anyways even using aspen so other than the humidity reason, Eco Earth has no real positives to it especially over cypress mulch except the cost I guess.

And the dust issue I had was if i let it dry out at all, I would have to completely soak it again since it seemed the stuff worked great as long as you didn't let it dry out at all, otherwise it seemed to take a ton more water to rehydrate it. Again for me aspen is better as I tend to completely change the bedding every 2 months or less anyways.

As for junk in the mouth, my red tail boa has eaten bits of aspen here and there even though I use a dish to feed her. She just poops it out I'm assuming as I have never seen a problem.

[LivingwithBalls]

'Oh yes the mold....


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