POTENTIAL DANGER: Substrate/Matting

[Eridu Serpent]

I have decided to warn everyone about this moss mat from Exo Terra.

It is very dangerous, my frogs leg became trapped and the threads cut into its skin, luckily I was there to take it out before it
became a deadly situation. This moss mat is mad of bundles of threads, loops and even when wet is dangerous as pieces come off from it.
IF YOU own one, email EXO TERRA and ask them for a replacement mat or a refund.
They are aware that these mats could be potentially dangerous yet they did not recall them, indeed the older version is still being sold.
I received an email stating this and this is what EXO TERRA told me:

Tracy Boyle (Hagen Customer Service Rep) 9/4/2013
Dear Melloney Withers,
Thank you for taking the time to contact us.
I believe that it is possible that you have the old version of these mats, as this potential problem has already been fixed. The image from the website is the current (new) Moss Mat. We were aware of the potential for issues with the prior product, so we proactively changed the material and manufacturing process. We have never heard of the Mats ever causing a problem or injuries to the animals that use them.
I would suggest contacting the retailer you purchased it from for an exchange for the newer product, if it is available in your area.
Regards,
Customer Service
Rolf C. Hagen Inc. (Canada)
---------------

Now even if they have not heard of any animal being injured they themselves are aware that it is something which can happen, so much so that they redesigned the mat. My concern is, how would anyone know that their animal did not die from eating the thread clumps on this mat anyway? Not everyone takes there
animal to a vet to find out why it died.
THIS product should have been recalled, it is still being sold here in Spain, so I am guessing it is around Europe.
If you have one and have not had any trouble still contact them and ask for a refund or exchange for a new version of the mat, it is better than waiting
until something horrible happens to your animal.
My frog ABF Pickle has a ringed cut around her leg, at the back of her ankle where she pulled hard the thread embedded.
Luckily I stay in my bedroom most of the day due to being disabled, so I was there to spot the trouble.
Had she been smaller or a different animal with softer skin she would have been in serious trouble.
I got the mat because previously she had become constipated from eating eco soil, she has a habit of hitting the soil thinking there is food there.
She ends up with a mouthful of wco soil, so instead of doing the usual eco soil/moss mix I decided to clear the tank of eco soil and just leave her
with a deep mound of moist moss and the rest of the tank with a moistened Exo Terra moss mat.
When I unrolled the mat it had loads of loose fibres which I brushed off, I assumed it to be safe afterwards.

EXO TERRA dealt with this situation very badly, I asked them to post me a new safe version of the mat. They said they could not as they did not post out to Spain, I said they send goods here so why can they not just send me one along with a prepaid envelope so I can return my faulty mat?
They just said ask for a new mat from the shop, the shop has no new versions, no one in Spain does.
So then they said ask for a refund from the shop.
THEN they sent me a customer service link for a satisfaction survey!!!
They have done nothing, they do not care about my frogs injury or that anyone else could suffer due to this.

I am asking anyone with an older version to act before they have anything go wrong.
Or better still boycott EXO TERRA products until they recall/stop selling the older version of the mat!
I expected more from a company who advertise how wonderful they are to the environment, how much they care about wild animals etc.
THEY do not care, again money is all that matters!

[flybyferns]

Thank you for the warning.

When using a 'removable' substrate such as this it needs to be one in which can be completely replaced ( ie paper towel )
or laundered and completely disinfected after each use- both need to be changed frequently.

Of course, burrowing frogs or any clawed amphibian/reptile should not use this.

[Eridu Serpent]

Thank you for the warning.

When using a 'removable' substrate such as this it needs to be one in which can be completely replaced ( ie paper towel )
or laundered and completely disinfected after each use- both need to be changed frequently.

Of course, burrowing frogs or any clawed amphibian/reptile should not use this.

Which is another reason I chose the mat, it said it could be washed. I used it in the area where the bath is, not in the digging area.
She has her moss area and she and Goober the male sleep there, I used to use a half and half mix of eco and moss.
I also found that Goober would drag a lot of the eco soil into the water, for some reason he will only eat now if fed in the water,
so again I thought if I get rid of the eco soil it cuts the danger of ingesting it down.
The moss mat seemed a good idea to have around the water area.
What upset me was Exo Terras lack of care, they know it was a potential threat yet has not and will not remove it from the market.
They are just selling the old one still until stocks run out.
It is a sad state of affairs when a company as large as that does not care about its customers animals!

I had a huge list of things I was due to buy for two new four foot tanks, waterfalls, substrate, lighting, filters etc all Exo Terra...but now they can just
go to hell. I have gone to another on line store which sells Zoo Med and Lucky Reptile.
I vow never to buy another Exo Terra product again. I did get my money back from the store in the end but that was never the subject, I want Exo Terra to recall the mat so no other animals get hurt or die.
I shudder to think what Pickle would have done if I´d not heard her making a fuss, had I not been there she could severed her foot completely.
A smaller amphibian would definitely have suffered a lot more!

SHAME on Exo Terra!

[Mr Bee]

Has anyone got any experience with the new improved version of the mat, is it safer?

[Eridu Serpent]

Hardly anyone answered so I have no idea. As yet the new version has not reached us in Spain.
Several have told me the same happened to their frogs but they did nothing about it, I never saw anyone warning people.
So I thought that I would, that is what a forum is for...to help and share information.
I will NEVER buy another Exo Terra product after the way they re-acted, they simply did not care and the fact that they
knew of the potential danger and kept selling them only made it worse.
PLEASE Boycott this company until they do recall every single dangerous moss mat!