# Help - Mushrooms growing in Tarantula Tank



## cl4hisown (May 11, 2012)

Hi all

i need serious help, i have 3 T's - the one tank with the tiger rump keeps growing this freaking mushroom all the time, i changed the peat moss, 
but it keeps growing back all the time, i dont know how it will affect the T, what else can i do, the other 2 tanks are fine...


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## Hobo (May 11, 2012)

Just pluck em out as they come up if you don't like 'em. You can also try drying it out some. Eventually they'll stop.

My H. lividum tank grows mushrooms all the time during the moist part of the year, and she's never had issues with them. A number of my tanks also have some mold in them, and all the tarantulas are fine, so I would say they don't pose any significant health hazards by themselves.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## kwacky (May 11, 2012)

A lot of people keep spingtails or woodlice in their tanks to help with the substrate husbandry.  

I'm not a fan of seeing mold in an enclosure, it suggests poor air flow and a lack of attention to housekeeping. Fungal spores can get in some unwelcome places, including within your T.  I realise they encounter this in the wild, but they can walk away from a bad area.  

But that's just my view on it.

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## Zoomer428 (May 11, 2012)

Being me id take them out and try not to dampen sub as much but thats prob not the answer id listen to hobo


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## Wlapkiewicz (May 11, 2012)

I would recommend buying new substrate and cleaning the entire enclosure really well with soap or bleach. If you remove the mushroom (the fruit part) then the mycellium (the root part) of the fungi will still grow producing more mushrooms. Even drying the substrate will not help since there might be spores in it already.

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## Ciphor (May 11, 2012)

Leave them in, they give the enclosure character and are 100% completely harmless to your T.  Very, very few types of fungi (mold too) are dangerous to arachnids. I believe to be honest, there has only been one recorded instance of a fungi having a negative impact on a spider. Isopods are good to help prevent mushrooms and molds, by eating decaying organic material, like bug remains, and feces. Springtails are good to help control what has already started decomposing, by eating the mushrooms & molds. Both play different roles in the decomposition process.

To the comment about them being able to walk away from fungi/mold in wild, the odd part is, they actually will hang out around it. If you have ever been dead log flipping you will know what I'm talking about. Next time your out in the forest and you find a dead log laying on the ground with turkey tail growing on it (_Trametes versicolor_) that is of a decent size, but not so big that you cannot roll it over, go ahead and roll it over. You will find a couple things. 1, the underside of that log was hiding huge white blotches of mold and fungi; 2, more importantly to the point, you will find lots of arachnids, beetles, myriapods, etc. literally living in a moldy environment.

Same with many types of fungal growths. I actually use arboreal species of fungi as a indicator on where to look for _Callobius pictus_ at Mt. Rainier national park. They tend to hang out around the mushrooms.

Fear of mold/fungi is like the fear of spiders, based off ignorance; a lack of understanding to how mold/fungi work. Once you understand that it is literally only a handful of species that you must be cautious of, you stop worrying as much.

The only reason you should be overly cautious is if _you_ personally, or people you live with, are sensitive to mold/fungi spores, which, if you have been dealing with these mushrooms for awhile now and have not had to go to the hospital, I'd say your likely in the clear.

Fungi & mold are a natural part of decomposition. I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that after each cleaning you are using the same batch of soil? Something in that soil batch needs decomposed, and the mushrooms are proof of that. Buy a new batch and it may go away, Or, you can always prep your soil in a large storage container by getting it hydrated and letting it sit for a few months before you use it; throw lots of isopods in to speed things up. This will decompose everything that needs broken down, and leave you with what you desire.

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## zonbonzovi (May 11, 2012)

It's funny that mushrooms are cause for concern as coir is a popular substrate for growing them.  It's ph is neutral and its considered to be relatively sterile(post pasteurization) & compaction resistant.  I suspect that the spores these 'shrooms grew from are already present before packaging/sale.  I thought I had an ID on the one in Hobo's pic at one time but I've since forgotten what it was.

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## rockhopper (May 11, 2012)

zonbonzovi said:


> I suspect that the spores these 'shrooms grew from are already present before packaging/sale.


This is what I am curious about.  I don't know much about mushrooms or fungus in general, but I'd assume the spores would have to be introuduced into the enslosure somehow.  I don't believe mushrooms pop up on their own, but I really don't know.


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## Tonys spiders (May 11, 2012)

I believe there are already spores in the coco coir as i have had mushrooms pop up in my more humid enclosures. I found that i get more mushrooms when i purchase the coco choir from the LPS(ive tried a few brands) rather than the much cheaper, and much better quality imo, coco coir from either home depot or any local hydroponic or garden supply store. It isnt absent of the mushroom spores but i have coco coir from my LPS in one of my stirmi cages and i get atleast 1 mushroom every couple months, where as my two other stirmi cages rarely get mushrooms. One in which i have never seen one the other i believe only 2. They are natural though and shouldnt hurt your T.


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## jayefbe (May 11, 2012)

Wlapkiewicz said:


> I would recommend buying new substrate and cleaning the entire enclosure really well with soap or bleach. If you remove the mushroom (the fruit part) then the mycellium (the root part) of the fungi will still grow producing more mushrooms. Even drying the substrate will not help since there might be spores in it already.


Total overkill. Spores are everywhere and get everywhere. Trying to remove every last one is impossible and unnecessary.

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## Ciphor (May 11, 2012)

zonbonzovi said:


> It's funny that mushrooms are cause for concern as coir is a popular substrate for growing them.  It's ph is neutral and its considered to be relatively sterile(post pasteurization) & compaction resistant.  I suspect that the spores these 'shrooms grew from are already present before packaging/sale.  I thought I had an ID on the one in Hobo's pic at one time but I've since forgotten what it was.


Order: Agaricales
Family might be Hygrophoraceae? To tell for sure we would need to know if the spores are black or white.

Might also be something in Cortinariaceae or Bolbitiaceae.


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## khil (May 11, 2012)

use a new substrate like coco fiber and add a bit more ventilation. you don't really want fungus especially if you keep your Ts in your room (foul air)


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## Ciphor (May 11, 2012)

rockhopper said:


> This is what I am curious about.  I don't know much about mushrooms or fungus in general, but I'd assume the spores would have to be introuduced into the enslosure somehow.  I don't believe mushrooms pop up on their own, but I really don't know.


Correct, they reproduce just like most organisms.

Hyphae (the body of fungi) is everywhere. Some bodies stretch under ground for over half a mile and are completely unseen and hidden, popping up mushrooms in whatever spots have the right conditions. So really the spores could be in the substrate/soil already, or it could be in the air around his home and he just created a favorable condition for them to quickly fruit. The hyphae breaks down and eats dead organic material (composting), that they store till the conditions are right (humidity) for them to fruit and reproduce. If the substrate lacks the nutrients for the hyphae to fruit, it wont. If the substrate lacks the humidity, it also wont. Mushrooms unlike the hyphae are just a fruit, so it does not grow by way of cell division, but rather cell expansion with water, which is why they need humidity so badly to grow.

Isopods are very effective as they compete for the same nutrients.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Hyphae.JPG


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## Hobo (May 11, 2012)

Ciphor said:


> Order: Agaricales
> Family might be Hygrophoraceae? To tell for sure we would need to know if the spores are black or white.
> 
> Might also be something in Cortinariaceae or Bolbitiaceae.


The spores were white, IIRC. I'll find out soon enough, it's about that time of year.


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## Ciphor (May 11, 2012)

khil said:


> use a new substrate like coco fiber and add a bit more ventilation. you don't really want fungus especially if you keep your Ts in your room (foul air)


Very few fungi produce a noticeable odor. Mold on the other hand can produce a strong odor, but not in this condition. The types of mold that produce strong unpleasant odors typically grow on freshly decaying organic material, large pieces of food for example. The cases when fungi will smell is when it is consuming from a living organism, dermal attacking species of fungi for example can produce an odor.

To the contrary, most fungi will actually help with odor as it breaks down and consumes things in soil that are the cause of bad odor, like bacteria. 

---------- Post added 05-11-2012 at 10:30 PM ----------




Hobo said:


> The spores were white, IIRC. I'll find out soon enough, it's about that time of year.


If the spores are white then i'd definitely guess Hygrophoraceae. (I'm no expert btw so dont hold me to it lol)


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## Lopez (May 12, 2012)

I've had mould and mushrooms on and off over the years. Sometimes they grow, sometimes they don't. Never had it adversely affect a spider so I never do anything about them.


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## Chris LXXIX (Jan 26, 2016)

Hobo said:


> My H. lividum tank grows mushrooms all the time during the moist part of the year, and she's never had issues with them. A number of my tanks also have some mold in them


I do know that this is a dead thread but really, your reply made my day, man 
But don't you have fear of mold, especially when it comes to obligate burrower T's?


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## Hobo (Jan 26, 2016)

Chris LXXIX said:


> I do know that this is a dead thread but really, your reply made my day, man
> But don't you have fear of mold, especially when it comes to obligate burrower T's?


No.
That particular tarantula is still with me, and still occasionally has mushrooms growing in there. I've no doubt her burrow has all sorts of mold in there, as she chooses to pack boluses in there instead of dropping them outside.
Here's one of my other enclosures, a communal. This juvenile practically lived in the stuff, and he turned out ok.

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## Chris LXXIX (Jan 26, 2016)

Hobo said:


> No.
> That particular tarantula is still with me, and still occasionally has mushrooms growing in there. I've no doubt her burrow has all sorts of mold in there, as she chooses to pack boluses in there instead of dropping them outside.
> Here's one of my other enclosures, a communal. This juvenile practically lived in the stuff, and he turned out ok.


LOL now that's some serious stuff, man, ah ah.


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## cold blood (Jan 26, 2016)

I agree with hobo, its gotta be pretty bad for me to get concerned at all about mold.


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## Chris LXXIX (Jan 26, 2016)

cold blood said:


> I agree with hobo, its gotta be pretty bad for me to get concerned at all about mold.


Uh, i'm sorry man, i can't understand well (sorry, my English skills). What i mean is (i know that things like that doesn't happens in one night) example: if tomorrow morning on my routine T's check, i would notice something like that, lol, a stroke probably would kill me 
You wouldn't been worried, nor thinking about re-house? I respect Hobo views but i can't figure out how that load of molt would not harm my T's.


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## The Snark (Jan 26, 2016)

Let's use a rough analogy. Molds and fungi are to animals living on, in or near detritus what petrochemical plastics are to the average human and household. To be precise, more common than clean dirt.

The bloom in those pictures can occur within minutes. Mold and fungi are opportunists highly adapted and sensitized to the environment. When conditions are right, they produce 'fruit', spore bearing growths from the mycelium which is the vegetative body of the organism. For example, a certain mushroom,. a Chanterelle, will only be found under certain trees with certain amounts of moisture and humidity at very specific temperatures. That is, the forest floor will be devoid of them one day, have thousands of the shrooms appear the next, and be gone on day 3.

Reactions: Agree 1 | Informative 1


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## Chris LXXIX (Jan 26, 2016)

The Snark said:


> Let's use a rough analogy. Molds and fungi are to animals living on, in or near detritus what petrochemical plastics are to the average human and household. To be precise, more common than clean dirt.
> 
> The bloom in those pictures can occur within minutes. Mold and fungi are opportunists highly adapted and sensitized to the environment. When conditions are right, they produce 'fruit', spore bearing growths from the mycelium which is the vegetative body of the organism. For example, a certain mushroom,. a Chanterelle, will only be found under certain trees with certain amounts of moisture and humidity at very specific temperatures. That is, the forest floor will be devoid of them one day, have thousands of the shrooms appear the next, and be gone on day 3.


And do you think that such mold would not harm a _Theraphosidae _in the long run? You wouldn't re-house that?


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## The Snark (Jan 26, 2016)

Unless someone has direct knowledge somehow you need a mycologist who has conducted tests on mygalomorphs if one such exists. The two concerns are a fungi that is able to invade the exoskeleton and 'set up shop', eventually destroying the animal, or the spores being toxic to that animal. I have no information on that nor can I identify the fungi.
However, the law of averages roughly states over 99% of the fungi animals encounter is benign and presents no hazard. More accurately, around 99.9995% safe.
(PS you have inhaled about 10 billion benign spores in the time it took to read this.)

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## Chris LXXIX (Jan 26, 2016)

The Snark said:


> Unless someone has direct knowledge somehow you need a mycologist who has conducted tests on mygalomorphs if one such exists. The two concerns are a fungi that is able to invade the exoskeleton and 'set up shop', eventually destroying the animal, or the spores being toxic to that animal. I have no information on that nor can I identify the fungi.
> However, the law of averages roughly states over 99% of the fungi animals encounter is benign and presents no hazard. More accurately, around 99.9995% safe.
> (PS you have inhaled about 10 billion benign spores in the time it took to read this.)


That's exactly what i mean. Let's skip the mycologist & spider part (i agree btw). How someone is "able to", if lack the knowledge for?
Even if you contact a mycologist, or someone, let's say, "more" into mold, spores and stuff like that, would be only partial useful, no, if that "Doc" knows nothing about T's, am i wrong?
I personally would re-house, it's not worth the risk, since i'm (but i'm sure other people as well) not exactly into that topic. It's like playing dice to me, just that odds are a bit more on the "nothing to worry" side IMO.


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## Chris11 (Jan 26, 2016)

I think i have mushrooms growing inside me....


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## The Snark (Jan 26, 2016)

You can't escape spores. Only limit the amount available. They are in your house now. Use a powerful I-UV light for 500 years to kill almost all of them off. Or provide an environment where the mycelium can't grow.

Don't forget the old adage. 'Anything that doesn't kill us has the potential to make us stronger.' Fungi and molds are constantly used by immune systems to train for the hazardous ones.


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## Chris11 (Jan 26, 2016)

Chris LXXIX said:


> That's exactly what i mean. Let's skip the mycologist & spider part (i agree btw). How someone is "able to", if lack the knowledge for?
> Even if you contact a mycologist, or someone, let's say, "more" into mold, spores and stuff like that, would be only partial useful, no, if that "Doc" knows nothing about T's, am i wrong?
> I personally would re-house, it's not worth the risk, since i'm (but i'm sure other people as well) not exactly into that topic. It's like playing dice to me, just that odds are a bit more on the "nothing to worry" side IMO.


I just rehoused my B. smithi, LP, and P. muticus slings today due to mold. I have no idea what sparked it, but all 3 enclosures were COVERED with little patches of white fuzz. I was most surprised by the Queen Baboons enclosure because the soil was dry???? It was very unsightly to me and i was worried the spiders would suffer so i rehoused them all. After reading this though im less keen to intervene with molds and fungi (unless rapdily FUBAR).

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## The Snark (Jan 26, 2016)

You would have to take extensive college courses or work infection control in a hospital for years to get a handle on the microscopic world. By the way, congratulations to everyone on AB on catching Tuberculosis.
It's all about opportunity. The spores are ubiquitous. Everywhere all the time. They only become a problem when immune systems break down or an environment becomes conducive to their rapid growth. Just don't give them the environment and don't freak out over a sudden blooming. It's probably harmless.

What is much MUCH worse is animals that have been kept in sterile environments their entire lives. Lab animals usually die within days of being exposed to 'normal' air. Their immune systems are all but turned off. Remember the 'boy in the bubble'?


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## The Snark (Jan 26, 2016)

For example, HIV-AIDS has never caused a single death. EVER. It's a non lethal viral infection. What is does is lay to waste the immune system. The commonest cause of death from AIDS is TB. We are all infected with TB but the immune system keeps it in check.


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## Chris LXXIX (Jan 26, 2016)

The Snark said:


> For example, HIV-AIDS has never caused a single death. EVER. It's a non lethal viral infection. What is does is lay to waste the immune system.


And isn't that enough, ah ah? At the end the virus is the cause of the fail of the immune system. However since i suffered from _Staphilococcus aureus _thanks to that K-wire on my right clavicle, have to say i'm damn more weak than used to be prior.


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## The Snark (Jan 26, 2016)

I have no idea. Way out of my league. I'm much more qualified in making a guess you had a Kirschner wire to keep the pieces together commonly caused by barreling down hill on a bicycle or a skiing accident.

Invasive objects certainly serve to demonstrate the skins function of the first layer of defense against infection, don't they?


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## Chris LXXIX (Jan 26, 2016)

Chris11 said:


> P. muticus slings today due to mold. I was most surprised by the Queen Baboons enclosure because the soil was dry????


You know, talking about _Pelinobius muticus _only, i understand your concern and i've discussed that issue just before (and yesterday). Mine do not take out of her burrow prey boluses, if yours behave like mine, then we have the cause.
I don't have mold (well, if there's, i can not see that) but i think that in the long run, sooner or later, there's chances. Mine is on dry substrate & cross ventilation as well.


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## Chris11 (Jan 26, 2016)

Chris LXXIX said:


> You know, talking about _Pelinobius muticus _only, i understand your concern and i've discussed that issue just before (and yesterday). Mine do not take out of her burrow prey boluses, if yours behave like mine, then we have the cause.
> I don't have mold (well, if there's, i can not see that) but i think that in the long run, sooner or later, there's chances. Mine is on dry substrate & cross ventilation as well.


The last place id expect mold is one of my baboons enclosures, thats what i was mostly worried about, and i watch it eat every time so i have no idea what the mold came from....

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Chris LXXIX (Jan 26, 2016)

The Snark said:


> I have no idea. Way out of my league. I'm much more qualified in making a guess you had a Kirschner wire to keep the pieces together commonly caused by barreling down hill on a bicycle or a skiing accident.


Ah ah, no, remember, some months ago in a thread i can't remember exactly, now? I've told you about the incident happened to me when i was a teen. A fall from a cross motorbike, like a @%&! ended up to E.R with the right clavicle in four pieces. K-wire in. Fine. Nothing happened. That's why i've never removed that (after all, no pain, nothing, not even with sports etc) just that, two years ago, the K-wire started to push up and after a check, the virus was in. Surgery, K-wire removed, and loads of Bactrim. 
After a month, more or less, i've started to notice my body more weaker, lol. Don't know if i went lazy all of a sudden or are some long lasting effects of that virus, who knows?


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## Chris LXXIX (Jan 26, 2016)

Chris11 said:


> The last place id expect mold is one of my baboons enclosures, thats what i was mostly worried about, and i watch it eat every time so i have no idea what the mold came from....


I understand, since they are on the dry side... mine do that always, so i will be 100% sure that, if mold would happens "tomorrow", that the cause is due to prey boluses, hiding who knows where in those underground burrow tunnels... because since the substrate is dry & cross ventilation "in", honestly i can't think to other reasons.


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## The Snark (Jan 26, 2016)

Virus or bacteria?
Sorry no, no recollection. Most paramedics train themselves to not remember previous incidents. Too easy to get a 'repeat customer' and tunnel vision instead of doing a proper full assessment.


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## The Snark (Jan 26, 2016)

Molds and fungi do not rely on any single condition. They have molds growing on their books in antarctic labs, read <1% humidity. They grow in the hottest deserts. It's all dependent on the organism and it's preferences.

Reactions: Informative 1


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## Chris11 (Jan 26, 2016)

Chris LXXIX said:


> I understand, since they are on the dry side... mine do that always, so i will be 100% sure that, if mold would happens "tomorrow", that the cause is due to prey boluses, hiding who knows where in those underground burrow tunnels... because since the substrate is dry & cross ventilation "in", honestly i can't think to other reasons.


In my understanding a bolus will not start to mold over, unless the prey item was too big and it couldnt all be consumed. After a spider finishes its meal there should be nothing left besides an exo, nothing to mold. I dont worry about plucking bolusi (?) unless theyre easily retrievable. My haplos (yes, Haplopelma) never leave bolusi (?) retrievable and ive never had mold in their enclosures....


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## Chris LXXIX (Jan 26, 2016)

The Snark said:


> Virus or bacteria?
> Sorry no, no recollection. Most paramedics train themselves to not remember previous incidents. Too easy to get a 'repeat customer' and tunnel vision instead of doing a proper full assessment.


Virus, virus  After the medical swab result, the Docs called me just before dinner asking me to come to the clinic (i refused the Hospital, here our Hospital "failed" hard in the last years, prior was class) for gave me those Bactrim pills.


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## Chris LXXIX (Jan 26, 2016)

Chris11 said:


> In my understanding a bolus will not start to mold over, unless the prey item was too big and it couldnt all be consumed. After a spider finishes its meal there should be nothing left besides an exo, nothing to mold. I dont worry about plucking bolusi (?) unless theyre easily retrievable. My haplos (yes, Haplopelma) never leave bolusi (?) retrievable and ive never had mold in their enclosures....


Yes, but what in the long run? One prey remains now, one "tomorrow" etc? All the burrowers T's i have (and had, NW just like OW ones) never behaved like my _Pelinobius muticus_. They always leaved the boluse near/inside the water dish, near/at the burrow entrance etc

Not her  My guess is, she have a sort of "trash can" in her burrow, where she leave and web those, but who knows... anyway, i don't have mold in the enclosure (or maybe yes, but so far i don't see nothing strange so i say no) but i can not think about that.

I don't like to have prey remains in the enclosure. Maybe it's just me, uh


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## The Snark (Jan 26, 2016)

I'm sorry. I'm missing something. Bactrim, aka Sulphmethoxazole is the old stand by ultra broad spectrum antibiotic that has no effect on viruses. Trimethoprim adjunct it normally packs head hunts escaped bacteria in the urinary tracts.


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## Chris LXXIX (Jan 26, 2016)

The Snark said:


> I'm sorry. I'm missing something. Bactrim, aka Sulphmethoxazole is the old stand by ultra broad spectrum antibiotic that has no effect on viruses. Trimethoprim adjunct it normally packs head hunts escaped bacteria in the urinary tracts.


I swear, that's what they gave to me, man. After a week of Bactrim pills, i went under surgery, and they removed the infected K-wire.


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## Chris11 (Jan 26, 2016)

Chris LXXIX said:


> Yes, but what in the long run? One prey remains now, one "tomorrow" etc? All the burrowers T's i have (and had, NW just like OW ones) never behaved like my _Pelinobius muticus_. They always leaved the boluse near/inside the water dish, near/at the burrow entrance etc
> 
> Not her  My guess is, she have a sort of "trash can" in her burrow, where she leave and web those, but who knows... anyway, i don't have mold in the enclosure (or maybe yes, but so far i don't see nothing strange so i say no) but i can not think about that.
> 
> I don't like to have prey remains in the enclosure. Maybe it's just me, uh


She probably hoardes them because shes estranged from the rest of her family??? I wouldnt even worry about bolusi, much less in an African steup. I think my situation was a fluke.


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## Chris LXXIX (Jan 26, 2016)

Chris11 said:


> She probably hoardes them because shes estranged from the rest of her family??? I wouldnt even worry about bolusi, much less in an African steup. I think my situation was a fluke.


Of course i can't say exactly what happened to you, because you noticed mold in three enclosures, after all. That's was only a concern of mine regarding mine _Pelinobius muticus _(and other burrowers T's that do not take off boluses in general, which i've heard about here and then). In sum (and could be wrong) especially in OW burrowers enclosures (who need a moist substrate) this issue could trigger a mold problem after some time, even if someone have cross ventilation enclosures, and, you know, when it comes to mold here on boards the first questions/answers are: "cross ventilation?" "substrate too moist" etc
Only i think that, in scenario like mine (and others who owns burrowers that burrow prey remains) there's chance that even with dry substrate & cross ventilation this issue can happen. Still, i can be wrong, of course.


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## Chris11 (Jan 26, 2016)

Chris LXXIX said:


> Of course i can't say exactly what happened to you, because you noticed mold in three enclosures, after all. That's was only a concern of mine regarding mine _Pelinobius muticus _(and other burrowers T's that do not take off boluses in general, which i've heard about here and then). In sum (and could be wrong) especially in OW burrowers enclosures (who need a moist substrate) this issue could trigger a mold problem after some time, even if someone have cross ventilation enclosures, and, you know, when it comes to mold here on boards the first questions/answers are: "cross ventilation?" "substrate too moist" etc
> Only i think that, in scenario like mine (and others who owns burrowers that burrow prey remains) there's chance that even with dry substrate this issue can happen. Still, i can be wrong, of course.


The only thing that i can say at this time without future experiementation is: I think vermiculite MIGHT have a role in my 'no mold' issues in my asian setups. I use vermiculite with top soil and peat for asian fossorials and Theraphosa genus and have only ever had 1 mushroom in my stirmi enclosure. I dont leave my asians enclosures moist constantly though like my stirmi, i let it dry out then give it a good rainstorm. I think my slings issues were ventilation-related and have been addressed until/if i need to change soemthing else.

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## The Snark (Jan 26, 2016)

I suppose you people are aware there are a few million kinds of molds and fungi and each has it's own environmental preferences. Ventilation can increase a mold or fungi infection as easily as reduce it, heat or cold can promote or reduce populations and so on.

Chris LXXIX, going by what you described. You developed a bacterial infection. Staph A was suspected. They also suspected MRSA may be present and thus used the old non cillin family sulpha AB, then removed the wire and the pathway the bacteria used.
And yes, Sulpha has a vast galaxy of side effects, some darned significant. I got nerve damage from it.

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## Chris LXXIX (Jan 26, 2016)

Chris11 said:


> The only thing that i can say at this time without future experiementation is: I think vermiculite MIGHT have a role in my 'no mold' issues in my asian setups. I use vermiculite with top soil and peat for asian fossorials and Theraphosa genus and have only ever had 1 mushroom in my stirmi enclosure. I dont leave my asians enclosures moist constantly though like my stirmi, i let it dry out then give it a good rainstorm. I think my slings issues were ventilation-related and have been addressed until/if i need to change soemthing else.


And i totally agree with you, always used fine grain vermiculite (not so much) mixed in the coco fiber for mantain the level of humidity. 
Of course, not into my _Pelinobius muticus _enclosure (while, on the other hand in mine _Hysterocrates gigas _is present).

No... you know, there's isopods, also. I've tought about those, obviously. Just that my experience with those, long time ago, went bad (for them, lol). Straight in T's "belly" so i'm a bit skeptical about "cleaning squad".


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## Chris LXXIX (Jan 26, 2016)

The Snark said:


> Chris LXXIX, going by what you described. You developed a bacterial infection. Staph A was suspected. They also suspected MRSA may be present and thus used the old non cillin family sulpha AB, then removed the wire and the pathway the bacteria used.
> And yes, Sulpha has a vast galaxy of side effects, some darned significant. I got nerve damage from it.


After that, had no more blood test etc nothing. Maybe should have one


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## Chris11 (Jan 26, 2016)

Chris LXXIX said:


> And i totally agree with you, always used fine grain vermiculite (not so much) mixed in the coco fiber for mantain the level of humidity.
> Of course, not into my _Pelinobius muticus _enclosure (while, on the other hand in mine _Hysterocrates gigas _is present).
> 
> No... you know, there's isopods, also. I've tought about those, obviously. Just that my experience with those, long time ago, went bad (for them, lol). Straight in T's "belly" so i'm a bit skeptical about "cleaning squad".


I have ~15 isopods in my stirmi enclosure and since ive put them into it i havent seen a speck of mold or fungi, but thats thebonly enclosure i use them in. Yeah, except for a tiny water dish my P. muticus enclosure was/is bone dry.

Reactions: Agree 1


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