I'm thinking of adding moss....

[Oliver's Mom]

I saw some beaked moss at the pet store over the weekend and thought I would add to a second level shell shop. I'm new to moss for the crabbies. Is there a certain amount of time you can leave it in the tank or do you have to change it out every so often?

[wodesorel]

It depends on the quality of the moss and how much the crabs use it, since they will poo in it. I've used the same moss pit of Forest Moss for 10 months straight and only tossed it since I was moving everyone over to a brand new tank and wanted to start fresh. You'll know by the color (it'll go really brown) and the smell (it can stink!) when it's time to change it. I think I could have easily gotten a year out of that one package, though! I used to use floral moss before I knew about the pesticides in it, and I had to change it every three weeks because it got disgusting.

[suebee]

we have a moss thread here about different mosses http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... c&start=15

i find that i put the moss in, some of it gets buried in to the substrate some of it the crabs eat, and some of it breaks down and becomes part of the substrate. If i ever found any dirty or nasty i would take it out but most of the time i find my self adding more not taking any out.. If i have a dry day I soak some in warm declorinated water and add it to the tank. Its a great instant humidity addition to the tank and the crabs come running like its a new coffee shop in town.. I like to just add piles around the tank i dont really do a moss pit. I guess if you do a moss pit you might find keeping it together in one spot it may last longer. I like to add dry flowers to it to add a nice tea like aroma to the tank.. jasmine or rose are some of the crab favorites. chamomile and rose hips too. ive added lots of dry crab friendly flowers and they are always a big hit in the moss.

[Oliver's Mom]

Thanks for the great advice. I will be checking that thread out as well. Both crabbies have now dug in the sand and have ignored some of the new things I have added. Maybe this will catch their attention.

Will I need to bake or microwave the moss before I put it in the tank? In that thread it said that one kind of moss has bugs in it, but I usually boil everything before I introduce it. If baking or microwaving is needed, then I'll make sure that's done.

[wodesorel]

Freezing would be a better option. Cooked moss smells horrible, and from my experience I think it causes it to spoil faster as well. I used to microwave my moss in shifts, but with the addition of the huge moss pit that takes 14 quarts of moss to fill, I didn't feel like it anymore! I've used three packages of the Forest Moss now without any treatment, and there have been no bugs. It is always good to be on the safe side, and freezing it for a few days should kill anything that's in there. It's what snake and other reptile keepers do to keep their substrates mite-free.

[Oliver's Mom]

Ok. My moss pit won't be very big so I'll just put a small amount in the freezer over the weekend. Hopefully they come out soon to enjoy all the goodies.

Thank you!