Sphagnum Peat Moss and Reptibark

[Gaby-PR]

Hi everyone!

I'm about to create a new indoor enclosure for redfoot tortoises.
I bought ZooMed reptibark (I used it before and liked it, i'ts just soooo expensive)
And I also bought Sphagnum Peat Moss (never tried it before)
I plan to put the Sphagnum Peat Moss on the bottom and the reptibark on top.

It's that ok?
Do you use Spagnum Peat Moss? What's your experience with it?

 

[wellington]

I wouldn't use it. It will mold. I used it once when my leopard was little. It got tangled on his legs, he tried to eat it and it got moldy when I tried to keep it wet to raise humidity. Because RF need a high humidity, but are prone to shell rot, it's suggested to keep the top layer of substrate dry, while wetting the bottom layer, by pouring warm water into the corners, where in your case would keep the moss very wet and probably would mold

 

[lisa127]

I wouldn't use it. It will mold. I used it once when my leopard was little. It got tangled on his legs, he tried to eat it and it got moldy when I tried to keep it wet to raise humidity. Because RF need a high humidity, but are prone to shell rot, it's suggested to keep the top layer of substrate dry, while wetting the bottom layer, by pouring warm water into the corners, where in your case would keep the moss very wet and probably would mold

Sphagnum peat moss is similar to dirt or coco coir....its not the long strands of sphagnum moss.

That being said, I've used both the peat moss and the long fibred moss and I like both. I use peat moss alone for my boxies. Not for my redfoot though.

 

[Gaby-PR]

I wouldn't use it. It will mold. I used it once when my leopard was little. It got tangled on his legs, he tried to eat it and it got moldy when I tried to keep it wet to raise humidity. Because RF need a high humidity, but are prone to shell rot, it's suggested to keep the top layer of substrate dry, while wetting the bottom layer, by pouring warm water into the corners, where in your case would keep the moss very wet and probably would mold

That's bad!
In that case, I think I'm going to return the Sphagnum Peat Moss bags and instead, buy some orchid bark. Heard is very good, keeps humidity, it's not messy and it was at a good price at Home Depot.
Thank you so much for the advice!

 

[Gaby-PR]

Sphagnum peat moss is similar to dirt or coco coir....its not the long strands of sphagnum moss.

That being said, I've used both the peat moss and the long fibred moss and I like both. I use peat moss alone for my boxies. Not for my redfoot though.

Ooh ok!
So... you would not recommend it for redfoots?

 

[lisa127]

Ooh ok!
So... you would not recommend it for redfoots?

I have never, ever had peat moss mold and I actually like working with it. If you are going to have a dry layer of dry bark on top I see no reason not to use it. When wellington said it wrapped around the babies foot, i think that was referring to long fibred moss not peat moss. So that's not an issue either.

 

[Gaby-PR]

I have never, ever had peat moss mold and I actually like working with it. If you are going to have a dry layer of dry bark on top I see no reason not to use it. When wellington said it wrapped around the babies foot, i think that was referring to long fibred moss not peat moss. So that's not an issue either.

Ok!
In that case, I can consider using the Peat moss that I bought.
But now I'm not sure what to use... Peat Moss or Orchid Bark.
Which one is better?

 

[lisa127]

Ok!
In that case, I can consider using the Peat moss that I bought.
But now I'm not sure what to use... Peat Moss or Orchid Bark.
Which one is better?

I thought you wanted to do peat moss on top and orchid bark on top? Or did I misunderstand?

 

[Gaby-PR]

I thought you wanted to do peat moss on top and orchid bark on top? Or did I misunderstand?

Well... I was planning to put the peat moss on the bottom and the reptibark on top. Keep the peat moss humid and the reptibark dry.

But another option would be to use the reptibark and the orchid bark together and keep it all humid.

Not sure what will be better for my redfoots...

 

[lisa127]

Well... I was planning to put the peat moss on the bottom and the reptibark on top. Keep the peat moss humid and the reptibark dry.

But another option would be to use the reptibark and the orchid bark together and keep it all humid.

Not sure what will be better for my redfoots...

Damp peat moss on bottom with dry bark on top sounds good. You want humidity for redfoot but you don't want them sitting in damp substrate.​

 

[Gaby-PR]

Damp peat moss on bottom with dry bark on top sounds good. You want humidity for redfoot but you don't want them sitting in damp substrate.​

Then it's settled! Damp peat moss on the bottom with dry bark on top.
I'm also thinking of creating an under-substrate watering system with pvc...

Thank you very much for the tips!