DON'T USE SPHAGNUM MOSS!!!

kadd92

New Member
Messages
37
Location
North Carolina
I've been using sphagnum moss for my leopard gecko in his humid hide...

When I went to check on him this morning he was in the humid hide because he was shedding his skin. When he was eating the skin some of the sphagnum moss must have gotten stuck to it because I noticed a piece of the moss in his mouth. I thought it was just a little piece so I tried to quickly pull it out of his mouth, but it wasn't coming out! I realized it was a much bigger piece than I thought and that it was stuck in his throat. I ended up having to hold him and and tug on the moss. When it finally came out it was a wad of moss that was about an inch long that was wedged inside him. I'm glad I checked on him when I did because this could have been very bad. I hope that there isn't any moss still inside him and I really hope that he is going to be okay!

I don't think I should use sphagnum moss anymore because of this, so if you guys have any suggestions for a safe substrate to use in humid hides I would really appreciate it! Also any thoughts on what happened or advice would be really appreciated.
 

OnlineGeckos

New Member
Messages
1,407
Location
SoCal
For males I use wet paper towels to keep things clean and to avoid any impaction issues. For females I use coco fiber (ecoearth), it's a great moisthide substrate that also doubles up as a laybox if your female needs to lay. Yes it's possible to be ingested, but so far I haven't seen any geckos having issues passing them out. When preparing it just make sure to run your fingers through it and pull out any large threads, fibers, or any large chunks.
 

tomcatguy74

New Member
Messages
90
Location
Spring Hill, Florida
Hi Kadd. I have been using paper towels in my females moist hide since the day I got her. The main reason why I chose paper towels is the no mess. I don't want the gecko to track it all over it's tank so that it might get into it's food or get in the water. The only downfall I have with the paper towels is the fact that it dries up too quickly. However, I have been doing some research on what other type of material I can use inside the moist hide instead of paper towels but of courseI am leery of something happening like what happened to you.
 

NikkiC223

New Member
Messages
228
Location
Orlando, FL
What do you guys use to keep the moist hide, well, moist? Just a tupperware with the lid on it? I currently use spagnum moss and might change now because of this post...any help is greatly appreciated!
 

kadd92

New Member
Messages
37
Location
North Carolina
For males I use wet paper towels to keep things clean and to avoid any impaction issues. For females I use coco fiber (ecoearth), it's a great moisthide substrate that also doubles up as a laybox if your female needs to lay. Yes it's possible to be ingested, but so far I haven't seen any geckos having issues passing them out. When preparing it just make sure to run your fingers through it and pull out any large threads, fibers, or any large chunks.

Thanks! I'll check out the ecoearth, I always see it at my local pet store!
 

kadd92

New Member
Messages
37
Location
North Carolina
Hi Kadd. I have been using paper towels in my females moist hide since the day I got her. The main reason why I chose paper towels is the no mess. I don't want the gecko to track it all over it's tank so that it might get into it's food or get in the water. The only downfall I have with the paper towels is the fact that it dries up too quickly. However, I have been doing some research on what other type of material I can use inside the moist hide instead of paper towels but of courseI am leery of something happening like what happened to you.

Thanks for the feedback! I put some paper towels in to replace the moss, but you're right, they do dry out really fast!
 

kadd92

New Member
Messages
37
Location
North Carolina
What do you guys use to keep the moist hide, well, moist? Just a tupperware with the lid on it? I currently use spagnum moss and might change now because of this post...any help is greatly appreciated!

I use the Zoo Med Repti Shelter for my humid hide. (In the picture below it's the hide my gecko is about to go into on the far left side of the cage) It works really well and I think it was about 20 bucks on amazon. I just have to find something else besides moss to put inside of it! If you happen to get one of these make sure you get the medium sized one because the small seemed like it would be way to small for a leopard gecko, especially when they get to their adult size!

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NikkiC223

New Member
Messages
228
Location
Orlando, FL
Oh thats cool...yeah I'll have to think of something...I don't think i would have room for that in my viv. Maybe I can rearrange some stuff around to make it work.
 

DrCarrotTail

Moderator
Messages
3,590
Location
Ridgewood, NJ
Maybe just making sure there are only small pieces of moss and ripping the big ones into smaller ones so your gecko can't swallow a huge string of it? I've been using sphagnum moss for quite a while in my moist hides and have never had an issue. Of course just because I haven't doesn't mean it can't happen but I wouldn't think that ingesting a little bit of moss could hurt a gecko. Ingesting several inches probably could if it balled up and couldn't be passed. I find paper towels dry out far too quickly to be very useful for me.
 

tomcatguy74

New Member
Messages
90
Location
Spring Hill, Florida
So Doc, would you recommend coconut fiber or the sphagnum moss? I agree the paper towels dry out too quick. I need to figure out something soon because I've had my girl for almost a month and I figure she's due to shed.


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DrCarrotTail

Moderator
Messages
3,590
Location
Ridgewood, NJ
Personally I use sphagnum moss in my moist hides for non-breeders and love it. I use coco-fiber in my lay boxes. I find that it holds moisture way better than paper towels but not as well as the moss. I think the coco-fiber is better for digging. Whenever you use loose substrate of any kind there is some risk, just like there is always a risk giving your dog a rawhide. They may ingest it too fast or too much or swallow a chunk that is too big and wind up at the vet. For me, I think the benefit is worth it in both cases. My geckos really enjoy their comfy moist hides and my dogs really enjoy their chewies. However, there is no one right answer, everyone needs to make their own choice based on what they feel is best for their peace of mind and the quality of life of their animals.
 

GreatGeckos

New Member
Messages
370
Location
Southern California
I've used spagnum moss for about 4 years with great results and no complications ever.... I only use it for adult geckos, I've also used Eco earth with good success and no issues but it is really messy if you have a gecko that likes to dig like one of mine. All of my babies / juveniles are housed on paper towel...
 

Busterboy

New Member
Messages
27
Location
Us
I use paper towel. I just make sure to replace it every other day, or mold will start to develop. But it's clean, cheap, and works.
 

j&k lemmy

New Member
Messages
76
Location
Ellsinore missouri
I use to use sphagnum moss & my geckos did eat it by accident & passed it just fine. I use cocoa fiber now but only when I have laying females. Have other critters that prefer cocoa fiber so I use it for everything. I use paper towels the rest of the time.

Other critters are scorpions, & a king snake.
 

SarahxNichole921

New Member
Messages
6
Location
Michigan, USA
I've used Exo Terra's shredded coconut fiber for as long as I've been keeping reptiles and for my Leo's and it's truly the best option when it comes to keeping a moist substrate. It's generally very fine like dirt and will stay moist for quite a while. On the rare occasion one of my Leo's does happen to decide to lick the ground or accidentally ingest it, it passes very easily. I highly recommend it. Good luck!
 

KayEhm

New Member
Messages
1
Location
OR
I've worked in a pet store for over 2 years and we use sphagnum moss for our cages and I can assure you it's perfectly fine to use!! Maybe you used too much and added too much moisture?? We buy Oregon sphagnum moss in bulk and it's great because of the quality, but you have to either not use very much at once, or allow it to dry out a bit before enclosing it since it DOES retain moisture like crazy.
 

Kristi23

Ghoulish Geckos
Messages
16,180
Location
IL
I use paper towels in my males hides and sphagnum moss in my females hides. I have seen a bit of moss in poop before, but never a very large amount. I've thought about switching back to coco fiber, but I didn't really like it before. It made a huge mess and stuck to the eggs so much that it was hard to write on them. But I know others love it. Either way though, I've never had any issues from substrate in hides before.
 

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