Is pine really that bad/

[MarkS]

I don't have time to read the whole thread, but why not use cypress? Covers up smells, mold resistant, helps with humidity.

'Pure' cypress is almost impossible to find up here in the north, it's all a blend and you don't know what it's blended with (the bag usually says 'other forest products') I would not use it unless I knew exactly what was in it. I used to use it when you could still get pure cypress and it worked great, probably my favorite of the wood substrates but like I said, I won't use it anymore unless I knew exactly what was in it.

Ceder IS dangerous, I've personally seen animals that were kept on ceder that died very quickly, I used to have a carpet python that had been kept on ceder for only a short time and she had neurological problems for the rest of her life.

There is NOTHING wrong with using pine. Internet rumor is always saying that there are studies proving that it is bad, but for some reason nobody can actually find any of those studies, I have never seen one and I have looked, yet the rumors persist. I've used pine many times in the past, I know keepers (yes even BIG breeders) who have been using it continuously for decades.

I'm 'Up North' myself (where exactly 'Up North' are you?). I've been able to find shredded aspen very cheaply at Mills Fleet Farm being sold as horse bedding. I've used that quite a bit also.

I'm not currently using wood products because I just don't like the way I'm always getting wood chips all over the floor in my herp room. Other than that, wood works well. I'm currently using something called Bogus Paper (for some reason, I alway keep hearing Keanu Reeves voice in my head everytime I say that ) It's thicker and more absorbent than newspaper and so far I haven't come up with any detractors for it.