A quick note regarding sphagnum moss...

[JordanAng420]

Sorry if this is old news to some of you, but I thought it might be good info to post, as there is quite of few of you that deal with shedding issues...

It has recently come to my attention that sphagnum moss can act as a sponge, and if not properly hydrated & left to dry, can actually begin to collect moisture and hydration from your gecko that sits in the dry moss...resulting in an incomplete retained shed.

So make sure you keep those moist hides moist! :main_thumbsup:

 

[Latlaw]

I didn't know that. Thanks for the info!

 

[gothra]

I didn't know that either, thanks.

 

[erik]

I have the hardest time keeping my sphagnum moist. I might try putting it in an unnatural plastic hide, since the ones i've tried so far (wood and terra cotta) don't really retain the moist. But thanks for the tip!

 

[robin]

I have the hardest time keeping my sphagnum moist. I might try putting it in an unnatural plastic hide, since the ones i've tried so far (wood and terra cotta) don't really retain the moist. But thanks for the tip!

plastic containers hold it well!

 

[erik]

yeah, I put one in today...let's see how that goes

 

[LizMarie]

is this just sphagnum moss or can this be said about coconut fiber!? hmmm. I wonder because I use coconut fiber/eco earth and I tend to let it dry out during the week to reduce the chance of mold, etc.

 

[JordanAng420]

With coconut fiber you should be fine...I actually asked about coconut fiber/ecoearth, and I was told that it doesn't act the same way the sphagnnum moss does. I'll have to look into the more scientific reason as to why it works like that, but i'd still just keep it as moist as possible...especially around the times when your geckos shed

 

[fikken]

Good to know, i figured the moss was more spongy but i had not know it would absorb moisture from the geckos them selves. i use a combination of eco earth and moss in their moist hides. I think if you have an issue with it getting too dry you could always use a very small dripper.

 

[BioWorkZ]

Uh oh!!! (Going to check on the humid hide now)