# Adding Vermiculite To T Stirmi cage to stop mold



## Ultum4Spiderz (Feb 27, 2013)

I have had molding problems due to the lower levels of substrate being Moist 
DO you think adding Vermiculite to the cage would help out on keeping Mold down??
Ventilation is very good currently , mold shouldn't be forming

spider- T stirmi Goliath birdeater
Should I Re-cook the ECO earth in oven? also
Perhaps she is Wild caught... previous owner said he thought it was captive bread


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## jakykong (Feb 27, 2013)

I don't know about vermiculite. No experience with it. 

But for mold, it might mean you're keeping it too wet. What species are we talking about here? Can you just let it be dry w/ a water dish?

Another option would be isopods.


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## Ultum4Spiderz (Feb 27, 2013)

T stirmi it says in heading.......Goliath birdeater , it seems very relaxed at this level of moisture


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## mcluskyisms (Feb 27, 2013)

Adding vermiculite to an enclosure wont stop mould from developing in it, mould develops due to two factors - Not enough airflow/too much humidity. If you increase the airflow you will naturally find that the humidity will drop. For species such as _Theraphosa_ a good humidity is needed although many people tend to overdo the humidity factor due to reading poor regurgitated care sheets that are often copied from one another and bundled around the internet. A humidity of 70-80% is enough for keeping _Theraphosa_ spp. in captivity, anything over that and you will start  to run into the problems that you are finding. 

Whereas it is true that mould will naturally occur in the wild it is also true that a tarantula can move to anywhere it wants in the wild. Other things you may want to consider is creating cross ventilation & adding woodlice (Isopods) and Springtails to the enclosure which will also help with small amounts of mould etc created by food bolus etc.


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## Tarac (Feb 27, 2013)

^Exactly.  Mold, mildew, etc. grows even on inorganic substrates if there is sufficient humidity and some other source of media (like biological activity of a spider) around.

I suspect there is not enough circulating air.  There may be sufficient number of vents/holes for air exchange but there may not be enough current to allow for it.


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## macbaffo (Feb 27, 2013)

*R: Adding Vermiculite To T Stirmi cage to stop mold*

Others said pretty much everything to solve mould problem.
Try to look if where it moulds there are some old food residues like pieces of crickets or roaches.


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## Osmo (Feb 27, 2013)

I keep my strimi cages pretty damp and havent seen mold yet. I have alot of springtails though so im sure they help.


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## Stan Schultz (Feb 27, 2013)

Ultum4Spiderz said:


> I have had molding problems due to the lower levels of substrate being Moist ...


Wild caught _Theraphosa_ species normally require a slightly to markedly humid environment, and the easiest (although maybe not the best) way to accomplish this is with damp substrate. Cage bred and raised _T. blondi_, and apparently especially _T. stirmi_ and _T. apophysis_ do not require such a high humidity.

With most other tarantulas, mold in the cage is a sure sign you're keeping the cage too damp. But, it's not because of any inherent problem with the mold itself, but rather the fact that if mold can grow, so can a lot of other far more dangerous things.

So, you must answer the question, "Does your _T. stirmi_ *NEED* a damp cage?"

If yes, the strategy of choice is to keep a second, reserve, cage stored away, all set up and ready to go but bone dry. When something happens that leads you to think there's a problem, you merely dampen the reserve cage and switch the tarantula into it. Then, at your earliest opportunity you clean, set the original cage up as the new reserve cage, and store it away for the next time you have a crisis.

If no, the best strategy now is to prepare a double batch of substrate as per the instructions in *Substrate* and use one of the suggested methods for drying it out. When it's finally dry enough, use one portion as you clean out the current contaminated cage, and either store the second portion away till it's needed again, or set up a second reserve cage now, as detailed above.

If you are one of those people who maintain an elaborate, pseudo-real, museum diorama, style cage set up for your _T. stirmi_, now you know why I speak so strongly against such "Natural and Organic," "Toy Utopia cages." Forty-five years of sometimes bitter experience has firmly convinced me that the *KISS Principle*, without question, is best. And museum dioramas are best left to museums with large budgets and armies of well trained diorama keepers.



Ultum4Spiderz said:


> ... DO you think adding Vermiculite to the cage would help out on keeping Mold down?? ...


Historically, the only real reason anyone uses vermiculite in substrate is to loosen it up, to make it fluffy. Tarantulas don't like fluffy, which is one of the major reasons that vermiculite has fallen so profoundly out of favor. Vermiculite does not support fungal growth by itself because it's inorganic, but the fungi will continue to grow on all the organic contaminants in the vermiculite. So, there's a good reason why you might not want to use it, and no good reason why you should. Bottom line: No, it's the wrong stuff.



Ultum4Spiderz said:


> ... Ventilation is very good currently, mold shouldn't be forming ...


But if you're using a relatively thick layer of substrate, the dry upper layers serve as a barrier that prevents the bottom layers from drying out. And, if you're using shredded coconut husk, the stuff is notorious for packing down and preventing lower layers from drying. That's why I included that special set of instructions for drying it out in *Substrate*.

I suppose you also have several other alternatives:
1) Change to a different substrate.
2) Use a much thinner layer of substrate.

But, these also would require a dismantling and cleaning of the cage.



Ultum4Spiderz said:


> ... Should I Re-cook the ECO earth in oven? ...


Cooking or any other form of sanitization or sterilization has generally proven useless if not outright dangerous. This is because even after you've gone through the ordeal, you put an arguably "unclean" tarantula back onto the substrate, recontaminating it. Worse, you then throw in food which in most cases is filthy by anyone's measure. And the _pièce de résistance_ is that every time you remove or open the cover, you allow literally a rain of bacterial and fungal spores, and vermin eggs onto the substrate. Within minutes all your finest efforts are obliterated.

In the arachnoculture hobby, it is generally considered very poor form for an enthusiast to turn their home into a chemical waste dump, or burn it to the ground by attempting to sterilize $5 worth of peat or coco husk! Bad form indeed!



Ultum4Spiderz said:


> ... Perhaps she is Wild caught... previous owner said he thought it was captive bread


Probably irrelevant as far as "things" growing in the substrate are concerned.

I'm sorry I can't give you any "magic bullet" solutions. But maybe my discussion will help you make up your mind about your course of action.


Enjoy your little 8-legged saber-toothed cat!


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