Rehousing tarantula, would like some pointers

[aurusantula]

Howdy folks, I am in need of some advice. Pictures of things along the way.

I was checking out my A. chalcodes' enclosure a few minutes ago and saw that her water dish had developed a white film on the water and along the actual plastic of the dish itself, and I realized it was mold. I'm now concerned and worried for my tarantula since she might have been avoiding water this entire time (she molted last week) due to the mold. Picture is after cleaning it, and the current white seems to be the parts that have dried.

I want to rehouse her but I'm wondering if I should just buy a whole new enclosure instead of trying to use the same one I currently have. The only ventilation it has is the mesh top that has some tape around the edges so that my tarantula doesn't get her claws stuck in the mesh. Also, would I need to replace her log? Her log is where she has her burrow.

I do know that when I rehouse her I need to give a LOT more substrate (at least double).

I am also not sure where exactly to put my tarantula while I am busy setting up her new enclosure/cleaning out the old one. What do I do?

 

[Venom1080]

Mold isn't a huge issue unless it's literally everywhere in the cage. Which it can't really do in a properly set up
Aphonopelma cage.

Just prod the spider into a deli cup. Close it, then leave it till the new cage is set up. Then prod her out into her new cage.

Don't bother replacing anything.

 

[aurusantula]

Mold isn't a huge issue unless it's literally everywhere in the cage. Which it can't really do in a properly set up
Aphonopelma cage.

Just prod the spider into a deli cup. Close it, then leave it till the new cage is set up. Then prod her out into her new cage.

Don't bother replacing anything.

Alright, so probably just replace the substrate/clean this enclosure out?

I think this is the first time I've genuinely had to deal with mold, and I'm thinking I might stick her waterdish in the oven for a bit.

Also, should I feed her before or after the rehouse?

 

[Venom1080]

Alright, so probably just replace the substrate/clean this enclosure out?

I think this is the first time I've genuinely had to deal with mold, and I'm thinking I might stick her waterdish in the oven for a bit.

Also, should I feed her before or after the rehouse?

I wouldn't even clean it out. Just add more substrate.

 

[Anoplogaster]

The oven thing only kills mold spores that happen to be on the object at that exact moment. There are mold spores in literally every breath you take. So I wouldn't bother. The best way to avoid mold is to control the environment itself. The enclosure should be pretty dry. There will always be a film that develops on the water if you give it enough time. Just change the water and rinse it out when it happens.

 

[Anoplogaster]

Also, mold seems to grow quicker when the temperature rises. So you'll get these issues more frequently during summer, unless your A/C is on full blast.

 

[scott308]

Mold requires moisture to grow, which is why it was able to coat the waterdish. This also makes it very unlikely to be a problem in the rest of the enclosure. Unless there is an infestation of some sort, most experienced keepers don't change the substrate unless upgrading to a bigger enclosure. Just make sure to remove food debris and excrement and you should be ok. Add more substrate to this enclosure, unless you feel a bigger enclosure is warranted. If that's the case, then go ahead and upgrade, but this enclosure looks pretty good to me. If you do go with a new tank, I wouldn't remove the spider from the old tank until you are ready with the new house. You can remove the dish and hide to place in the new tank. The spider won't be any more inconvenienced by that than if you put it into a deli cup.

 

[cold blood]

MOLD IS A NON-ISSUE.

Pick it out, clean the bowl and move on....Mold would have to get pretty bad to necessitate a re-house. You have nothing at all to worry about, not even a little bit.

 

[user 666]

here you go:

 

[Jones0911]

Usually until I find something I really like for hides I use the toilet paper roll or the paper towel roll.

These tend to get moldy in the enclosures eventually but I've kept them in there with mold on them and no ill effects on my Ts....I always change them out but the mold has never cause any real issues in the enclosure. When it comes to rehousing tarantulas for the ones who are small slings i use a a small vial.

2+ inches i slide a catch cup over them then slide the lid under them.

 

[Formerphobe]

The dried crusty stuff on the water bowl is mineralization from the water, not mold. You can avoid that to some extent by using filtered water or disposable water bowls (condiment cups).
Also looks like there is some algae on the bottom. A good scrubbing will get rid of it temporarily.

If A chalcodes is in an enclosure that is truly growing mold, it is too damp and needs less bowl overflow and more ventilation.

 

[darkness975]

Howdy folks, I am in need of some advice. Pictures of things along the way.

I was checking out my A. chalcodes' enclosure a few minutes ago and saw that her water dish had developed a white film on the water and along the actual plastic of the dish itself, and I realized it was mold. I'm now concerned and worried for my tarantula since she might have been avoiding water this entire time (she molted last week) due to the mold. Picture is after cleaning it, and the current white seems to be the parts that have dried.

I want to rehouse her but I'm wondering if I should just buy a whole new enclosure instead of trying to use the same one I currently have. The only ventilation it has is the mesh top that has some tape around the edges so that my tarantula doesn't get her claws stuck in the mesh. Also, would I need to replace her log? Her log is where she has her burrow.

I do know that when I rehouse her I need to give a LOT more substrate (at least double).

I am also not sure where exactly to put my tarantula while I am busy setting up her new enclosure/cleaning out the old one. What do I do?

Two things I would recommend:

1. Replace the screen mesh lid with a pexi glass one with air holes drilled into it. Screens are a hazard for them.

2. Use disposable water dishes. I use 2 oz souffle cups and swap it out every couple weeks or so with a new one. 2 bucks for a pack of 200 at was mart.

 

[boina]

That film is not mold at all. It's a biofilm, made out of billions of bacteria. Now, do not panic . Not every bacterium is harmful and these may not be http://www.waterandhealth.org/biofilms-good-bad/ .
Just clean your water dish regularly - wipe it out - that's all that's needed.

And stop rehousing your tarantula because of something that's completely normal.

 

[Venom1080]

Usually until I find something I really like for hides I use the toilet paper roll or the paper towel roll.

These tend to get moldy in the enclosures eventually but I've kept them in there with mold on them and no ill effects on my Ts....I always change them out but the mold has never cause any real issues in the enclosure. When it comes to rehousing tarantulas for the ones who are small slings i use a a small vial.

2+ inches i slide a catch cup over them then slide the lid under them.

That just sounds so lazy..

 

[aurusantula]

Thanks for all the input, y'all! I'm probably going to put new substrate in, which is my main goal at this point (since when she is active she loves to climb around a LOT and I don't want her getting hurt). I'll be sure to replace the mesh with plexiglass+holes.

 

[Jones0911]

That just sounds so lazy..

You're a very judgmental person and disrespectful

 

[Venom1080]

You're a very judgmental person and disrespectful

But my spiders have hides.

PM me if you want to talk

 

[viper69]

I am also not sure where exactly to put my tarantula while I am busy setting up her new enclosure/cleaning out the old one. What do I do?

I heard containers work really well for keeping Ts in a physical location, but maybe that's a crazy idea.

 

[viper69]

It's a biofilm, made out of billions of bacteria

How do you know it's bacteria and not mineralization??

 

[boina]

How do you know it's bacteria and not mineralization??

Well, the OP was talking about a white film on the water - that's always bacteria, I never heard of any film being minerals. I'm not a geologist, so correct me if I'm wrong, but I would expect minerals to form crusts on surfaces - crystals in some form or other. Of course, I hereby assume the OPs interpretation that the 'white' still visible in the pic is the dried rest of it, to be wrong. Bacteria wipe off. The white stuff still left would be minerals, I agree.