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Sphagnum Moss

jen murphy

jen murphy

New member
This may seem like a silly question...but where do you guys get sphagnum moss? I just went to the pet store and they didn't have any, they sold other kinds and some unlabeled stuff, but I want to make sure I get the right thing.
 
The long fiber / uncut stuff, right?

Some Lowe's/Home Depot carry the small compressed bags, but you can usually get the large bales from plant nursuries / landscaping companies and/or some feed stores that carry garden supplies. I've gotten them from both places, but I get mine now from a Producer's Co-op.

KJ
 
jen murphy said:
This may seem like a silly question...but where do you guys get sphagnum moss? I just went to the pet store and they didn't have any, they sold other kinds and some unlabeled stuff, but I want to make sure I get the right thing.
Click to expand...

I haven't found any at the large Chain Pet Stores around here (Columbia SC), but there are two locally owned Stores here and they have it. I use this with my large snake. I have a small box I made inside her Viv with Sphagnum moss inside it. She loves that stuff.
 
I have purchased mine from WalMart, in the garden center. It is seasonal and they should be coming back out with it soon.

Good Luck,

Wayne
 
If the store carries orchids and orchid supplies, then they usually have the sphagnum moss. The better quality moss may be labeled as "orchid moss". depending upon the brand.

As a side, I usually have no trouble finding it at any time of the year (may be because I'm in Florida). but this year, I did have some trouble. Walmart didn't have any at all, Home Depot only had 3 small and very dusty bags that had fallen off the back of their shelf (moss was still fine), and Lowes didn't have their usual amount either. I purchased all I could find and haven't had a chance to check if they restocked their shelves. The current economy might be having an effect on the availability of our much needed moss.
 
Thanks everyone. I guess I was just looking in the wrong places. I checked our local hardware store, but they don't have any. I am sure I can pick some up at wal-mart, home depot or lowes.

I dremel'd a hole in a clay pot and I'm working on a shed box thinger. I used the dremel to make a door and to grind the sharp edges off & also off the hole in the top.

The clay pot humidifier idea was genius, whoever posted that somewhere on this forum. Whoever you are, thanks! I managed to get the humidity up to 65% max.
 
That's the same exact stuff we got at Lowe's and it works great. Relatively cheap, too. I think it was $3 for a pretty decent size bag.
 
MinLynn said:
That's the same exact stuff we got at Lowe's and it works great. Relatively cheap, too. I think it was $3 for a pretty decent size bag.
Click to expand...

Lol! The pet trade is ridiculous! Petco sells "New Zealand Sphagnum Moss" by ZooMed at $14 for a very small bag--maybe the size of a brick? It's the only stuff I've seen yet sold for pets.
 
Floof said:
Lol! The pet trade is ridiculous! Petco sells "New Zealand Sphagnum Moss" by ZooMed at $14 for a very small bag--maybe the size of a brick? It's the only stuff I've seen yet sold for pets.
Click to expand...

wow, what a ripoff!

i will try my luck at the store likely sometime this week, or next weekend, and if no luck i'll order it online.
 
jen murphy said:
wow, what a ripoff!

i will try my luck at the store likely sometime this week, or next weekend, and if no luck i'll order it online.
Click to expand...

Cool, I really like the Mosser Lee stuff. Its very soft and doesn't feel dry or brittle. I bought another bag of it yesterday for about 6 bucks. On line was a bit wee cheaper but to be honest, it weights next to nothing so it should be pretty cheap for shipping.
 
Floof said:
Lol! The pet trade is ridiculous! Petco sells "New Zealand Sphagnum Moss" by ZooMed at $14 for a very small bag--maybe the size of a brick? It's the only stuff I've seen yet sold for pets.
Click to expand...

jen murphy said:
wow, what a ripoff!

i will try my luck at the store likely sometime this week, or next weekend, and if no luck i'll order it online.
Click to expand...

Yep

Paid $11 for a small bag of it at one of the local pet stores here as well.
I wasn't aware that Wal-Mart carried it, but I'll try there next time I
get ready to buy a bag.
 
I used to get my moss at the gardening center of hardware stores, although lately it's been scarce. Egg season doesn't overlap well with gardening season, I guess >:/
I did recently get a 1 lb bag of (dry) moss for $21.98 (including shipping) off ebay. I've been quite happy with it, although it's hard for me to compare the price with the gardening center bags I got because a) I forget what I paid for those (a little over $5, I think) and b) the units are totally different, in cubic cm or something rather than by weight. Arg!

I did find the garden center moss gets mold or fungus sometimes, and I usually have to bake it for a while to sterilize it. I've had zero issues with stuff growing in the bag of moss I got off ebay, so far :)
 
I managed to pick up some (some being 500 g) at the reptile expo the other day for $19. Looks like pretty good stuff. I think this should hold me over for a while!

So um, my guy is blue, has been for a day or two. When should I put in a mossy hide...now or in a few days?
 
Wade....

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sphagnum

Incidentally, it is not always labelled with the word "sphagnum". And I do not know why. But once you've seen it and smelled it, you'll know it the next time you see & smell it. I like mosses and the way they smell. Live sphagnum growing in a bog is absolutely beautiful. Green and soft.

I have bought Exo Terra brand "Forest Moss" from "tropical Asia" at PetSmart, in a 2-pack for $8.99. That is, two dry compressed bricks that you rehydrate in water, when you're ready to use. I bought it the first time because I had never seen it there. I plan to communicate to them to please keep it in stock. I have 17 snakes, 2008's, and for my purposes, is a reasonable quantity, in a reasonable form, at a reasonable price. (Apartment living, etc.) It is not sphagnum, but it smells good, anyway.

I keep at least two hides in my vivs, sometimes three. And one is always a moist, mossy hide. Moisture just at the time of shed is good, but moisture any time the snake wants it is even better. A snakes shed is a cumulative process of everything since his last shed.

I'm sure some of the larger scale breeders who have already posted have excellent advice on most quantity for lowest price.
 
Last edited:
jen murphy said:
This may seem like a silly question...but where do you guys get sphagnum moss? I just went to the pet store and they didn't have any, they sold other kinds and some unlabeled stuff, but I want to make sure I get the right thing.
Click to expand...

I just saw some at Walmart. I hear Lowe's and Home Depot carry it. Oh and probably Sutherland's.
 
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