Is this webbing on the substrate?

[Sinned]

A few days ago (3) I moved my (sling) Avicularia sp. peru purple to a new enclosure, her previous enclosure didn't have a lot of height and not enough stuff to hide/build her little hide/webtunnel.

Seems happy in here, she already picked a corner and was making a little web-castle. Seen her on the substrate only once, maybe she was hunting or drinking. After two days I noticed this (see pics), is that webbing? I read they go hunt/scavenge during the night and even visit the ground level then, but never seen this webbing before in her previous enclosure. (that is, I hope it's webbing & if it is, I'm impressed she already put down that amount)

Note: I'm letting the substrate dry out and not spraying/misting. It was just still a bit moist when creating the enclosure.

 

[Ashley2070]

Looks a bit like mold to me. Maybe let the substrate dry out a bit.

If you notice the black/brown spots growing off the wood and the fuzzy hair like texture that' indicative of mold. Maybe it's the piece of wood you got in there. Where did that piece of wood come from and what type of wood is it? Cork bark is a lot more reliable as it rarely grows mold on it.

 

[Mjb30]

I'm sure someone with more experience will chime in but from the second photo it looks as it could well be mould. The white parts being the filaments and the black dots visable (against the lighter wood) being the spores. The residual moisture could well have been enough for the fungus to propagate.

 

[Mithricat]

Initially I thought it might be webbing but then I noticed the dark spots on the back of her hide which makes me doubt it's webbing. Get her out of there...

 

[Vanessa]

Mould.

 

[scott99]

That looks like mold to me, you can even see the black spores

 

[Sinned]

Used a chopstick, turned it between my fingers and the entire web-like mold came out. Now compacted on the end of the stick, it would/could pass for web. The dark particles, could be substrate and could be spores... I wasn't sure, so I thought it better to make a thread. Not gonna risk it, I'll remove it till substrate dries out and keep an eye on it.

 

[Lokee85]

+1 for mold. No big deal, as long as ventilation is good, just continue letting it dry out, no reason to worry.

 

[Mithricat]

Throw away the substrate (or sanitize it). There is a chance there are mold spores in there and if you reuse it they will return quickly. Put in new substrate and before you put it in spread it on a piece paper for a few hours until the moisture has evaporated.

 

[Lokee85]

Throw away the substrate (or sanitize it). There is a chance there are mold spores in there and if you reuse it they will return quickly. Put in new substrate and before you put it in spread it on a piece paper for a few hours until the moisture has evaporated.

Most of the time, (as long as it's not swampy wet) it's unnecessary to do anything other than let the sub dry out. The T will be just fine. I've had a light bit of mold grow in new setups, and letting it dry out always works, and the mold has never had any adverse effect on my Ts. I learned this here on AB from more experience keepers than myself after I had my own mold freak out.

 

[PidderPeets]

A few days ago (3) I moved my (sling) Avicularia sp. peru purple to a new enclosure, her previous enclosure didn't have a lot of height and not enough stuff to hide/build her little hide/webtunnel.

Seems happy in here, she already picked a corner and was making a little web-castle. Seen her on the substrate only once, maybe she was hunting or drinking. After two days I noticed this (see pics), is that webbing? I read they go hunt/scavenge during the night and even visit the ground level then, but never seen this webbing before in her previous enclosure. (that is, I hope it's webbing & if it is, I'm impressed she already put down that amount)

Note: I'm letting the substrate dry out and not spraying/misting. It was just still a bit moist when creating the enclosure.

That bark looks quite fresh. The combination of even slightly damp substrate with fresh bark would make mold almost inevitable. Just let the substrate dry out as others have said, and perhaps let any other wood you use dry (ie. don't just pluck it off a healthy tree and put it straight in your enclosure) before adding it to a new enclosure. Sorry if I'm wrong about the wood, it just looks so fresh

Throw away the substrate (or sanitize it). There is a chance there are mold spores in there and if you reuse it they will return quickly. Put in new substrate and before you put it in spread it on a piece paper for a few hours until the moisture has evaporated.

Just for the record, sterilizing the substrate would only make it easier for mold or other things to form. It would take away any competition the mold would have, allowing the population to boom

 

[Sinned]

I should of mentioned it, that piece of bark is completely dried out, still white though. Bought it months ago from a hobby shop. Later learned cork or drift wood is the way to go, but it was a nice fit and even though I know better now, thought it would be safe.

It also had some other sticks/twigs and stuff in it, thought I could use them for anchor points in other enclosures. Not so sure about that now I was already planning on letting the substrate dry out, if it is mold, that should take care of it. She has access to a bottle-cap of water at all times. Thanks peeps.

 

[Mithricat]

Just for the record, sterilizing the substrate would only make it easier for mold or other things to form. It would take away any competition the mold would have, allowing the population to boom

It doesn't work like that, coconut fiber is pre-treated at the factory to kill mold spores and other microorganisms before it gets compacted and packed. The only way it could have any other competition left in it when it gets to the consumer is through contamination. In some brands you can even read this on the label.

 

[Sinned]

If I had to point the finger here, it's that bloody piece of bark. I "should of" and worse still, know better then to do that already. It could be the substrate, but if it was that my container would be full of it by now.

I'm gonna take the liberty of reposting @boina 's message here also (she responded on the picture it self), together with all your input it seems pretty clear. She even pointed out if I try removing it, it will probably come out all at the same time. It did,

No, that's mold. See the tiny dark dots? Those are the sporocarps (i.e. fruiting bodies) of the fungus - dead giveaway. Don't worry, though, it's not harmful. Just take it out (it will probably come out as a layer) and let the substrate dry out.

No, that is definitely not a molting mat. The fibers in a molting mat run different. This is fungus mycelium. The dots are not the fungus but the fruiting bodies of the fungus. They are like the apples on an apple tree and the white stuff is the actual "tree".

Thanks again everyone, gonna keep an eye on it while the substrate dries out.

 

[Sinned]

Update: This stuff grows like ... like .. something that grows way to fast! I removed the parts that I could get to on the substrate and the back of the bark. The substrate dried out in the mean time, so that problem was solved.

But it kept on growing on the inside of the "dried out" "mystery" bark. When it got to the top of the bark it even started to spread/touch the webbing. I pulled the plug. It was going on something different then just the moist substrate. (humidity?, /ducks, I know, I know)

My little T was still not close to the problem, as she -- of course , setup her web tunnel a tad lower then I expected between some fake plants. I put her in a temporary enclosure and emptied out the old one. Setup a new one with even more ventilation and a piece of good old cork-bark that I cut to a proper size. Felt bad about it, she was about done with her tunnel. But I didn't want to take the risk. Wish I taken some pics, but I was kinda going at it in a hurry to get her into a safe new home.

Lesson learned... Sling is already busy now with webbing up the place. Can spiders do so and look annoyed, she look annoyed...