Mold in Haplopelma lividum cage

[Sonny L]

Hi all, we have a 4" H. lividum in a acrylic cage and had substrate about 8 in. deep. She had made a nice borrow to the bottom of the tank. This tank has been set up for 5 months. We had a small computer fan on top of her cage for ventilation, blowing air through the holes on the lid of her cage. She is happy and eating well....

My problem : The top substrate are dry and free of mold but the second half bottom of the substrate are starting to see mold growing.... We have been careful about letting the substrate dry out in between adding of water for her but it seems the water just retain in the bottom half. We have stop adding water since 3 weeks ago, and it is still moist. We speculate that the moisture might have come from the 5 fish tanks in my apartment!

Anyway suggestions to remove the mold without re-housing her? She is happy now and I think she wouldn't want to move. Do you guys think that using a heat-pad on the side of the tank (lower-half of the substrate) would help to dry up the substrate and remove mold?

thanks in advance

 

[Alakdan]

I have a vague idea on how your enclosure vents lok like. I guess you need to add more air holes on the side. It will provide better air circulation. You can also let your tank dry out a bit just ensure the T has access to a waterdish.

 

[Alice]

as stated above, you could add ventilation holes in the sides of the tank.
to let the substrate dry out more quickly, you can also drill holes in it (the substrate) with a stick or something.

but i think you will have to rehouse the t eventually - mould, once it is in a tank, will go on growing as soon as it's moist again. and i wouldn't recommend keeping a haplopelma completely dry.

when you rehpuse her, chose a mixture of peat moss and a bit of vermiculite - those do not mould easily. also, put a layer of small pebbles on the bottom of the tank as a drainage. this really helps a lot!

 

[Scourge]

Try adding woodlice. I did the same to some of my tanks that were gorwing a little mold and they sort it out pretty quickly.

Mike