Cypress Mulch

[EsotericForest]

I'm a member of Geckos Unlimited, and on there I had a lot of suggestions to use cypress mulch as a bedding for my pictus gecko. I was told that you could easily buy untreated cypress mulch at your local hardware store for a cheaper price, so I ended up getting some and it seems to work fine for my gecko. While cruising around the corn snake forums I have noticed it brought up that you can use cypress bedding, and I was wondering if I could also use this cypress mulch for my corn snake.

Regards,
Josh

 

[Bartholomew]

Most recommend aspen, as do I. It is cheap, totally safe, and easy to find. Other perfectly acceptable forms of substrate include but are not limited to Reptibark, newspaper, newsprint, paper towels, Eco-earth (or similar substrates like bed-a-beast) and cypress mulch. You should not use cedar, pine, sand, gravel, or astroturf. Cedar and pine are toxic to small animals and the others are either irritating to the snake or harbor bacteria and are very difficult to clean.

This was on the "Husbandry and Basic Care" FAQ's.
Hope this helps.

 

[ceduke]

You absolutely can use cypress mulch for corns.

 

[EsotericForest]

Excellent . I just like the look of cypress mulch better, and I already have a huge bag of it haha. I thought it would be fine, but just needed to double check. Thank you for the replies.

Regards,
Josh

 

[ShenziSixaxis]

I may have to give this a try.

EsotericForest, how dusty is it for you?

 

[bondoron]

Cypress is fine to use as a substrate. The problem with it is the fact that it holds moisture. Aspen will dry out, but the cypress will hold it. In fact cypress is usually wet when you get it. So the stuff is great for animals that need higher humidity, not so good for ones that don't need it however. I would never use it for corns. If however you want to try it make sure you dry it before you put in the enclosure. Also keep an eye on things and make sure it doesn't get too humid.

 

[RobbiesCornField]

I've used it for corns, and had absolutely no issues with it.
I microwave it first to kill any little nasty critters that might be hiding out in there, though.

 

[EsotericForest]

It's not very hard to dry it out first, so that isn't so much of a big deal for me.

ShenzSixaxis, I've never had a problem with it being dusty.

 

[2ndChildhood]

Some of the older forum posts have pointed out to verify that it is 100% cypress mulch and not some sort of blend that has other types of wood added in.

 

[EsotericForest]

How would you go about verifying that? The bag just said cypress mulch on it from what I can see...would it say?

 

[RobbiesCornField]

How would you go about verifying that? The bag just said cypress mulch on it from what I can see...would it say?

The bag might look something like this:

CYPRESS MULCH









with natural forest blend​

Ya see how they get ya? LOL

 

[EsotericForest]

Oh nice haha. I am questioning because this bag of cypress I bought today seems to have more of an odor than I thought I remember it having...but I can't find anything on the bag that would hint there's something else in it.

 

[ShenziSixaxis]

ShenzSixaxis, I've never had a problem with it being dusty.

I will try this then. Aspen bugs the crap out of my sinuses and lungs (nasal/bronchial allergies and asthma, yaaaaay).



Also, I'll make sure I don't get a blend. Yay stupid companies thinking we want cypress mixed with junk. DX

 

[2ndChildhood]

I can't find the post that I saw that in (search provided 186 threads!) but I seem to recall that he may have noticed a different smell or appearance when he purchased a new bag, so called the manufacturer and found that it was indeed a blend. I wish I could find that because I recall he did find one manufacturer that said their's was 100% cypress and posted the brand name.

 

[EsotericForest]

Now you have me worried...so let me try just that and see where it gets me