Big changes in the setup today...hope it works out

[jack jones]

So tonight I did my first tank tear down. I got rid of the aspen bedding and put in some Forest Floor cypress mulch. I spritzed it and put everything back together. The humidity is amazing with that stuff.

In addition, I put away my reptile basic black hides and put in two Exo Terra medium size reptile cages. My Percy is about 7 months old. I hope these will be big enough for him.

I fed him separately while I did all this. Since I've put him back he's been wandering all about. He burrowed a bit in the cypress, went in and out of the hides briefly. He's quite unsettled right now.

Lot of changes to dump on him all at once. I hope he adjusts quick and that I didn't give him a tummy ache.

[Sauzo]

Wow you ditched the Reptile Basic hides? I love those things and aspen too. My BP loves them too but my sunglow could less and to her, they are just perches lol. Just be sure your snake has somewhere it can get to that is dry so it doesn't have to sit on wet/damp substrate 24/7. That combined with a lost poopie in the cypress and high temps/humidity is just asking for bacteria/scalerot. Anyways good luck and I hear good things about cypress. Just the stuff is too expensive for my cheap butt as I just toss out all my snakes' substrates every month anyways and do full cleanings. Doing that with that forest floor stuff would run me $60 a month in just substrate lol.

[jack jones]

I only have the one herp so I used half the bag and will have half for next month. I figure $10 every two months isn't bad.

When I put him right back in her burrowed all around in it. He finally made his way into the cool side hide and pushed the moss I had placed in there right in front of the opening. I suspect that's his Do Not Disturb sign. Tomorrow I will take him out if I haven't seen him by then and double check the dampness in the hides and the moss, etc... Don't want any issues.

The cypress is just a much better substrate from what I can tell. It smells better, it keeps moisture better, and it looks better. The caves look good on that. I just thought the other hides were too boxy and large. It left very little room for anything else.

On the plus side, I have not had to add any moss or spritz the tank more than once since Sunday to get humidity into the range. That's pretty cool.

[lorrainesmom]

I really like the look of cypress as well, and used it in my glass tanks. Once I went to an Animal Plastics enclosure, however, it was a totally different outcome. The cypress was damp when I put it in the tank and my humidity went to 99% right away. The glass fogged up so much that it looked like car windows at a drive in theatre, (if anyone remembers those) I had to remove the bedding and bake it in the oven to even dry it out enough to use at all. After that experience it's aspen for Lorraine from now on, no matter how good the cypress looks!

[jack jones]

My plan is to upgrade to an AP T8 at the beginning of next year. However, with all the add-ons and radiant panels it won't be the cheapest, so it is a future deal. I may also look at other setups. Showcase cages looked pretty neat.

Turns out he seemed to be going into a shed. I checked up on him Tuesday night because I hadn't seen him and he was in-blue. Haven't seen him since. We'll see if he comes out over the weekend since that's his usual feeding time. This will be his first shed since I've got him.

[Snoopyslim]

Good luck to Percy and yourself with the first shed! It was such a victory for me as an owner when it comes off in one piece. Plus it was so neat to watch her rubbing her nose on everything in sight! Lucky for us she still ate and was pleasant to handle during the shed.

Sounds like you have a really nice setup! I use expandable coco husk and recently bought the exo terra caves for Valentine's hides. It looks like a jungle in there now, so cool. I too only have one herp and kind of like to "pimp out" her cage.