cypress mulch?

i recently bought a bag of cypress mulch for my retics, and for some reason i believe its to rough of a substrate. my retics seem like they arent as active as if they were on another substrate. their belly scales are really dry and seems like they are breaking or somthing? anybody know what thats called?
and should i discontinue the use of it and go back to the aspen beading?

thanks

I've never had that experience with cypress mulch. Is the mulch dry? (it usually is not) I can't help but wonder if maybe it was treated with something...If they are behaving differently, esp less active, and showing signs of problems - I would discontinue use just to be on the safe side

Originally Posted by futureherpbreeder

their belly scales are really dry and seems like they are breaking or somthing?

This sounds like thier bellies are burned. Do you have a heating pad or some form of under tank heat device? If so, I'd check the temperature on that.

Really newspaper is best for anything with size with pythons. I agree it sounds like a thermal burn though.

i dont have a under tank heater in theres. and when i do use them, i have my thermostats hooked up.
today i switched it back 2 my normal substrate, and they seem to be just fine now.
maybe i got a bad batch of mulch?
but thanks for the info.

I hate to say this but something smells fishy here. What the heck?
Since when does "their belly scales are really dry and seems like they are breaking or somthing" resolve in a few hours after a substrate change?

cypress was to dry or to wet ?

good news .
i found out they had a bad shed, so put them in big rubber made tubs with luke warm water and a towel, and what i was seeing that looked like "broken scales" was old skin.
it confused me when they did shed, i thought it was complete. but i was wrong.
so maybe them becoming less active was do to them being irritated or somthin. and also i just put them together to try and breed them for the first time, so maybe their a little confused like me.