cypress mulch

Gaboon · 01-02-04, 10:39 PM

Im switching from newspaper to cypress mulch tomorrow for my BP and my IJ mainly for the extra humidity it will bring.

I hear people say you should bake it first to kill the bugs but how long should i bake it and at what temp?

Tim and Julie B · 01-02-04, 10:46 PM

You can also soak it in boiled water then rinse it, put it in the freezer overnight, and thaw it out and dry it the next day. Kills everything.

Julie

Linds · 01-02-04, 10:55 PM

I don't usually bother with trying to kill off everything anymore. It's really up to you, there shouldn't be anything that will harm your snake in there, just be more of a nuissance to you if you don't like the idea of little bugs.

~Suntiger~ · 01-02-04, 10:57 PM

I've used cypress mulch for ages, and have never seen any bugs, at least not yet that is!

Linds · 01-02-04, 11:03 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by ~Suntiger~
I've used cypress mulch for ages, and have never seen any bugs, at least not yet that is!

Maybe it's some sort of a batch thing? I don't know how they process the stuff, but maybe that is of some sort of influence. The last time I had seen wood mites were in coconut husk substrate last year, and the time before that was 2 years prior in shagnum moss. Funny enough though it seems more common in the barks you get at pet stores than in garden center purchases.

Stockwell · 01-03-04, 03:21 AM

I never sterilize any substate, branches, bark or mulch...
It's not necessary.
One caution on Cypress...it contains long tooth pic shards... I've lost a couple snakes that ingested those.
I don't recommend feeding on it.

Landscape bark, marketed as "Western Bark" was my substrate of choice for many years... It offers good exercise and has no sharp bits.. It can also be spot cleaned, and smells great. It's sequoia I believe(redwood)
I stopped using it because it's expensive for a large collection, and yes, It would bring in flies.
Both Cypress, and bark chips, are usually kept outside in garden centres. The bags have small vent holes and that's what allows the odd bug in.
The bugs are not harmful, but when your herp room is full of them, it gets annoying.

For those that wish too, small amounts of substrate can be boiled quickly in the Microwave.
Put it in a plastic bag and spray some water on it before Nuc-ing it a couple minutes on high.
( not convenient for large cages or big collections)

Gaboon · 01-03-04, 01:41 PM

Thanks for all the replies.

I feed all my snakes in rubbermaid tubs with no bedding so ingesting the mulch shouldnt be a problem. Since it's winter wouldnt the bugs be dead considering my home depot has the mulch outside.

41mag · 01-03-04, 01:47 PM

i use cypress also.works great.if i'm feeling especially paranoid then i treat it with Provent-A-Mite before using it.

Mr.Lizard · 01-03-04, 03:40 PM

I hihgly recommend shredded corn-cob! jk

Man,can you believe they actually used to sell that stuff....I wonder how many impaction deaths resulted before they pulled that stuff off the market.
I've tried the cypress mulch...looks nice,smells good,I got roaches crawling around in it so I stopped using it.
A friend of mine still uses it with no problems tho'.