A question about mold...?

sunnymarcie

Celestial Spider
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What should I do if mold grows in the substrate?
(Other than chage it ofcourse!)
Is there something else that can be done?:eek:
 

That Guy

Arachnoknight
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no...Unless you just take your T out and leave the substrate.......Either one.
 

Arachnopuppy

Arachnodemon
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Autoclave the cage with the substrate with mold. Remember to take out the tarantula first.
 

Wade

Arachnoking
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Assuming one has access to an autoclave! I sure wish I did.

Mold is generally an indication that conditions are too wet and poorly ventilated. If you change out the substrate and then re-create the same conditions with new substrate, you're going to get mold again. The spores are in the air, all they need is moisture and food (almost any organic material) it's going to come back.

If you've got a tarantula that you really feel needs a moist substrate (very few really do) you would do well to increase the ventilation so that the surface wil dry out a bit. This usually helps keep mold in check.

What are you using as substrate? Many substrates are prone to mold growth, including many potting soils, coconut coir (bed-a-beast, etc.) and even vermiculte (not organic, but can mold if kept moist). Peat moss seems to be the most resistant to molding, probably due to it's acidic nature.

Wade
 

Bridget

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I think you just need more ventilation and the humidity might be too high.

Bridget
 

Arachnopuppy

Arachnodemon
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Hehehe. Sunny wanted another option besides taking out the tarantula and replacing the substrate. Autoclave just popped into my mind at the time.
 

sunnymarcie

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@Wade

My substrate is vermiculite and peat.
I've noticed a great deal of digging, this little
fuzzie is making a big mess! There is always
dirt in the water dish. Could the T's house keeping be at fault? :mad:

I spooned out the stuff that I thought was mold,
still not sure if it was:? I do not mist the set up either. Maybe I missed a piece of cricket..?
 
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Arachnopuppy

Arachnodemon
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For some reason, tarantulas that burrow tend to carry dirt from their burrows and drop them into water dishes. I have observed this behavior in all my tarantulas.
 

Buspirone

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The two most common molds you'll see on a peat or coir based substrates will be cobweb mold which is very light and wispy and green mold. Both will be caused by high levels of humidity and poor ventilation. If its wide spread then change out the substrate and really clean the enclosure and any contents(decorations) well with a bleach solution or it will re-contaminate. If its a localized contamination you can try removing the effected area of substrate and spray everything down with Hydrogen peroxide and let it sit for a couple hours open to air out. Hydrogen peroxide breaks down quickly when its exposed to light(which is why it comes in a brown bottle) and air. It breaks down into water. Increase ventilation in the future. These molds thrive on high levels of CO2 and humidity. Eliminate those and they won't have a chance to grow but ventilation is the most important factor. Coir is less likely to develop cobweb mold but is just as prone to green mold as peat. All that said the best bet is to clean everything and change the substrate which you may end up doing anyway since once a mold contamination sets in it is difficult to make it go away.
 
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conipto

ArachnoPrincess
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Originally posted by lam
For some reason, tarantulas that burrow tend to carry dirt from their burrows and drop them into water dishes. I have observed this behavior in all my tarantulas.

None of mine do that.. then again I wait for them to burrow before adding the dish in.

Bill
 

Wade

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Sometimes just moving the dish will make a difference, and sometimes the T's just seem determined to put dirt there. Bill's suggestion of just waiting until they've settled in is a good idea too.

If the mold was localized in a dry-ish cage, it may indeed be just growing on the food remains. Removing the source may be all that's needed to fix the problem, although I suspect it must be fairly moist for mold to thrive at all. If the substrate is wet from the dirt being thrown in the bowl, it may be OK to remove the bowl as Bill suggested and let the cage dry out and reintroduce the bowl later. This would depend on the species, but I'd assume the typically hardy Brachypelmas, Aphonopelmas and Grammostolas would be fine without the bowl, while the substrate dried.

Wade
 

sunnymarcie

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Thanks everyone:)

Well, it's a small enough container that it
dried pretty good over night. SO, I just put
the water back and we'll see what happens:rolleyes: It appears that "Digger" has
stopped the excavation, for now :D
 

ithuriel

Arachnoknight
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Aug 11, 2002
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:) ghi
i keep the substrate dry , just have a water dish thats kept topped up. worked for me so far , molts are fine , spiders are fine n no pests in my tanks. though i dont at present keep Ts like t.blondis:)
 
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