Mold. Not harmful to your T’s, but potentially harmful to you.

[Poonjab]

So this might seem like a no brainer, and I’m also curious if this has happened to any of you?

So to start this off, I had purchased a juvenile G.pulchripes through a Craigslist ad. Picked up and everything was good for most part, other than the previous owner had the substrate soaking wet. Wet enough that the cork bark started to rot. Noticed small amount of white mold but said eh.. I’ll just not add water and let stuff dry on its own.

Fast forward months ahead and it’s still pretty damp and the mold is beginning to become an eyesore for me. My T room is also my office, and I spend hours of the day in here. Anyways, I stared to notice that I was constantly hacking, had headache, slight sinus congestion. So last night I say maybe it’s that moldy enclosure and decide to clean and rehouse. then ran air purifier in room.

Well... here it is the end of the day and no symptoms. I’m thinking there might be a correlation with that one enclosure with white mold and my chronic cough and symptoms. Has anyone else had similar experience? While mold might not harm your T, it might be wise to rehouse if you have an outbreak and start noticing symptoms that I had.

 

[spideyspinneret78]

It's possible. Some people are allergic to spores or more sensitive to them in general. Some folks also have allergies to mites/ mite droppings that are also found in damp enclosures. I know that I'm really sensitive to dust mites and unfortunately to feeder insects. I think it's especially wise to be careful about black mold...not specifically in a tarantula enclosure, but at a place I used to work, people really started coughing and we found black mold growing underneath the tiled wall of the building where there was a burst pipe.

 

[Gurantula]

I'm glad you mentioned this. Everytime I see a post about mold here someone replies with "dont worry, it's fine for your T" and I always want to comment that it might not be fine for you. While most common molds are harmless or mildly irritating to humans, people can develop allergies to them. You are more than likely allergic to whatever mold was in the enclosure. I've not found a particular mold that affects me like your symptoms, but that is a major reason why I take mold out asap.

 

[cold blood]

Everytime I see a post about mold here someone replies with "don't worry, it's fine for your T"

That's not exactly what is said...people don't say its fine for your t, they say it isn't harmful to the t...people also don't say leave it, they're told to pick it out.

 

[Arachnoenthusiast]

Mold is way bad for the respiratory system

 

[DomGom TheFather]

Craigslist is where you go for bedbugs and hpv.
I'm not surprised they have mold, too.

 

[Poonjab]

Craigslist is where you go for bedbugs and hpv.
I'm not surprised they have mold, too.

Yeah. I don’t personally water my T enclosures like they are fish. Figured it would dry as I didn’t want to mess with it’s burrow etc. then the mold got worse and worse. It got to a point where it was too much of an eyesore for me. But then that got me to thinking that it’s probably why I had those symptoms. They would clear up in the evening but return in the morning. Pretty positive that lady was essentially taking me out with chemical warfare. Never again.

 

[Tarantuland]

I know that I'm really sensitive to dust mites and unfortunately to feeder insects.

I'm allergic to shellfish and dust mites and many feeder insects as well. I have had the least reactions from black soldier fly and hornworms. What works best for you?

 

[spideyspinneret78]

I'm allergic to shellfish and dust mites and many feeder insects as well. I have had the least reactions from black soldier fly and hornworms. What works best for you?

For me, crickets are definitely the worst. If I lean over a cricket container or handle crickets, I get itchy and start wheezing pretty quickly. Hornworms, nightcrawlers don't bother me at all, and mealworms/superworms still bother me but it's tolerable as long as I wash my hands right away and don't keep their containers near my bedroom or living room.

 

[Tarantuland]

For me, crickets are definitely the worst. If I lean over a cricket container or handle crickets, I get itchy and start wheezing pretty quickly. Hornworms, nightcrawlers don't bother me at all, and mealworms/superworms still bother me but it's tolerable as long as I wash my hands right away and don't keep their containers near my bedroom or living room.

That sounds a lot like me. Do you feed nightcrawlers to T's? I keep them for my frog and go fishing a lot but I havent had any issues with them. When I first got T's I kept a dozen crickets in my bedroom overnight and woke up with really puffy eyes. Are you also allergic to shellfish?

 

[spideyspinneret78]

That sounds a lot like me. Do you feed nightcrawlers to T's? I keep them for my frog and go fishing a lot but I havent had any issues with them. When I first got T's I kept a dozen crickets in my bedroom overnight and woke up with really puffy eyes. Are you also allergic to shellfish?

No, I'm not allergic to shellfish. I feed nightcrawlers to my T. stirmi and some of my larger Ts as a treat and they LOVE it!