Does wild moss work in terrariums?

[Rstrui]

hey i have an incredible killer bee (irregular) who i keep in a large low terrarium. he isnt that old soi i was worried at first but after cluttering it up he seemed fine. i have humidity problems in this thing seeing as i live in the east bay california. if i wild catch moss and clean it of foreign contaminates can i put it in his tank to help with humidity?

[KMG]

I think moss is cheap enough that I would rather pay for it and know for sure its clean.

[Rstrui]

what if i bought some frog moss then used that to grow more in potting soil

[KMG]

http://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Terrar...ords=frog+moss

I use that. It last me a long time. I only throw it out if it gets super soiled but usually the snakes keep it pretty clean.

[distaff]

I just use moistened bricks of "frog" moss. Easy. I have some Spagnum on order. These will hold moisture well even if not alive and green. I found pillow moss to be pretty, but problematic - the snakes burrowed under and tossed it around like...pillows. In my experience, mosses don't do well consistently displaced like that. My understanding is that mosses from temperate locations require a cold spell anyway to live long term. The green mosses that are sold for terrariums are supposedly from tropical climates. (...not sure I buy that story; but, that's the story.)

You can grow moss from a purchased slurry, but even NE Herpetoculture cautions that the process can be tricky.

[distaff]

what if i bought some frog moss then used that to grow more in potting soil

While it is advertised that it can re-grow, I haven't ever had a crop of more of it show up.
Because it looks good, I use it around the base of many of my terrarium plants. It holds lots of moisture - just break chunks off from the brick, and fluff them out in a bowl with some water. The stuff is pretty cheap, and even a little swells up to considerably more volume.