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i just made a new hide for my kingsnake out of a cream chese container, flipped it upside down with a hole cut in itand put moss in it as a humid hide, well its been using it for the last 2 days constantly

well i opened it today, and it was molding, lots of white feathery stuff on it, jalapeno was hiding in it too, i hope she'll be ok, i think im going to use paper towels now instead for her humid hide or maybe not even use one for her until she is shedding
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1.0 Monty - The Ball Python
0.1 Jalapeno - The Cal King

Just rinse it again with hot water and squeeze the water out pretty well, fluff it up a bit and you're good to go. This happened to me the first couple of times I used it. But since I've started squeezing it out pretty well and then fluffing it up I've not had any problems. I just check it every few days and mist it if needed.
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Sphagnum moss has some of the greatest water-holding ability of any plant, plus it's acidic as hell when it's fresh and then for a while. A hide box on one end with paper towels, recycled paper bedding, or aspen is the route to go. Your snake's water dish should provide all the moisture it needs; if not, then mist your cage ocassionally.

There's no need to use Sphagnum moss in a kingsnake's cage, and this is coming from a botanist. If your breeding and need to keep the eggs moist and warm, then maybe so - I don't breed and others can address that. But as a place for your snake to hide on the cool end...I think it's a mistake.

I lost my first king years ago by providing it with a nice, moist place to hide...and that's just what she did; that and too much airflow caused an upper respiratory infection that killed her before I knew what had happened. Today I would notice it right away and get it treated, but the point is that I don't recommend using a plant such as Sphagnum in a kingsnakes cage unless it's been boiled and dried and then used simply as a cushy substrate.

Think about it.

Peace.

-John

i was just trying it out, i never had a problem with it in my ball pythons tank but i have stopped using it. there wasnt much airflow in the cream cheese container which might have been why. she seemed to really like the hide b/c she just sat in the corner it was in for a long time. so i made a new one and tossed the old one but she doesnt seem as fond of this one since she go in it as much. not putting any moss in there again.
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1.0 Monty - The Ball Python
0.1 Jalapeno - The Cal King

I've been using sm for some time with great success. I have found however that its best to use unprocessed long fiber moss which actually seems to retard the growth of mold or mildew. The highly proccessed type thats been dyed or colored that you buy in pet stores tends to mold right away in my limited experience. I've noted the same using the "orchid" moss seen in some garden stores which looks to simply be bleached long fiber sm. Hope this helps.

That's a good idea to some extent...the point is to uses Sphagnum that isn't treated (colored, etc.) and has been dried "hard" or has altered so that it doesn't have the same water-holding capability of fresh Sphagnum taken from the field, whether dried in the sun or wet.

I still see no reason to use Sphagnum for normal bedding/moisture cage situations - with Lampropeltis at least - unless you're in an unusually dry climate or are breeding and need the mositure content of the substrate to stay high. It may look better but is no better (and potentially much worse for your snake) than other, often cheaper, safer substrates (paper towels, recycled paper bedding, etc.).

Remember any Sphagnum you get from the out of doors will have organisms living in it - even if it's drying in the sun. Sphagnum can be dry as a bone one day and come back after a rain and it's a nice, wet cushion with lots of microscopic critters that love to live in it.

Peace.

-John