Is this moss ok?

[kieagcarm]

I went to Pat Catans today, it's a craft store, and bought a huge bag of shells, which I was able to use 12 of, a little flower pot for moss and this bag of moss... it's real,.but is it safe?



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[KayedeeLove<3]

It says terrarium safe but id still use pet store kind

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[Crabinski]

I would hesitate to use moss from a craft store as most of it is meant for decorative use (despite what it says on the packaging). ZooMed is the brand of moss most commonly found in pet shops but is a bit on the pricey side for the amount you get. If you're near a HomeDepot or Lowe's, look for this product in the garden section: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Mosser-Lee-4 ... /202745057.

[LadyJinglyJones]

I am suspicious that that is actually lichen.

[kieagcarm]

I am suspicious that that is actually lichen.

I won't use it, I just ordered Spanish moss. But what is lichen

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[LadyJinglyJones]

Lichen is the result of a symbiotic relationship between a blue-green algae (a plant) and a fungi (and according to new research, sometimes a yeast, too). It takes many forms - it is those spots of colour and patches of crispy stuff on rocks and trees. It grows in long beardy wispy clumps on conifers in rainforests an temperate zones. There are tons of species! It is all over the place! It breaks down bare rock, preparing new ground for small scrubby plants to grow. It is great stuff all around!

That stuff looks rather like caribou lichen to me. So called because caribou up north eat it.

All that said, dried lichen isnt alive so much anymore, and doesn't generally retain moisture as well as moss. I dunno if it would be a good choice for a moss pit.

[kieagcarm]

Lichen is the result of a symbiotic relationship between a blue-green algae (a plant) and a fungi (and according to new research, sometimes a yeast, too). It takes many forms - it is those spots of colour and patches of crispy stuff on rocks and trees. It grows in long beardy wispy clumps on conifers in rainforests an temperate zones. There are tons of species! It is all over the place! It breaks down bare rock, preparing new ground for small scrubby plants to grow. It is great stuff all around! It can reduce toxicity of radiation and other pollutants where it grows.

That stuff looks rather like caribou lichen to me. So called because caribou up north eat it.

All that said, dried lichen isnt alive so much anymore, and doesn't generally retain moisture as well as moss. I dunno if it would be a good choice for a moss pit.

I ordered Spanish moss from drsfosterandsmith.com tonight so hopefully will have it soon

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[Rawrgeous]

Unfortunately I would not suggest using spanish moss... After a quick search of the forum I would this excerpt from another post from a very knowledgeable, and long time crabber. You can get some a large bag of hiawatha green moss from home depot for about 6 bucks, many crabbers like that brand, and it's unexpensive. I got lucky and found a big box of zoo med's spaghum moss on sale on amazon, but it was an add on item. Props to how fast you have transformed your little one's crabitat though!


"Spanish Moss though a true moss tends to attract a lot of predatory insects and if not properly sterilized after harvesting it can contain thousands of insect eggs which will hatch in the warm temps our of hermitcrab tanks which will result in an infestation not to mention the commercially available Spanish Moss is often dyed to give it a brighter color as it fades to a white ashy grey after being removed from the host tree and the dyes that are most often used are not hermitcrab safe." - Crabber85

[kieagcarm]

Unfortunately I would not suggest using spanish moss... After a quick search of the forum I would this excerpt from another post from a very knowledgeable, and long time crabber. You can get some a large bag of hiawatha green moss from home depot for about 6 bucks, many crabbers like that brand, and it's unexpensive. I got lucky and found a big box of zoo med's spaghum moss on sale on amazon, but it was an add on item. Props to how fast you have transformed your little one's crabitat though!


"Spanish Moss though a true moss tends to attract a lot of predatory insects and if not properly sterilized after harvesting it can contain thousands of insect eggs which will hatch in the warm temps our of hermitcrab tanks which will result in an infestation not to mention the commercially available Spanish Moss is often dyed to give it a brighter color as it fades to a white ashy grey after being removed from the host tree and the dyes that are most often used are not hermitcrab safe." - Crabber85

I got the exact kind listed on here, I went to crab care, crabitat conditions, stickies, humidity, the first one, and got the exact brand of Spanish moss

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[kieagcarm]

I will boil it severely

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[Rawrgeous]

I can't say I've personally tried it, so it could be totally fine, I'm just not a fan of handling creepy crawlys, and after having an ant infestation this last summer, I'm overly cautious about bugs.

[kieagcarm]

I can't say I've personally tried it, so it could be totally fine, I'm just not a fan of handling creepy crawlys, and after having an ant infestation this last summer, I'm overly cautious about bugs.

You mentioned hawaiath green moss, I can switch the Spanish to green moss, flukers makes both. Is that the right kind of green moss?

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[Rawrgeous]

That should be fine. It's not that the spanish moss would be harmful, I just worry about insects that might come with it. Flukers is a pretty good brand, and I buy quite a few things from them. Their moss is all natural If you haven't ordered already, or it's easy to switch I would go with the green over the spanish, but that's just my personal preference.