moss? is it realy dangerous to frogs?

[Kira Hudson]

had a petco sales person refuse to sell me springum moss today saying it would be a death setance for my fire bellys is this really so? or were they just talking crazy?

[xStatic]

I haven't heard of springum moss before. Any chance is was sphagnum moss? From my understanding the main risk with using moss is impaction if the animal accidentally swallows some substrate along with any food you put in the enclosure. I also know that some people still chose to use moss in the viv but remove the frog and feed it in another container to prevent impaction from moss. I'm probably not the best source since I've been confused about the exact same topic myself. I currently do have sphagnum moss in my Western Toad's viv right now because I already has some handy and it retains water really well. I don't think it will be a problem as long as I feed my toad in a separate enclosure or with tongs, but next time I buy substrate I think I will get EcoEarth Coconut Fiber because it's been recommended by multiple users on this site and apparently it's digestible if the frog accidentally eats a small amount.

It might depend on how use to handling your frogs are. If they startle easily I would imagine that moving them for every feeding would caught a significant amount of stress and might be detrimental to the frogs health. However, if they seem to be fine with very short periods of handling it might be worth removing them to ensure they aren't ingesting any foreign matter and it would be a good way to monitor how much they are eating.

Hope I could help at least a little

[Wicked frogs]

I know it could clog up pac mans intestines since they eat dirt sometimes when they catch there prey and get a little bit of moss in there also i know i had it in my take with my pac-man and i took it out but yea i would be on the safe side and have some plants and eco earth well good luck

[mrzoggs]

yes. it will impact your frog. do not use it.

[Kira Hudson]

what can you use for fire bellys they like to burrow a lill

[Wicked frogs]

eco earth

[helm96]

If you find that the soil is not holding moisture good enough you can add leaf litter over some of it to help hold the moisture in. Leaf litter has become a staple in all my vivs in keeping humidity without moss.

[Wicked frogs]

Can you get leaf litter at any pet store?

[mrzoggs]

ive never seen leaf litter in a petstore. i wish. i found some magnolia leaves and oak leaves in my backyard and picked a whole bunch. just let them dry and boil them

[DonLisk]

eco earth

Black Jungle over in Turner Falls has Leaf Liter in stock.... plus much more to fill a froggers addiction.

[J Teezy]

plenty of people use sphagnum in their vivs, it just depends on what kind of frogs you are keeping and exactly how you use the sphagnum. I use Long Fiber Sphagnum in my dart frog tanks, but is underneath my thick layer of leaf litter. For frogs that are vicious eaters like pacmans you'd probably want to stay away from it. Firebelly's i'm not to sure on eating habits.