# collecting moss from the wild safe??



## Crazy frog

Hi everyone , I am currently on a holiday my friend house in canada ..
Outside the place of my friend house has a lot of moss near a small river and the moss seem to be growing everywhere like even on the trees. Was think of collecting them for my terrarium but was am worried about fungi chytrids or other type of disease that can be affect my PDF.. 
The place that I am staying temp -10 to 26 degree and is always raining that why I think there is lots of moss growing everywhere.. Any one can tell me what can I do to clean the moss before ii used them for setups???


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## earthfrog

Nothing from the wild is safe---you risk parasites and chytrid. Try cleaning it with steam first, or just buy from online vendors to reduce these risks.


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## Bfrog

You'll get mixed opinions on this depending on who you talk to, but I've always done it with few problems. I've actually found that wild moss grows better in terrariums because it is stronger and can handle more changes in the environment... so it is more likely to do well in through the change to your vivarium. 

The biggest problem I've had with wild moss is that sometimes it brings in vivarium pests like millipedes, ants, spiders, etc... but then again, I've gotten similar issues from store bought moss.

You need to know where you're getting it from and that it's free from pesticides and parasites that can hurt your frogs though... I've always collected from extremely remote areas in a set of freezer bags or from my parents house across town and in the country... they have about 60 acres of woods on top of a hill and they don't use pesticides so it's never been a problem. I thoroughly rinse it with a hose but that's about it. sometimes I leave it locked up in a freezer bag on a windowsill (it does great this way) to see if anything grows out that I don't want in my vivarium. But I've never had a serious issue from it.

my wild moss is doing well with no issues:








and it was free!


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## heatfreakk3

I personally have never had any problems with wild moss. I get it out in a dirt biking mountain. Of course you always risk getting parasites and junk from the wild. But like I said, I've never had a problem. It does tend to die after a while though, as the Oklahoma moss can't stand the high humidity too well.


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## Bfrog

cleaning with steam is an interesting idea.... (you most have posted while I was typing)

In the past I've also used CO2 from a cup of dry ice placed over the vivarium... it displaces the oxygen, usually killing everything but the plants...

always more risk when you go wild though...


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## Crazy frog

Thanks guys for the advice, anyway I intend to collect the moss and place them in a zip lock bags and freeze it for a couple of hours and then soak them in water like an 1hour before I use them for my setups..and I will try to collect the moss growing on the tree instead.


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## Morgan Freeman

I just collect from places where there's no native amphibians. Goes straight in the viv, adapts very well.


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## RaymondK

Also snails, centipedes and millipedes are are risk to get into your vivarium with wild moss. And they flourish at bit too well in the viv and it is a major problem to get them out.


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## Woodsman

A terrible idea. You might have no problems the first ten times you do it, then the eleventh time and BOOM! there goes your whole collection of frogs.

It is better to stick with mosses that are greenhouse grown.

Just my opinion, Richard.


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## Pumilo

The other problem is that you need a tropical moss. Temperate mosses need a cold, dormant period or it will usually die out. So you risk your frogs' lives for something that only looks pretty for a while anyway.


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## Morgan Freeman

My moss has survived through the winter dormancy period and is still growing rapidly.


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## EntoCraig

This post answered many of my questions.


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## Mitch

EntoCraig said:


> This post answered many of my questions.


You're still stuck on the idea, right? I really, really, wouldn't suggest doing it. But go ahead, it's just a game of russian roulette.


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## EntoCraig

Mitch said:


> You're still stuck on the idea, right? I really, really, wouldn't suggest doing it. But go ahead, it's just a game of russian roulette.


Not necessarily. It was nice to read the opinions and experiences of others from both sides. I probably wont do it again on the other 2 Vivs that I have plans for. I did read about many ways to treat the tanks for the concerning factors and will go from there. 

Your concerns where quite helpful and after some online research I was able to find other information on the subject.


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## moose12

always tempting with such beautiful wild cultures....but it's not a good idea


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