Moss question

Could this work in place of sphagnum moss? it says in the description that it's broom moss, and one or two of the customer reviews say they use it with their snakes
Opinions?
https://www.chewy.com/flukers-live-m...7-oz/dp/129161

just bumping this because I still need opinions lol

It's for hermit crabs, which I've never kept, so I don't know if they need humidity or not? That would be your answer...if they need moisture, then this variety
of moss holds humidity (as I suspect it does). Moss gets marketed under different names & this appears perfectly safe for snakes in any case.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

It's for hermit crabs, which I've never kept, so I don't know if they need humidity or not? That would be your answer...if they need moisture, then this variety
of moss holds humidity (as I suspect it does). Moss gets marketed under different names & this appears perfectly safe for snakes in any case.

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Thanks for the reply! I just did a quick search & apparently they DO need pretty high humidity
I think I might order some of this and try it out (or just see if I can find some moss on amazon lol)

It looks like this should work in place of sphagnum moss. The package says this is a live moss, so as you keep it misted I would assume you would see some growth as well. Not sure how fast moss grows though. :confusd:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dianne

It looks like this should work in place of sphagnum moss. The package says this is a live moss, so as you keep it misted I would assume you would see some growth as well. Not sure how fast moss grows though. :confusd:

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I saw that too, & that's the part that confuses me, the "live moss" notation. Recently there was another thread about similar kind of moss- one that forms living
mounds- & while it's perfectly safe for reptiles, it actually draws IN moisture (to live on). :confusd: Whereas sphagnum moss soaks up moisture (almost like a sponge)
and releases it to the air; when it dries out, you re-soak it & re-use it.

Speaking of which, why not just buy a natural sponge?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

I saw that too, & that's the part that confuses me, the "live moss" notation. Recently there was another thread about similar kind of moss- one that forms living
mounds- & while it's perfectly safe for reptiles, it actually draws IN moisture (to live on). :confusd: Whereas sphagnum moss soaks up moisture (almost like a sponge)
and releases it to the air; when it dries out, you re-soak it & re-use it.

Speaking of which, why not just buy a natural sponge?

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I have a friend with hermit crabs, so I’ve heard her talk about they need a moist environment...but that is the limit of my knowledge. This seems different than the mounding moss from the other post, but don’t really know enough about the living mosses for terrariums to speak with any confidence. When I’ve used moss, I always went with the tried and true sphagnum moss...easy to get around here.

A sponge would be a good idea, particularly if you’re just going for a humid hide. Right now I have a little container with wet towels in Belle’s cage because the drop in humidity from the heat has given her a stuck shed. I’ll soak if I need to, but I’m trying to let her do it on her own first. She’s fussy enough about feeding without me adding any additional stress. On the plus side, she’s eaten 3 f/t hoppers in a row. Yay, no more live fuzzies!