quick question about peat moss

fartkowski

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I just bought a bag of peat moss and a question.
I noticed it kind of has a fluffly texture to it.
Is 100% peat good for burrowers?
will it hold if I compact it a bit?
thanks

chris
 

P. Novak

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I'd say mix it with something, but of course burrowers usually line their burrows with web to prevent it from collapsing.
 

KJE

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I use 100% peat with all of my t's. It seems to hold up really well with burrowers. I do moisten it just enough so it will kind of clump together before putting into their enclosure, though. It's too dusty to not do that.
 

william

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peat moss

peat moss is what i use on all my tarentulas cages.
 

fartkowski

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Also I was wondering if a little peat moss gets into the water dish, is this ok?
I usually change it as soon as I see it but it's almost impossible to keep everything out
 

P. Novak

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Also I was wondering if a little peat moss gets into the water dish, is this ok?
I usually change it as soon as I see it but it's almost impossible to keep everything out
It'll be fine, just try to change the dish if you can, but if you can't then it won't hurt.
 

fartkowski

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thanks for the replies
now the fun begins, changing the cages :D
so far they have all been very nice
 

KJE

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Peat in the water dish is not a problem at all. When t's can't find a water source in the wild, like a creek or something, they can get moisture from the soil. I don't stress over peat in the water dishes. It just happens too much. None of my t's have suffered from it yet.
 

Drachenjager

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Peat in the water dish is not a problem at all. When t's can't find a water source in the wild, like a creek or something, they can get moisture from the soil. I don't stress over peat in the water dishes. It just happens too much. None of my t's have suffered from it yet.
lol most of mine fill the blooming water dish up anyway lol
i would ditch the bark tho, i see no need at all for it and it can be a detrimental to a molt IMO i have an A. anax that was kept on bark and it molted and one leg got caught in the bark and got deformed. bark can be rough on a t especially a freshly molted one
 

Brettus

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Hey, just a quick note on peat moss. I think its fine to put in 100% peat-I do it with my T. If you have a burrower, like mine, I think it is beneficial to compact it down as you put it in the tank. If it is fairly compact, it reduces the risk of tunnel collapse.
 

maxident213

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Hey, just a quick note on peat moss. I think its fine to put in 100% peat-I do it with my T. If you have a burrower, like mine, I think it is beneficial to compact it down as you put it in the tank. If it is fairly compact, it reduces the risk of tunnel collapse.
Absolutely right. I had a 100% peat set-up for a Haplopelma sp. "Vietnam," and long story short, the burrow collapsed around molt time and the T never made it out. Part of the problem may have been that I did not compact the peat very well when I set up the enclosure. So when I set up a tank for my buddy Doug's (Cannibalon here on AB :cool: ) H. lividum, you better believe I compressed that peat this time. I dumped 2 1/2 bags (nine litres each) into the tank and pressed it down into a brick about 12" x 8" x 10" deep. :D No more collapsed burrows, not on my watch. ;)

Added note: I have checked out how well peat stays compressed after it dries out, and I'm pretty satisfied with it. I was worried it would just crumble like dust after drying out, but after doing substrate changes in some of my other tanks, it seems to hold together well, as long as it's nicely compressed when it's still damp.
 

Kwadapok

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Peat is it...

All I use is 100% peat. With my H. Lividum I just put a layer in compact it moisten it then another layer and so on until i get the desired depth.
 

Skulnik

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I just switched from soil to peat moss and most of the Ts prefer the moss greatly.

I put my skittish albopilosum sling in the new substrate and it barely hit the ground before it disappeared. It has since wreaked havoc on the entire set up and now lives in a nice cozy, web-fortified apartment under a little piece of cork bark. Same with my seemani sling. The smithi really seems to like it, as it hunkers down in ambush mode everytime I open the deli cup.

The adult rosea is NOT liking the moss, however, and is balled up on her broken flower pot like it was a raft on a river of piranhas. She just needs to put a web canopy down and she'll be OK. The dust was an issue, though, and it stuck to the walls of the keeper. Had to wipe everything down with a wet paper towel.

I think it looks much better also.

My A. versicolor could give a crap.
 

Talkenlate04

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Your Rosea is just waiting for things to dry out a bit I am sure she will adjust too.
 

kitty_b

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i prefer peat moss because it's much lighter (weight-wise) than potting soil. my burrowers have no trouble making homes for themselves, and if it were to collapse they wouldn't be crushed.

only trouble i have is keeping it moist. once it dries out, i can't seem to get it wet again without going in and churning it up with lots of water. of course, this would greatly upset the T and any burrow it had made. so i leave the cages alone, do some weekly pours for the Ts who like wetter soil (even my m. robustums are doing well on dry peat moss) and leave it dry for the more hydrophobic Ts (such as the g. rosea).
 

mr_jacob7

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i just use potting soil. i don't have a burrower, but my rosea doesn't mind, and it should b fine for burrowing.
 
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