are peat and sphagnum different things?

zimbu

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Ok, ok, I'm pretty sure this is a stupid question... but seriously. I keep a container of sphagnum in my reptile tanks so they have somewhere to go when they want humidity, and I happened to have a bunch of bed-a-beast lying around when I set up my Ts, so I used that.

But now it's bugging me... are sphagnum moss and peat moss two different things or is it just two different names for the same thing?

If they are different what's the difference?

Thanks :D
 
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zimbu

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Yeah I looked at that too, but it also said that peat is compressed and decomposed, and the moss I usually get is all fluffy and the individual leaflets are still intact and everything.
 

cacoseraph

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i thought peat came from peat bogs and is a combination of like, more than one type of plant material that is partially decayed.

i thought sphagnum is a moss that grows on trees. i mistook sphag for peat... does NOT perform the same at all! sphag molds much more easily than peat... at least, i assume so since peat is supposed to be mold resistant from what i had read on the boards
 

zimbu

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Now I'm SO confused! I buy sphag because it NEVER molds o_O. Are you sure you're not thinking of spanish moss? Maybe I'll stick to bed-a-beast for now or something, lol.
 

Flagg

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Well, there is the long fiber sphagnum moss that I use for a laying box and moist hide for my corn snakes, and there is sphagnum peat moss which I got in a big bale at Menard's. They are 2 different products made apparently from the same type of moss.

The long fiber sphagnum is strands of light brown moss and the peat is more like dirt, dark brown and very small particles.
 

zimbu

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Ok awesome Flagg, it's all become clear to me now... thanks :p
 

GailC

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Spagnum doesn't grow on tress, it grows on the ground in large clumps. When it dies and decomposes, it becomes peat. When this decomposing happens in large quantities in a very wet area, you end up with peat bogs.
 

Drachenjager

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right peat moss is spagnum that basically composted, and if its soll as just spagnum its generally light and fluffy lol
 
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