A Rainbow Addition - Page 3

Lefitte · 08-03-15, 06:47 PM

Ahh. Hopefully it wont become a major issue. I'm using a heat pad yet so maybe it will help later on to reduce it. I think my moss was still way too wet when I added it, I was expecting the humidity to go down some by now. I took off the lid for half an hour last night and it sat in the 60s but shortly after I put the lid back it jumped up to 99%. I'm allergic to mold so hopefully it stays a minor issue or best case scenario it clears up completely.

Snakesitter · 08-04-15, 01:56 PM

The type of moss can make a big difference. Try New Zealand Sphagnum, it holds up really well to moisture, and mine never seems to mold....

Glad to hear the cats are not a threat! :-)

Lefitte · 08-04-15, 09:11 PM

I got some of this SuperMoss stuff (mountain moss) that the breeder uses. She doesn't have an issue with it. I think my issue was that I left it way too wet. 99% humidity after three days and wet to the touch. Not damp, wet. I'm going to try again since I threw it all out last night. Some clumps I used were still very very wet when I added them and then I had high temps (low 80s) and no ventilation at all which is like a perfect breeding ground for mold. Super wet moss with no escape for humidity... Oh well. This is why I am setting uo ahead of time right?

bigsnakegirl785 · 08-04-15, 11:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lefitte

I got some of this SuperMoss stuff (mountain moss) that the breeder uses. She doesn't have an issue with it. I think my issue was that I left it way too wet. 99% humidity after three days and wet to the touch. Not damp, wet. I'm going to try again since I threw it all out last night. Some clumps I used were still very very wet when I added them and then I had high temps (low 80s) and no ventilation at all which is like a perfect breeding ground for mold. Super wet moss with no escape for humidity... Oh well. This is why I am setting uo ahead of time right?

Yeah I'd just make sure to strain out the bedding a bit from now on. If water comes out when you squeeze it, it's too wet. Usually what I do is put all the moss in a bowl of water, squeeze as much water into it as it can take, and then squeeze as much out of it as I can. Then I put it back in. I've noticed a lot less mold issues nowadays than before, but it still happens, just not as quickly.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snakesitter

The type of moss can make a big difference. Try New Zealand Sphagnum, it holds up really well to moisture, and mine never seems to mold....

Glad to hear the cats are not a threat! :-)

Any idea where I could find some? The kind I use is the All Living Things green moss, and there was another type I used but can't remember, and it was more of a brown color and it molded a lot easier than the one I use now so I stopped buying it.

toddnbecka · 08-05-15, 12:12 AM

Pure sphagnum moss is available at any gardening center, Home Depot, Lowe's, sometimes even Wal-Mart. New Zealand moss isn't actually any different than any other sphagnum moss, but how it's processsed may vary. The NZ is typically long fibered, good quality moss. Peat moss is chopped pretty fine.

Snakesitter · 08-05-15, 01:58 PM

^^ What T&B said. :-) Good answer!

Lefitte · 08-11-15, 03:31 AM

Thanks for the tips! I finally got the chance to do a second round of moss. My mom was in the hospital this weekend and I had work on top of that so I didn't get to do it as quick as I wanted.
The weather also turned on me. My projected shipping date is expected to be about 5 degrees warmer than it was reporting earlier this month. Doesn't sound like much but the difference worries me. If there's any shipping delay, things might get sketchy, so it might have to wait until September after all ;_; I really hope the weather situation pans out because I was so, so looking forward to getting him next week. We won't ship if it's going to put him in danger though. I'm worried that warehouses and trucks are hot.

I like this round of moss better already. I squeezed out as much water as I could from each clump and it just feels sorta fluffy? At least in comparison with last time. My thinking last time was start out with ALL THE HUMIDITY and then get it settled out before her gets here. That thinking was wrong obviously haha.

I also received some new pictures of him tonight and oh my am I excited to get him here. I opened the first picture and just kind of sat there in awe. Inside versus outside lighting is fun. The last pictures were outside lighting and he was pretending to be a ball python. This time is a different story so I can see more of him <3 His cute little squigglies are hidden under his curled body though.

Gotta love a BRB's eyes.

SnakeyJay · 08-11-15, 09:19 AM

Lovely little guy, congrats..

As for your mould problem, I use orchid bark as a substrate with sphagnum moss over the top of that. The bark is mould resistant but you'll probably have to keep changing the moss regularly.

Lefitte · 08-11-15, 03:03 PM

Yeah I considered orchid bark for a while and it's still a possibility but for now I'm just trying this. I hardly squeezed the water out of the moss at all the first time, thinking that it would dry out quickly with our weather so starting with a ton of humidity was best. After almost a week, it was s 99% humidity in there and when I threw it out, it was still wet. This time it's moist but not wet feeling. Humidity is 99% after about 12 hours.

Snakesitter · 08-12-15, 02:03 PM

Sounds like a job well done! And damp is much better than wet, both for mold and rainbow health. While it is very hard for these snakes to catch scale rot, they *can* do so from too much contact with dirty wet substrate.

Lefitte · 08-13-15, 06:11 PM

Yesss. I dont want any scale rot.

We confirmed shipping for the 18-19th! He should be here bright and early Wednesday morning! His home is leveling out too. The humidity started going down and stablizing and not quite 100% after I drilled a few more holes for a total of 16 1/4" holes. The moss doesnt smell as bad now so maybe I was just being paranoid and super sensitive (I'm always cautious about mold because it's super bad for my family's health, we pick up on the smell right away). My hydrometer is -2% off and its been reading 96-98% so it's really 98-100%. I would like it to go down a few more points but I'm trying to be patient. I can always drill a few more holes. Just a few more days!

Snakesitter · 08-14-15, 01:58 PM

Woot congrats on the date, and looking forward to more picts!

Lefitte · 08-18-15, 12:22 AM

So I went to LLL Reptile today and got some of the last pieces that I needed! Things are looking good and that cold front moving in is looking even better. He ships out tomorrow. The humidity has been going down to thebmid-80s and the moss felt dry so I gave it a good spray down while I set it up. I am definitely ready. Spent more money than I planned to mostly because I chose the log over another plastic hide and then I needed suction cups from Michaels and when I go to Michaels I get lost and find things like that chain ivy.. But seeing it all together, I think it was all pretty well justified in the end. I'm a liiittle worried about the black hides being too small though. I think he's around my yearling king's size and she's already in one of the next size up of the black hides so I might end up taking them out and exchanging them for a medium sized one instead. Might also add a humid hide made of tupperware for the little guy. My king Eir spends all her time either in the large black hide or the small 'humid hide' that I let dry out when she's not in shed so he might like them too.

Oh and to top it off! LLL had a BRB there! They said it was about a year and a half and I got to hold it. Not as contrasting as mine and the lighting didnt show off much irridecense but I was totally in love. It grabbed on to my purse strap and refused to let go. So happy with the grip it had though. My kingsnake doesnt grip at all and I get paranoid about her falling to the floor. I got it off of me by showing it the inside of the cage which it gladly wiggled back into and left my purse alone.

After I changed the position of the vine. I'll probably keep playing with it.

Little log hide

Pool hideaway! The stony thing is his water dish.

Same spot from above:

More hides. There are 4 total.

One side

The view from my bed, better than tv.

Lefitte · 08-19-15, 12:32 PM

He's here!!! And I could not be happier! After a once over and a short photoshoot, I let him explore his cage and he immediately found the moss. Don't ask me where he is currently cause all I know is 'moss'! He started out a nervous little guy, breathing hard and watching me like crazy, flicking his tongue out at me a bunch, but pretty soon he started to loosen up and explore. I just took things nice and slow with him and he seemed fairly comfortable before I let him find a spot in his home to explore. Whole time handing was no more than 15 minutes at most, probably way closer to 10. He's gorgeous! So soft and bright and adorable.

I've named him Xango [pronounced like shango].

Pretty face <3

Liiittle bit of rainbow

Starting to explore

Going home

Wingbeats · 08-19-15, 12:59 PM

Congrats on the safe arrival! He is gorgeous!!