Mold growing on cork tube

[Charles Dubois]

Hello everyone,
A week back I made a cool little enclosure for my versicolor sling, I used a natural piece of cork from a local park near me (the cork still had wood inside) I drilled it out a bit and boiled it to disinfect, today i noticed the wood is growing mold and strange black little balls, would this be a problem for the sling? It did not take refuge in the cork and decided to make its web tunnel near the top of the enclosure so it is not in the cork bark. I cannot rehouse the sling now as it is about to molt and has sealed its tunnel off. Any help on how to get rid of the mold would be greatly appreciated

 

[vancwa]

I would get rid of it. Cork is porous. No way to rid it of mold.

 

[Theneil]

Strange. Cork is generally quite mold resistant...

Personally i would remove it and clean it to remove the mold. But the mold is not the root problem. In order for the mold to thrive like that, the enclosure generally has to be very humid, meaning that it is much to moist.

Avicularia, carribena, ybyrapora, etc should all be kept in predominately DRY enclosures (despite what many caresheets might say)

 

[Charles Dubois]

Strange. Cork is generally quite mold resistant...

Personally i would remove it and clean it to remove the mold. But the mold is not the root problem. In order for the mold to thrive like that, the enclosure generally has to be very humid, meaning that it is much to moist.

Avicularia, carribena, ybyrapora, etc should all be kept in predominately DRY enclosures (despite what many caresheets might say)

I know... I was quite surprised myself! I think it may be because I did not wait long enough to put the cork in after boiling it, the enclosure is dry with plenty of ventilation and a water dish, I took the cork out and I will boil it and bake it, hopefully no more mold.

 

[Ellenantula]

I know... I was quite surprised myself! I think it may be because I did not wait long enough to put the cork in after boiling it, the enclosure is dry with plenty of ventilation and a water dish, I took the cork out and I will boil it and bake it, hopefully no more mold.

If cork was put in wet, that might also explain a lot. Plus, boiling it kills off everything and makes it a blank slate for the first microorganisms that find it (er, no competition) -- and let's face it -- mould is everywhere just waiting for a nice damp place to grow.

[edited to add: I've never had cork bark mould before, but I always used dry cork bark and never used it in a damp enclosure (like for a stirmi or something).]

 

[viper69]

Strange. Cork is generally quite mold resistant...

Personally i would remove it and clean it to remove the mold. But the mold is not the root problem. In order for the mold to thrive like that, the enclosure generally has to be very humid, meaning that it is much to moist.

Avicularia, carribena, ybyrapora, etc should all be kept in predominately DRY enclosures (despite what many caresheets might say)

This is true. But I've noticed something different between the cork from pet stores and the cork gathered locally across the USA-- the latter molds pretty easily. I can't explain the difference.

 

[Charles Dubois]

This is true. But I've noticed something different between the cork from pet stores and the cork gathered locally across the USA-- the latter molds pretty easily. I can't explain the difference.

There was no sign of mold on the bark itself, it was the wood on the inside because i diden’t remove all of the inside, maybe that was the reason together with putting it in straight after boiling

 

[viper69]

There was no sign of mold on the bark itself, it was the wood on the inside because i diden’t remove all of the inside, maybe that was the reason together with putting it in straight after boiling

Same with the pieces I have used, no mold on them. Dropped in a T, a little water, a few weeks later minor mold. In my case there was no wood.

 

[cold blood]

This is a classic example of why you don't collect fresh wood from outside. There's a big difference between stuff collected freshly and stuff bought in a store. Stuff bought in the store goes through a thorough drying process.

Fresh wood of any kind holds moisture, this internal moisture combined with an enclosed area like we having a tarantula enclosure, is a recipe for mold.

Wood used in enclosures needs to be thoroughly dried. For most stuff you collect this means baking and letting it sit for 6 months or more in a warm dry place.

 

[viper69]

This is a classic example of why you don't collect fresh wood from outside. There's a big difference between stuff collected freshly and stuff bought in a store. Stuff bought in the store goes through a thorough drying process.

Fresh wood of any kind holds moisture, this internal moisture combined with an enclosed area like we having a tarantula enclosure, is a recipe for mold.

Wood used in enclosures needs to be thoroughly dried. For most stuff you collect this means baking and letting it sit for 6 months or more in a warm dry place.

I had a feeling it was drying, but w/out actually knowing what the suppliers do didn't want to say hah.

Are you baking cork?

 

[cold blood]

Are you baking cork?

i use drift wood.

I only bake it if im using it right away. Driftwood, at least the stuff I collect from hot beaches, is usually very very dry.

 

[Charles Dubois]

Thanks for all the replies! I took all the wood out of the cork tube and I will bake and dry it properly before using it again..meanwhile my sling will just have to wait

 

[viper69]

i use drift wood.

I only bake it if im using it right away. Driftwood, at least the stuff I collect from hot beaches, is usually very very dry.

That's right I forget you have large access to that. LUCKY!

 

[boina]

Thanks for all the replies! I took all the wood out of the cork tube and I will bake and dry it properly before using it again..meanwhile my sling will just have to wait

Don't bake it. Really, the best way to get a mold outbreak like you did is baking stuff. You kill off all the microfauna that would otherwise keep the mold from growing, meaning the next mold spore that will invariably fall into the enclosure will find a wonderful, empty place for it to grow as fast as possible, as long as it finds a bit of moisture, too. What I do when I collect stuff from outside and I can't wait for it to dry is, I take a spoon full of soil to go with the wood (from a forrest, meaning no pesticides) to introduce a lot of microfauna that will eat mold. If it's moist enough I also introduce springtails (not in an Avic enclosure, though - too dry).