diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 9c6204e..a7df95a 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -12,3 +12,4 @@ node_modules
 .DS_Store
 ._.DS_Store
 docs/tutorials/mouse_biccn.ipynb
+docs/tutorials/.ipynb_checkpoints
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/crested/_io.py b/src/crested/_io.py
index 5700a60..56234af 100644
--- a/src/crested/_io.py
+++ b/src/crested/_io.py
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ def _read_consensus_regions(
 ) -> pd.DataFrame:
     """Read consensus regions BED file and filter out regions not within chromosomes."""
     consensus_peaks = pd.read_csv(
-        regions_file, sep="\t", header=None, usecols=[0, 1, 2]
+        regions_file, sep="\t", header=None, usecols=[0, 1, 2], dtype={0: str, 1: 'Int32', 2: 'Int32'}
     )
     consensus_peaks["region"] = (
         consensus_peaks[0].astype(str)