Moss

[Donna]

I was just wondering what type of moss people use in a hide box for shedding, and where to find it.

I looked at the garden store near my home but alot of the plants looked like they had bugs and spiders, not a very clean store. I am very wary of purchasing from them. Does it come Dry? How long can I use it before I need to dispose of it? (if it isn't pooed on) Also where do I find it parisite free? Or do I have to clean it? Or can I just wet it with water that contains GSE? The pet store in my area does not sell anything specifically for snakes. I think I am the only one to own a snake in my town.

I also know that I can use wet paper towel, but won't that get to cold if on the cooler side and dry out too fast on the hot side?

Sorry for the mass of questions, but I do need to get some moss before her next shed. My first shed was a bad one I don't want a repeat.

 

[Canadain Eh?]

To tell you the truth I don't even use moss. I don't even know what the **** it's for. As long as you have fake plants I think your snake will be fine.

 

[Gregg]

I use paper towels...

for a substrate. It's easier for me to clean up and replace. I switched because I was worrying too much about my snakes ingesting wood shavings.

Paper towels may cost more; I don't know; I haven't figured that out, but they sure are convenient. I try to buy them in bulk, whenever I can.

 

[Donna]

Sorry I didn't meam moss for substrate. I meant moss for the hide box for shedding.

I had a bit of a hard time her first shed it came of in about 10 to 15 peices. I was hoping a moist hide would help her shed better. Get the humidity up, at least in the hide.

I went back and edited the starting thread.

 

[13mur 6]

Actually, damp paper towels are fine if you rewet them occasionally. Just put them in a container where the water vapor won't evaporate too quick (like a tupperware container with a hole in it so your snake can crawl in).

I've found spanish moss to be pretty good also, if you want to use moss. It has a sweet smell, and I think it has antibacterial, antifungal properties of its own. I bought it from my local hardware store (yeah, that would've been the last place I looked), and they sold it in little plastic bags and it comes dried (they also sell grass seeds, mowing equipment, fertilizer and a tone of insecticide). Sphagnum is also pretty good, and it hold more moisture than spanish moss because of it's "fuzziness"?

The mosses however do have drawbacks. They have alot of pieces that come off and get all over your tank (very apparent if you use paper towel substrate). You also need to change it once in a while (I used to change once a week) or the moss gets kinda yucky.

I usually put my damp hides in the midde of the tank, neither hot nor cold. Hot will dry things out fast, cold will give the snake a tummy ache if she goes in there right after eating.

-13mur 6

 

[pinatamonkey]

Yeah, sphagnum moss is a mess. Whenever I take some out of the bag (dry) it gets all over the place. When it's damp, it's not that bad, though.

Has anyone else thought that sphagnum moss smells kind of like brown sugar? The stuff I have does, at least?

 

[13mur 6]

Yeah, for some reason the dried mosses smell sweet. I thought it was spanish moss only, but I guess sphagnum smells sweet too.

-13mur 6

 

[Donna]

Thank you

I'm Driving to Halifax today, (2.5 hours) I'll look when I get there. Mind you spanish or sphagnum, I'll take what I can find. Two choices maybe I'll find one

Yeah who would have thought a hardware store go figure.