de-lousing spray to kill bugs in cypress mulch?

[preston897]

i know a snake breeder, i got my carpet python from him, that uses cypress mulch for his large breeding cages. i use it in my cages as well. he said he uses de-lousing spray to kill the bugs. he puts the mulch in a tote and sprays it down really good then lets it sit for like a day or two. does anyone have any experience with this? the oven method seems way too difficult. baking enough mulch to fill a 6x3 cage 11" deep seems very difficult. does anyone have any other suggestions?

 

[lazyjr52]

I tried "bulk" cypress mulch and had problems with bugs. I tried baking the mulch and it was just way too much to bake. I never tried any chemicals, instead I just went with aspen and haven't had any problems.

 

[KSTAR]

isn't aspen bad to keep tegus in? Ive heard that it becomes to dusty and can cause respiratory infections....

 

[preston897]

ive never heard of it getting dusty. i used to use it with my snakes and it was great. its just expensive.

 

[lazyjr52]

isn't aspen bad to keep tegus in? Ive heard that it becomes to dusty and can cause respiratory infections....

I have been keeping them on it for over a year and haven't had any issues. It is dry and dusty, but so is cypress mulch and and eco earth when it is dry. I mist their cages every other day and both cages stay over 65% humidity. I should have also added that I mix in moss in their hide boxes.

ive never heard of it getting dusty. i used to use it with my snakes and it was great. its just expensive.

I buy big bags from petsmart for about $12 a bag and I only need about 3 bags to fill one cage. You can order it online also and shipping is'nt that expensive because aspen is so light in weight.

 

[preston897]

and you dont get the issue with wood mites in aspen correct? does it go flat with the tegu walking on it? i plan on using 11" of substrate in my tegus cage. so thats alot of aspen.

 

[lazyjr52]

Definatley no mites, the aspen I buy has already been treated and safe to usefor pets. It does compact after being walked on. But that is a good thing becase it holds burrows really well.

 

[preston897]

do you just buy the big square bags of aspen shavings?

 

[lazyjr52]

Yes. They were the 2 cubic feet bags if I'm not mistaken.

 

[preston897]

ok cool. thankyou very much. im going to try the aspen. how does it hold humidity?

 

[lazyjr52]

It holds humidity very well. I mist the cages about evry other day.

 

[preston897]

awsome! thankyou very much. im going to try that for my snakes and the tegu. i never thought of using the small animal aspen for my reptiles. all i thought about was the snake aspen you can get. that stuff is pricey