Mold in new set up

[Megan 03]

I purchase a flexible vine, as shown here http://http://www.petmountain.com/show_product/11442-501994,from my only local pet store. I placed it in my new a. metallica's home along with a fake plant and coconut fiber substrate. I have kept the humidity at 70% and placed my new t in the terrarium. She has been in her new home for five days and I have noticed a white fuzzy mold growing on the substate around and up the vine in the last day. My t has just started webbing along the joint of the lid and the cage. I dont want to upest her new webbing or stress her but I want to deal with this mold issue immediatly. This brings me to my questions:

How can I proptly deal with this issue without stressing my t?

Has anyone used this product and had similar issues?

Would a peat/vermiculite mix be better for this type of terrarium (70% Humidity)?

 

[Salamanderhead]

Put up a picture of the enclosure if you can. How much ventilation do you have?

 

[Megan 03]

I have a picture already posted the day she moved in http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/gallery/displayimage.php?imageid=18385

She really seems to like the lid, she hang out buy the light all the time, I keeps the heat up and at a good level. Because of this I don't want to remove the lid. The lid to the tank just sits on there, perhaps I could drill small holes in it to improve ventilation, but I am unsure of how else to fix this issue.

Also, is there a way any one knows of to sterilize these vines?

As I read further I may just need to keep the tank dryer

I feel horrible, as I write this she is busily building some intence webbing.
I may be able to angle the lid to the front and remove stuff from the back, but it will be difficult to sanitize.

Any tips or input is appreciated.

 

[Chris_Skeleton]

Just take care of the mold and don't worry about messing up the webbing. Destroying the web will only be a short term stress, if any, compared to mold that could harm your T. Get in there, take care of the mold, and it will web again after you get it out. As for the vine, I have no clue how to fix that.

 

[jonnyquong]

What is the lid made of? With a glass home, the only practical way to ventilate is through the lid. Since the sides can't help with airflow, you'll have to make sure you have plenty of air through the lid.
I would cup the metallica, and remove it while I got rid of any mold, and make the lid more breathable. Don't worry too much about the spider's web. It'll make more. More important to have enough airflow to prevent the mold from growing.

 

[Megan 03]

the lid is plastic, i could drill holes in it. I am concerned about injury to my t's legs in the holes, is this an issue?

 

[Megan 03]

she is really new to the tank i am concerned about stressing her

 

[Salamanderhead]

The tarantula won't hurt itself with holes. Some people have issues with their tarantulas getting their legs stuck to screen lids. It hasn't happened to me though.
You're going to need good ventilation for a setup that's high humidity.

 

[Megan 03]

ok shes out, i will clean and drill.. will peat/vermiculite work, the store had no more coconut fiber

 

[Salamanderhead]

Peat moss is better than coco fiber and looks nicer in my opinion. Peat / vermiculite will work fine.

 

[Vinnyg253]

From what I hear vermiculite is loved by T keeprs far and wide cuase it doesn't get moldyall too often, or so I hear.

 

[Salamanderhead]

Vermiculite helps aeration so it helps prevent mold. You can still get mold without enough ventilation though. I'm not sure if mold will grow on the vermiculite itself but it can on the surrounding substrate.
It's worth throwing in the mix anyways though.

 

[Megan 03]

well its all cleaned up, i santitized the plant, one of the vines and the tank. I drilled as many holes in the lid as I could without sacraficing structural integrity. I put a 60/40 mix of vermiculite/peat. She is back in there, I hope she isnt too mad at me and webs soon. Thanks for all your help

 

[curiousme]

I purchase a flexible vine, as shown here http://http://www.petmountain.com/show_product/11442-501994,from my only local pet store.

That link doesn't work. Is it grapevine by any chance? I can't really tell from the enclosure picture. That will mold quickly and habitually, so it will really need to be removed if it is.

Also, the tank should really be set up vertically and not horizontally for an A. metallica. It will constantly be webbing that lid and you will be tearing its web over and over to do any kind of maintenance/ filling the water dish/ feeding. With arboreal species you need more vertical space than horizontal. You will only need a few(3-4") inches of substrate in the bottom and you will most likely never/ hardly ever see it there. She will web again, so never fear! Oh and I detest vermiculite, we use a mixture of peat, coco, potting soil(no ferts) and pavers sand. What you have is fine for substrate though, that's just a personal preference.

 

[Megan 03]

the vine is synthetic, it is advertized as waterproof it is manufactured by exo terra

I do not want to remove the lid and place the tank on its side because I live in a very cold climat4 (Yukon) and I need the light on during the day to keep the heat up in the tank to a reasonable level. I cannot afford to heat the room the tank is in to 70+ degrees all winter. the tank has a small hatch to access for watering and feeding, also I have some long rubber tipped forceps for removing dead crickets or other minor maintenance. From what I have read I will not need to be changing the substrate or doing a major tank clean on a regular basis. She is quite young and I plan on moving her in to my tree frogs tank, when I can upgrade them, as they have a exo terra terrarium that has access on the tom and front. It is also verical as oppsed to horizontal. I feel this tank, now that it is mold free. will suffice until she has grown in to a larger tank.

 

[curiousme]

the vine is synthetic, it is advertized as waterproof it is manufactured by exo terra

I do not want to remove the lid and place the tank on its side because I live in a very cold climat4 (Yukon) and I need the light on during the day to keep the heat up in the tank to a reasonable level. I cannot afford to heat the room the tank is in to 70+ degrees all winter. the tank has a small hatch to access for watering and feeding, also I have some long rubber tipped forceps for removing dead crickets or other minor maintenance. From what I have read I will not need to be changing the substrate or doing a major tank clean on a regular basis. She is quite young and I plan on moving her in to my tree frogs tank, when I can upgrade them, as they have a exo terra terrarium that has access on the tom and front. It is also verical as oppsed to horizontal. I feel this tank, now that it is mold free. will suffice until she has grown in to a larger tank.

I see, I sense this has been thoroughly discussed and researched. My apologies, I must have missed the thread if there was one. Sounds like you have all the bases covered.

Quick story time, grab a patch of carpet! We were at one time able to find a clip on fixture to put a heat bulb in at Walmart. I don't honestly remember whether it was really for heat bulbs or not, but we didn't have any problems with it. We were able to rig it up, to heat the side of a tank for a winter.(we had no heat in our bedroom and had emperor scorpions in there(P. imperator) ) It took some finagling to get it done, involving plywood and a wooden dowel; but eventually it worked. ( then we put it too close to the glass and cracked it...... so, I don't recommend that, but perhaps your lid could still work on the side? )