Cypress Mulch

[BladeGypsy]

I have a couple bags of Zoo Med “Forest Floor Bedding - 100% Natural Cypress Mulch”, 1 dry quart each that came with a couple enclosures I purchased. I’ve done some reading up on the material and it seems to be a negative thing to use in general. Am I incorrect? Is it positive to use for ANY invertebrate? If so, what? And if not, does anyone know why the companies even bother to produce it? Respectfully and Thank you. -Gypsy

 

[cold blood]

does anyone know why the companies even bother to produce it?

its fine for vertebrates as far as i know.

 

[BladeGypsy]

^Ok, thank you.
Specifically, why not good for invertebrates?

 

[cold blood]

Mulch is harsh and sharp and unsuitable for burrowing....and I believe (I may be mistaken) it has a repellant quality for insects....hopefully I will get corrected if I am wrong on that.

@boina

 

[boina]

Cypress is a hard wood that is very resistant to biodegradation. That's why it is turned into mulch - the mulch will stay mulch for a long time before it degrades to soil. Cypress also contains terpenes, i.e. essential oils. Those have proven antibacterial activity, a property that makes it a good choice for sensitive reptiles when you want to keep the bacterial load of the environment low. These specific terpenes will also repell some insects, but usually not arachnids.

The bad thing about cypress mulch is that it is very hard, as mentioned above, and the splinters can be really sharp. That makes it an extremely bad choice for animals living on it, especially tarantulas - they can easily injure themselves on the sharp splinters and the shifting nature of mulch as a substrate makes it more difficult for them to walk and especially hunt on. The quick hunting action can also lead to injuries on the stuff. It may be possible to use the stuff for purely arboreal tarantulas, like Avics, since they are probably not sensitive to the terpenes and are definitly less inclined to walk on it, but there's also much better substrate choices for Avics.

It should be avoided for all ground dwelling insects, especially pedes who may even try to eat the stuff. I'm not sure about scorps, i don't know enough about those, but I'm sure it's not the best possible substrate. You may try it as a substrate for mantids that may or may not feel repelled by it, but again, it may work but I'm sure there's more suitable stuff.

And that's the long and the short of it: It may work for some inverts but I can think of something better in every case.