bad eyes during shed - can i use peat moss?

[raredesign]

The winters are super dry, and I have done my best to keep up humidity.
I have a 90 gal tank with wet towels covering the cool side to help keep the humidity up. I occasionally mist it down, and also soak my skink in our tub.
I use aspen that is a little larger than typical shredded and smaller than chipped. He has never had issues until this winter. I had another post about his one eye being problematic and so I took him to the vet which was pretty disappointing. I still used the eye drops and all, but I have come to understand it is this dryness.

Ok, so enough of the background.

His eyes are an ugly dried mess that looks like a bad shed, and then parts of raw pink under them. Right now he IS shedding, so this may all clear up, but I want to make the best of the situation for him.

Has anyone used peat moss as the entire substrate? Maybe this aspen is just too dry for winter use. I just want to make sure it is safe. Also, can I just purchase from a hardware store, or would that possibly have parasites? I hope that a pet store would sell parasite free substrate/moss.

Is it safe for there digestive system in case of accidental digestion?

Thanks all

[raredesign]

sorry for the bump, but it has been seven days.

[Kbell31]

There have been many issues with skink eye problems lately. There have been several posts with different solutions and treatments. I am not sure that I would personally use entirely peat moss as I would be worried about fungal infections. Maybe someone else can be of more help. Have you considered using cypress (please be informed of the environmental concerns if you decide to use this) or compressed coco fiber like eco earth or something similar?

[critterguy]

Sphagnum moss is quite acidic so that helps to retard fungal growth on it(which is why it is used for all sorts of stuff).

[Katrina]

I think it might help...

I'm currently dealing with similar eye issues with our little Houseguest. We tried antibiotic eye drops and that didn't work so now we are onto oral baytril. I'm using cypress mulch to up the humidity - I'll let you know if anything work / helps!