Contamination

[Buspirone]

I recently moved my curly into a new/bigger enclosure so the new substrate is still damp. Yesterday while at the petstore getting stuff for my pinktoe I decided to buy a halfed coconut for a hide in the curly's new enclosure. I just put the coconut in yesterday and today I look in and the area in a perfect circle around the edge of the new coconut shelter is starting to grow white fuzz. No place else except where the coconut shelter comes in contact with the substrate.....and when I took the shelter out its also heavier under the coconut......GRRRRR! I changed out the substrate and soaked the coconut shelter in water then put it in a tupperware container with 1/4 inch of water and nuked it in the microwave for 10 minutes let it cool for a couple minutes, released the pressure and steam and then nuked it again for 10 minutes. I hope this fixes it.

 

[SpiderTwin]

I would think that should fix the problem, most likely the heat will kill the mildew, once the substrate dries out some, this issue should go away. I'm sure it was just the moist substrate in contact with the coconut that did it. I'm always leary about mold or mildew in my T set-ups, good catch

 

[Buspirone]

I have considerable experience with the growth of molds, slimes, bacteria and fungi using peat, coir and various compost based substrates and casing materials. The offending organism this time was cobweb mold....the substrate was too wet and compact and it just took off.....the coconut was what intoduced it but most likely it was carried in the dust that accumulated on the coconut while sitting on a shelf and while being shipped. Just a little warning for others who buy decorations that aren't sealed in plastic from the local petstore and keep thier T enclosures on the damp/moist side.

 

[jwb121377]

How big is your Brachypelma albopilosum? If it is a sub-adult\adult I would keep it a dry substrate with a water dish. All of mine seem very happy with the setup and I have seen Ill side effects with a dry substrate.

 

[Buspirone]

The substrate I'm using is pressed into a solid brick and I need to wet it to get it to expand. The new substrate I put in will dry faster since its not as wet(I wrung it out till my hands were cramping up) and I didn't pack it tight like before. I packed it tight before because the curly likes to burrow and the packed substrate seems to keep form better for burrowing. It would have dried out ok the first time but I added the coconut shelter. You live and learn. I will make it a point to keep things on the drier side in the future and clean stuff I buy at the petstore before I put it into the cage.

 

[Mendnwngs]

Originally posted by Buspirone
The offending organism this time was cobweb mold....

LOL.. How fitting.
Hehehe.. (Sorry, I couldnt resist)

-Jason