Moss for redfoots

[Ajay]

A few people asked me to let them know how moss worked out in my redfoot enclosure..

Not too great my poor little babies have shell rot

Only minimally, early signs, will only spraying the soil/bark from now on for humidity. They've been enjoying hiding under the moss and the high moisture level on their carapace has caused the damage.

For future reference on a search etc:

[Toni115]

well i was going to try some, i wont now, thanks for the warning!!

good job you spotted it quick enough though, hope they are ok !

[DAISY]

Aww poor babies.
Thanks for letting us know, I got some to use for when I get my babies, but wont be now.
How do you know for deffo it was the moss. Not questioning your knowledge just wonderd.

[Ajay]

Danny, Sarah, Andrew and myself think it's because of the moss as this is the only way moisture can be coming into contact for long periods of time with their carapaces. When they hide under other things there's nothing touching them. Even if they slightly bury themselves into the substrate there's very little on top of them but a few pieces of bark and that dries out quite quickly even in the low heat (heaters coming tomorrow)

So I figure, better to be safe than sorry. If it gets no worse after treatment and removing the moss then I'll be satisfied it's the moss causing it

Thought I'd better let people know as it seemed like such a good idea..

They'll be fine. Thanks though guys x

[piglet]

Ajay i really hope they will be fine ,

Without this sounding harsh you should always keep to the breeders husbandry guidelines until you are truely confident a change will be benefical and work

D

[Ajay]

I was. Otherwise I would never have tried it. Other people on here and elsewhere have used moss before for humidity and never reported problems - that's the only reason I've put this up here because already two other people have said they had thought about it but wont use it now. I explained my set up to the breeder and she wished me luck and asked me to let her know how it went and said watch they don't eat it! lol If she had said she thought it was a bad idea I wouldn't have used it.

I'm not having a go, but I did think it through and ask people beforehand. Thanks though, they'll be fine. Felt terrible when I saw it

Would still love to see their parents

[Dr.Dolittle]

Awww! Poor things! Glad you spotted it early enough though!
DD

[pawsplus]

I use sphaghum moss w/ no problems. I soak it well, then spread it out well throughout the very large enclosure. So it's not all packed in one area and it's not all in the hide area. You can overdo anything!

[Candle]

Hi Alay!!!!!
great pictures!!!!

[Ajay]

Originally Posted by pawsplus

I use sphaghum moss w/ no problems. I soak it well, then spread it out well throughout the very large enclosure. So it's not all packed in one area and it's not all in the hide area. You can overdo anything!

It's not as if I've kept them in a bucket of moss

It's well soaked, spread around in different areas (not in thick mounds) and there's only moss in one hide, they have four.

This is like the theories on hemp - some people have had problems while others haven't but I think people have the right to all the available information.. It's caused shell rot in my torts so I'm simply telling people it's happened. I could keep quiet and watch it happen to others but how would I feel then?