# Toxic Moss for Snake Enclosure? Help needed?



## thefridge71 (Jul 23, 2011)

Afternoon,

I have been having problems with keeping my enclosure humid enough. I can only get it to about 50% max with a lot of misting, if I leave it for a day it goes down to 30%. Olli's last shed was OK, but not great. It certainly looked as if it was hard for him to get off, and there were holes etc. I had to bathe him to get all the retained shed off afterwards. If he shedded fine I wouldn't worry.

Doing some gardening, I noticed that some rocks that are facing southward in our garden are covered in moss. I am wondering if there are any types of Moss that are toxic to snakes, specifically a Morelia Bredli. I can add a photo of the two types of moss found (could be one in differing forms) on the rocks if need be. 

For people who do use moss, what is the best way to do it. I understand they need cool, moist, dark environments to grow so don't think I will bother trying to grow it in the enclosure. Do you just get an icecream tub and fill it with moss at the bottom and put it in the enclosure? Should I put water in with it, or spray it every now and then to keep it moist. Will it eventually just die and become dry anyway? 

All advice that can be given will be taken on board so don't hold back  

Thanks in advance,

Tom


----------



## Waterrat (Jul 23, 2011)

Live moss is almost impossible to keep alive in a heated enclosure. It looks great but due to lack of fresh air, cool conditions, it dies within few days.
You can use sphagnum moss. Although is sold in plastic bags, can be rejuvenated in a wet and sunny environment. It looks as good as any other moss and is much more resistant to snakes rolling over it. "Brunnings" is a good brand that usually comes to live when spread on a shallow dish of water, I think it's available at Bunnings.


----------



## Ramsayi (Jul 23, 2011)

bredli and humidity do not belong in the same sentence.


----------



## thefridge71 (Jul 23, 2011)

Ramsayi said:


> bredli and humidity do not belong in the same sentence.



I am not sure if I have mistook your advice for a bit of a dig Ramsayi. If it is, keep it to yourself and try some constructive criticism. If not, some information would be handy. If you dont have the time to give information then you don't have the time to write one sentence cryptics. I understand Bredli come from Alice Springs and therefore are hardy snakes that can deal with temperature changes and low humidity. I think it is preferential for my snake to have good sheds if it is possible for me to arrange. As stated in my post, his last shed was not great even though I worked hard to keep humidity up. I got a plastic ice cream container, cut a hole at each end and covered it in speargun rubber so there were no sharp edges. I placed toilet paper and water in the bottom of the tub and had to continually mist and he still had a poor shed. As the humidity in the enclosure without helping is 30%, I think it is an issue, therefore I can talk about raising it for a Bredli. 


Your information was great thanks Waterrat. What do you mean by a snake rolling in the moss and how is that a problem? With the Sphagnum Moss, do you just throw some in or is it an idea to put it in a tub and have some water in with it? Would it work in the way I described above substituted for the toilet paper. I would prefer to use free moss if I could but if its inappropriate I don't mind buying some of the Brunnings. It certainly sounds easy to use. Thanks again for your advice.

In addition the snakes shed was draped through the ice cream tub with the holes in it so it obviously was a little beneficial to helping him get it off.


----------



## grimbeny (Jul 23, 2011)

I doubt your problem is humidity, how are you heating the enclosure?


----------



## Ramsayi (Jul 23, 2011)

No it was not a dig at you but a statement,you don't need to worry about raising humidity,nothing cryptic about it.


----------



## thefridge71 (Jul 23, 2011)

Thanks Grimbeny.

I have a ceramic and an infra red lamp at one end next to each other. Directly below it is a hide rock with a branch over it. He basks on the rock or branch usually. I have my temperature probe on the branch and it sits around 33-36 degrees most of the time. The other probe is at the cool end and it sits at about 22 through the day and between 12-20 at night depending on how cold it is. He also has a large paper roll at the cool end which he can curl up in. 

The temps are spot on from what I have read. I have had a couple of threads regarding his skin coming up to his first shed with me feeling dry and scaly. He does not have mites. I followed some advice on here to check for them.



Ramsayi said:


> No it was not a dig at you but a statement,you don't need to worry about raising humidity,nothing cryptic about it.



Ok I apologise then. If the snake is not shedding properly or has dry feeling skin should I just leave it like that?


----------



## Waterrat (Jul 23, 2011)

Just a suggestion - put some damp sphagnum moss into some container with a lid and opening for the snake to crawl in and out. Put the box into the enclosure only for a few days before sloughing, once he shed, take it out. That, however does not guarantee that you snake will take advantage of this "wet box", he may just ignore it. Spraying is another option but you probably know that.


----------



## thefridge71 (Jul 24, 2011)

Thanks Waterrat. If you read my first post I have done just that with an icecream tub, some speargun rubber, two holes and some toilet paper that has been moistened. I will substitute it for moss next time.

Cheers,

Tom


----------

