Mold growing on leaf litter

[Charles Dubois]

Today I noticed that the leaf litter in my enclosure looked a bit funny, I flipped over a leaf and was left in horror when I saw lots of mold growing on it... I boiled the dried leaves before using them and microwaved them after, how can they still grow mold?? I removed the leaves and tried to spoon out some affected substrate. I have never had any other mold issues in any of my enclosures

 

[Gnarled Gnome]

Did you do anything different in this case? Did you redry the leaves completely? Was the humidity higher in this enclosure? Do you have springtails to help mitigate the mold?
If you replace the leaves, there shouldn't be any concern. Maybe decrease the humidity. Fungus will tend to bloom and then reach equilibrium so that it probably won't be an ongoing issue, especially if you keep an eye on the moisture.

 

[Charles Dubois]

Did you do anything different in this case? Did you redry the leaves completely? Was the humidity higher in this enclosure? Do you have springtails to help mitigate the mold?
If you replace the leaves, there shouldn't be any concern. Maybe decrease the humidity. Fungus will tend to bloom and then reach equilibrium so that it probably won't be an ongoing issue, especially if you keep an eye on the moisture.

This is the only enclosure I have with leaf litter inside, I took all the affected leaves out, I’ll dry them out and maybe try putting them in again, I can’t find any springtails where I live sadly... the humidity is moderate, I keep the sub mostly dry with a large water dish, the mold only seems to grow on the leaves somehow

 

[Thekla]

You can get springtails in online shops that sell food for Ts, reptiles, frogs, etc.

As for your leaves... where are they from? Did you collect them by yourself? I guess they weren't completely dried out yet when you put them in. I never had any problems with leaf litter, not even in my vivariums.

 

[Charles Dubois]

You can get springtails in online shops that sell food for Ts, reptiles, frogs, etc.

As for your leaves... where are they from? Did you collect them by yourself? I guess they weren't completely dried out yet when you put them in. I never had any problems with leaf litter, not even in my vivariums.

I got them just myself around my house, I guess they must not have been dry

 

[The Snark]

@schmiggle Good time to ask here. What was the specifications for spore free environments? 700 degrees? 900? And how long was it?
I've been getting 99%+ kill in our bathroom using a propane torch but on porous surfaces I have to add oil and cook it with the torch. All microwaving and baking does is reduce the moisture below spore growth level.

 

[The Snark]

duplicate

 

[schmiggle]

@schmiggle Good time to ask here. What was the specifications for spore free environments? 700 degrees? 900? And how long was it?
I've been getting 99%+ kill in our bathroom using a propane torch but on porous surfaces I have to add oil and cook it with the torch. All microwaving and baking does is reduce the moisture below spore growth level.

121C for 30 minutes, with the exception of a few extremophiles that aren't likely here.

The bigger issues here are twofold. First, boiling won't kill spores; microwaving might, but that depends how long you did it for. Second--and this is what will always get you--unless you have the substrate in an airtight container that has also been sterilized, all sterilizing your leaf litter will do if you don't seed it with something (which you shouldn't) is make it inviting to opportunistic microbes floating around the air which are suddenly left with a substrate without competition. Your best bet is probably to let the litter run its course at this point.

Sterilizing is handy for removing parasites, but it's not especially useful for microbes in general in the context of a home terrarium.

 

[The Snark]

all sterilizing your leaf litter will do if you don't seed it with something (which you shouldn't) is make it inviting to opportunistic microbes floating around the air

Always the case. If there is organic material there will be opportunistic organisms. The less the competition, the greater the opportunity.

@schmiggle Now what was the specs on the 100% kill, no spores survive in an air chamber?

 

[Polenth]

Today I noticed that the leaf litter in my enclosure looked a bit funny, I flipped over a leaf and was left in horror when I saw lots of mold growing on it... I boiled the dried leaves before using them and microwaved them after, how can they still grow mold?? I removed the leaves and tried to spoon out some affected substrate. I have never had any other mold issues in any of my enclosures

It's completely normal for leaf litter to start rotting again when it gets damp again. Fungi is not a terrible horror that you need to remove. It's everywhere around you and will be in all your enclosures. Sometimes you'll see it and sometimes you won't, but it's there. Learn to love it. Enjoy the surprise of occasional mushrooms.

Baking/boiling leaves kills any hitchhiking animals. It doesn't remove all bacteria and fungi and you wouldn't want to do that anyway. Animals generally don't do well in completely sterile environments. You're aiming for a stable and diverse community of microorganisms and fungi, not a complete lack of them.

 

[The Snark]

@Polenth I agree up to a point. What most people don't realize is a synthesized environment can easily concentrate all the problematic organisms. Getting a full cross spectrum balanced ecosystem going is incredibly difficult. Always some little monster just begging for a chance to leap into a niche and run rampant.