where to get moss for humidity chamber

Hey all.. I'm wanting to give my blood pythons some nice moss for their humidity chambers in their cages. I wonder if anyone knows a good place to get some (either online or possibly stores that usually have it)

I imagine I'd have to change it out pretty frequently (bloods like to pee a lot) so I'm looking to get bigger quantities at a good price.

Any ideas are appreciated.

Ja for the bloods!

I usually get mine here
http://www.mosserlee.com/products/lfsm.html

https://www.secureserver.com/mosserlee/orderonline.html - the long-fibered.

Lowes or Home Depot will redily have chilian LFS aswell. Do not get the stuff listed for orchids because its much more expencive and its bleached to give it a nice color. Of course unless you want the nice look. The other LFS (long fiber sphagnum) moss is used for a soil adative but its the same things smulkin pointed to in the first link. I use it for orchids all the time. This stuff is suposed to be sterile, but there is a fungus that lives in the LFS.

"Growers may have concerns about the rare but serious disease called Cutaneous sporotrichosis. Also known as “sporo,” this is a fungal infection that can be contracted through cuts and scratches in the skin while handling sphagnum moss—the living moss that grows on top of a sphagnum bog and is used in the floral industry to line wire baskets and make wreaths. Living sphagnum moss is removed prior to the harvest of the underlying sphagnum peat, which is dead material and no longer supports or harbors the fungus. There is no hazard of contracting Cutaneous sporotrichosis through the handling of sphagnum peat moss"

Even though it is rare, when I took a class on repotting orchids the grower told me its a good idea to wear gloves when handeling the rewetted LFS moss. As i said again i do not want to alarm anyone, but this is out there.

Thanks! I wonder how much I should get.. what size do you usually get, and how long does that last?

Ah.. I'll check home depot too. I guess it would be with the garden stuff?

Yes April it should be, but reread the post I edited it.

The stuff should last a while for you it rewets well, but if it gets totaly dry it may take a min to reabsorb. In orchids it can last 6 months to a year, but its still good it just gets compacted from watering and looses the airpockets it provides. Oxygen is very important to orchid roots.

There's always something to worry about isn't there? lol

Yes there is. More than likely everything will be fine. They used to use this stuff as a war bandage in the world wars because it does have antibacterial properties. The only thing to worry about is that one thing I posted. It may never happen, and I am not trying to alarm anyone. I just want folks to be aware if any kind of skin infection does occure for an unknown reason this might be something to check if LFS is used. More than likely it will almost never happen, but there is that 1 in a million chance it will. With my luck sometimes I will be that one out of a million, but if needed I do not think it will stop me from using it. At the moment I am trying to combat too high of a humidity. I will be adding more holes tomorrow.

or you could use paper towels! they stay well moisted and when they get soiled the color shows!

I hear they don't hold the humidity as well. The herp room is real dry during the winter.. I think I'd have to rewet them daily.

April you could also use an ultrasonic humidifyer in a seperate containersetup and pipe the humid air into the needed cages. I know this is drastic, but its an Idea. Or you can get a GH fogger and pipe the humid fog into the needed cages for the short periods of time the humidity needs to be raised.

Just an interesting offside on this moss thread but the First Nations people of Canada have for eons of time used this moss as a wound treatment, as a natural diaper for their infants and for women's sanitary needs. There are some communities that to this day gather the moss, clean it, dry it and package it for sale to natural foods type stores for these same purposes. Quite a nice little cottage type industry in some of the northern communities.


~~Jo~~

I'll be ordering a big bale this week - they usually last me a good while - especially if things int he house aren't so arid I can just fill a large catbox sized bin with the moist stuff.

Wow, that really sounds like great stuff, rare infection dealie aside... I use a touch of Fluker's moss in little prince Falkor's hides and he really likes it, moves it around, redecorates, builds forts, snuggles under it, rests his chin on it... And reading this it just occurred to me that it's something he likes *and* would show up beautifully against. Is moss a viable substrate? I mean, not just for humidity chambers but for the main bottom of the tank substrate? If you only wet spots when needed, to avoid belly rot... Is there a reason noone talks about using it as a substrate? Would it be a total pain to spot clean?