Wrong Kind of Moss

[Stephanie Kalahurka]

This post is going to make me sound like an idiot, but here goes . . .

My baby sulcata likes to burrow. Someone here suggested I add a softer substrate to his cypress bark to make burrowing easier. I read here that Sphagnum moss is also a good substrate for baby sulcata and helps to retain humidity, so decided to go with that. I found some organic Sphagnum peat moss, but when it came in, it just looked like fine dirt. Still, the bag says "helps retain moisture," so I figured I was headed in the right direction. I went ahead and added some to the "moss" in the area of my tortoise's enclosure where he likes to dig. He went right to digging, and came up with a face full of the stuff -- coughing, sputtering, nose plugged, agitated. It wasn't good. I took him out, soaked him, gently wiped his face and nose. He recovered, but clearly this is not the right stuff. I scooped most of it out of his enclosure and replaced it with the cypress bark.

Can someone recommend the right brand of moss . . .

 

[Yvonne G]

I love it that you have enough self confidence to "bare your soul" to us!

You don't want "peat", as that's all ground up into tiny particles. What you want is something that looks like this:

What you buy in the store will be dry and probably brown, but will still look like the picture.

 

[Yvonne G]

Something like this, but you may be able to find it cheaper locally:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005HQZ2JQ/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

 

[Careym13]

Sometimes too moss gets really dry and will crumble up in the packaging. Usually the stuff at the bottom of the bag will look like what you are describing and I just don't use that part. The stuff that ZooMed and companies like that make and sell at petsmart/petco rarely is crumbled because it is packaged in a box. You could pick some of that up. I get mine at Lowes and it comes in a bag so like I said, I just toss the bag out after I have pulled out all of the good stuff.

 

[Stephanie Kalahurka]

Thanks so much! Definitely had the wrong product. I will try again, looking for the kind of moss you reference above.

 

[Myroli]

If I found some of that live, would that be safe to put in with my baby sulcata? Would it work as a snack and something to keep him from being directly on the wet coco coir? I know sullys don't normally get shell rot from wet substrate but I really want to make sure he stays happy and healthy