Cork bark molding?

NikiP

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Apr 16, 2006
Messages
539
Today I found a hunk of cork bark in one of my deli cups that was molding :eek: I removed it, which was covered on the bottom with greenish spots & fuzzy mold, plus the surrounding substrate that was also fuzzy.

I don't recall ever having directly sprayed it or the substrate, pretty sure I only put water in the bottle cap on the opposite side. Not sure how long it's been there either. I've been trying not to disturb the occupant for a while now.

Anyone had cork bark mold or is it more likely that it wasn't actually cork bark to start with?
 

WARPIG

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
Jun 29, 2007
Messages
821
I have a ton of cork bark, no mold issues.

You sure its cork? Or is it something in or on the substrate???


PIG-
 

NikiP

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Apr 16, 2006
Messages
539
Grrrr, :wall:

90% sure the wood pieces I bought were marked as cork. Bought them at Petsmart, but I can't find the same product listed on the website to double check. Will have to actually look at the packing in the store.

Looks & weighs just like cork, is there something else that's similar?

The substrate is exo terra coco husk that's dried out. Unless the bottle cap has added to much moisture since it's in a small container. Think i'm going to add more ventilation.

Edit:
Found it, this is the wood I bought: http://www.completepetmart.biz/180620.html
 
Last edited:

curiousme

Arachnoprince
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Joined
Dec 11, 2008
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1,661
Cork bark can mold if the enclosure is too moist.

However, do you remove all boluses(food remains)? We had humidity problems with some enclosures this spring, because of food remains left in the enclosure.(it was white though) We hadn't encountered this problem until this spring, with food remains left in an enclosure we grew some nifty looking spiky white yet fuzzy mold. We solved it by removing the boluses and the substrate around it, leaving no visible mold and removing any that tried to come back. We also increased the ventilation in their cube. That is actually the most important step. The 6 tarantulas in questions are still alive and healthy, though they have eventually been rehoused, but only months after. Since you have already removed the cork bark, run it under scalding hot water(safely). Make sure the substrate is clear of it and put it back in. Remove any that comes back. The mold really shouldn't cause harm to your T. I say this, because we have had many different molds in multiple enclosures; these spring ones being the most recent. We have only lost 2 Ts and those were in bad molts. So, this is my opinion based on a couple years of experience. [/disclaimer]

Also, just because you did not spray the cork bark directly, does not mean the "deli cup" isn't too humid for this to happen.:D

I have never seen cork bark sold like that! We always buy ours in chunk at the L(ocal)P(et)S(store). Not saying its not cork, because it says it is!
 
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NikiP

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Apr 16, 2006
Messages
539
Cork bark can mold if the enclosure is too moist.

However, do you remove all boluses(food remains)? We had humidity problems with some enclosures this spring, because of food remains left in the enclosure.(it was white though) We hadn't encountered this problem until this spring, with food remains left in an enclosure we grew some nifty looking spiky white yet fuzzy mold. We solved it by removing the boluses and the substrate around it, leaving no visible mold and removing any that tried to come back. We also increased the ventilation in their cube. That is actually the most important step. The 6 tarantulas in questions are still alive and healthy, though they have eventually been rehoused, but only months after. Since you have already removed the cork bark, run it under scalding hot water(safely). Make sure the substrate is clear of it and put it back in. Remove any that comes back. The mold really shouldn't cause harm to your T. I say this, because we have had many different molds in multiple enclosures; these spring ones being the most recent. We have only lost 2 Ts and those were in bad molts. So, this is my opinion based on a couple years of experience. [/disclaimer]

Also, just because you did not spray the cork bark directly, does not mean the "deli cup" isn't too humid for this to happen.:D

I have never seen cork bark sold like that! We always buy ours in chunk at the L(ocal)P(et)S(store). Not saying its not cork, because it says it is!
Yeah, I just grabbed a couple of those because they so cheap & I only needed a very small amount.

I do try to get all food out, although sometimes legs get missed if they pop off.

I'm leaning towards it being a humidity problem. I keep the bottle cap full & there are only holes around the outer edge of the cup lid. Putting way more holes in there as it's a desert species, shouldn't be humid enough to mold.
 
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