Sphagnum moss and respitory infection

[Corallus]

I've heard that some research was done on the correlation between respitory infections and sphagnum moss use in snake cages. I have used sphagnum moss in all my Brazilian and Columbian Rainbow cages and never had any problems. I only put it in my hide boxes, with a substrate of newspaper.
Have anyone heard of something like that?

[Kyle Barker]

I havnt heard of it, but i have noticed that my cages with sphagnum moss got considerably colder than the ones with newspaper. It could be because of all the moisture, causing the temps to drop. Just a thought.

[Lisa]

Yes the temperature difference is due to the moisture, as the heat is being absorbed by the damp moss drying it out.

[Pythonian]

yes and DO NOT use spanish moss. i bought some and wow is it bad. it stinks up the cage, they carry a red mite/tick, I think it is a direct result of my blood getting sick. Best thing to use for moisture imho moistened papertowel and crumbeled up in a corner over an undertank heater.

[V.aw]

Sphagum moss dries up very easily. Its very good if you can keep it moistened. I would Recommend checking the ventilation on your tank. They're may be far too much adding to the speed that the moss dries up. It usually comes incredibly dry, almost like sand so i recommend really moistening it before applying it to any enclosure.

Good luck.

Pythonian. IF you purchased spanish moss in a pet store, its probably why you're encountering mites. Alot of the pet store brand substrates house mites, as they come into contact with the reptile departments in stores. I buy all of my substrates from garden centers and run into no problems. I use organic soil mixed with cypress mulch for my snakes, they are all doing good. I moisten the substrate depending on the snake. More for tropical, less for drier species.

[Corallus]

Apparently Dr Brady Barr did the research at the University of Maryland. Does anyone out there know how correct this info is?

[Pythonian]

i did that and put the moss in the microwave in a bowl of water to kill anything..

Mike

[North]

Not sure, I have used it for a long time with no problems both as a wet hide and as cage flooring for aboreals... i will go read the site though.

[Edwin]

I have used it on and off in a moist hide box, so far no problems. I have recently changed to moist paper towels for convenience.