Mold

[Ricki]

so i have a Chilobrachys sp kaeng krachan, and it started to dig down to the leca stones and bring them op, first i thought it was abit funny and clearly i should rehouse her with deeper substrate, she didnt come up as usual and i thought that she might be premolting and trying to settle down in peace so she could molt, so i let her and thought i could just rehouse her after.. a couple days went by and this mold start appearing and spreading quite rapidly..its been maybe 3 weeks now i want to rehouse her so bad but i dont want to disturb her before she molted if that is the case… any tips on what to do?

 

[viper69]

Let it dry out

 

[Ricki]

Let it dry out

Okey so the mold is not harmful for the T or related to it being away for a while? The mold is also down in its burrow.

 

[viper69]

Okey so the mold is not harmful for the T or related to it being away for a while? The mold is also down in its burrow.

Mold is not a problem generally. I would not keep a tank that is a carpet of mold though. Not based on science, just my opinion re carpet.

away??? Mold growth has zero to do with your T and everything due to to your husbandry and/or supplies

 

[Ricki]

Mold is not a problem generally. I would not keep a tank that is a carpet of mold though. Not based on science, just my opinion re carpet.

away??? Mold growth has zero to do with your T and everything due to to your husbandry and/or supplies

I just heard mixed reactions wether its bad for the t or that its “ok”
But good to hear it has nothing to do with it, i gues im just gonna wait it out. Thanks for the answer, i can relax abit more now.

 

[The Snark]

Rehouse after she's taken care of business. Save the tank in situ, repurposing it as a bio-active whatever and fill it with detrivores.

 

[TheraMygale]

This happened in my nhandu color enclosure. On reptisoil. Summer was really humid, she kept wicking her bowl.

ive been drieing it out. Her entire burrow was covered in this and its now clearing out.

is the top lid covered? You might have been overdoing the substrate watering. Even if you didnt, it could have mold.

If those drainage balls were always filled with water, and she moved it around, it spread the water. Of course, the balls stay dry. So now i dont know what inside her burrow is like.

for the record, this is an unopened bag of reptisoil. It was new. Never used and stored in a dry place.

Last picture shows burrow to date. You can see where its dried, and in parts away from Burrow, where its blooming.

I dont know how you have your enclosure set up: is dirt and balls covering entire ventilation area at the bottom?

if the entire row of ventilation is blocked, evaporation is going to be slower. Especialy if the heat is low.

you could rehouse, and see if you can use cork bark to motivate tarantula to burrow somewhere else. And that can help limit the digging. When cork is placed at an angle.

 

[Brewser]

Wait for the molt, and let substrate dry.
Keep waterbowl filled, not overflowing.

p.s. allow plenty of time after molting for your spider to "Harden" before disturbing.

 

[Ricki]

This happened in my nhandu color enclosure. On reptisoil. Summer was really humid, she kept wicking her bowl.

ive been drieing it out. Her entire burrow was covered in this and its now clearing out.

is the top lid covered? You might have been overdoing the substrate watering. Even if you didnt, it could have mold.

If those drainage balls were always filled with water, and she moved it around, it spread the water. Of course, the balls stay dry. So now i dont know what inside her burrow is like.

for the record, this is an unopened bag of reptisoil. It was new. Never used and stored in a dry place.

Last picture shows burrow to date. You can see where its dried, and in parts away from Burrow, where its blooming.

I dont know how you have your enclosure set up: is dirt and balls covering entire ventilation area at the bottom?

if the entire row of ventilation is blocked, evaporation is going to be slower. Especialy if the heat is low.

you could rehouse, and see if you can use cork bark to motivate tarantula to burrow somewhere else. And that can help limit the digging. When cork is placed at an angle.



View attachment 485809 View attachment 485810 View attachment 485811

I mean her burrow is also covered in mold and that why i got a bit nervous.

But the idea of water in the leca balls might be ideal because it started when she brought the leca up.

She has a cork bark in the back as a pre burrow, but she made a turret in the front and the turret is covering the ventilation holes in the front.

conclusion.. i think it was self sabotage.

Wait for the molt, and let substrate dry.
Keep waterbowl filled, not overflowing.

Allright il just hope she gets up soon so i can rehouse

Rehouse after she's taken care of business. Save the tank in situ, repurposing it as a bio-active whatever and fill it with detrivores.

Since english is not my first language there is so much in this post i dont understand

 

[Gevo]

Since english is not my first language there is so much in this post i dont understand

He’s saying you can wait until she molts or emerges from her burrow before you rehouse her and then keep the enclosure for something else, but you can set it up with other insects like isopods or springtails to eat the mold and rotting materials that tend to be present in enclosures with plants, higher moisture, and drainage layers.

 

[viper69]

I just heard mixed reactions wether its bad for the t or that its “ok”
But good to hear it has nothing to do with it, i gues im just gonna wait it out. Thanks for the answer, i can relax abit more now.

All the mixed “info” is made by people who have no idea. They think mold is bad due to mold on food

Why are using leca?

 

[TheraMygale]

I mean her burrow is also covered in mold and that why i got a bit nervous.

But the idea of water in the leca balls might be ideal because it started when she brought the leca up.

She has a cork bark in the back as a pre burrow, but she made a turret in the front and the turret is covering the ventilation holes in the front.

conclusion.. i think it was self sabotage.

Maybe this spider needed more depth of substrate. The mold won’t do anything. Its just ugly. Its a type of mold that grows off decaying matter of plants. So not a tarantula.

what you do next is up to you.

my nhandu molted in these circumstances. I wanted to rehouse, but decided not to and see this through.

your species is moisture dependant. It needs some kind of moisture in the soil to make its book lungs work. I have no clue how long it can survive in “dry” conditions. Other people will have better insights on this.

read this, like every person whos been on here for more then a month. Then decide for yourself.

All you need to know about mold

Well, I made a similar post about mites and it seemed quite popular, and since questions about mold pop up again and again I thought maybe I can shed some light on this topic, too. The thing is: with mites it was easy. They are harmless, period. With mold it’s not that easy, because there are...

arachnoboards.com

 

[Arachnophobphile]

so i have a Chilobrachys sp kaeng krachan, and it started to dig down to the leca stones and bring them op, first i thought it was abit funny and clearly i should rehouse her with deeper substrate, she didnt come up as usual and i thought that she might be premolting and trying to settle down in peace so she could molt, so i let her and thought i could just rehouse her after.. a couple days went by and this mold start appearing and spreading quite rapidly..its been maybe 3 weeks now i want to rehouse her so bad but i dont want to disturb her before she molted if that is the case… any tips on what to do?

What do you use for substrate?

 

[Ricki]

He’s saying you can wait until she molts or emerges from her burrow before you rehouse her and then keep the enclosure for something else, but you can set it up with other insects like isopods or springtails to eat the mold and rotting materials that tend to be present in enclosures with plants, higher moisture, and drainage layers.

Aah sorry but that made alot more sense, thank you! So leave it… molded?

All the mixed “info” is made by people who have no idea. They think mold is bad due to mold on food

Why are using leca?

I know its “acceptable” to a certain extent and useally if i see any i just scoop it out with a spoon, but in this case it was just extending down in the burrow and i dont wonna disturb her if she was molting.. i saw a video on youtube and he was like “it can be fatal for your tarantula” it gave me second doubt and freaked me out abit..

Oh and i use leca for drainage in the button, i learned from some friends in the hobby to use a straw in the corner and fill up the buttom with water for moisture.

What do you use for substrate?

Beside leca stones in the buttom, sand, coco fiber, soil and spagnum moss
i also have springtails and isopods

 

[Arachnophobphile]

That's a good mix but toss the leca stones. Coco fiber is notorious for mold and it doesn't take much to cause it. Slightly too much overflowing of water dish or wetting the sub directly too often.

If it takes over most of the substrate even after it's dried out it's an unsightly mess. Drying it out only stops the spread but not the remnants. Complete rehouse is a better option.

 

[Ricki]

That's a good mix but toss the leca stones. Coco fiber is notorious for mold and it doesn't take much to cause it. Slightly too much overflowing of water dish or wetting the sub directly too often.

If it takes over most of the substrate even after it's dried out it's an unsightly mess. Drying it out only stops the spread but not the remnants. Complete rehouse is a better option.

Oh really? I think i have more problem with soil than cocofiber, im trying abit with different measurements but i have more luck in more cocofiber than soil and sand for drainage and burrow stability but i keep a small layer of leca in the buttom and put water down with a tube so the soil is moist and dry on top.. but one of the repliers noted that it blocked out the ventilation and i belive that might be the cause of the mold.

But the issue was more my concern of my T, disturb it and rehouse or wait and hope it appear soon.

 

[TheraMygale]

Oh really? I think i have more problem with soil than cocofiber, im trying abit with different measurements but i have more luck in more cocofiber than soil and sand for drainage and burrow stability but i keep a small layer of leca in the buttom and put water down with a tube so the soil is moist and dry on top.. but one of the repliers noted that it blocked out the ventilation and i belive that might be the cause of the mold.

But the issue was more my concern of my T, disturb it and rehouse or wait and hope it appear soon.

If you don’t suspect a molt anytime soon, just rehouse. You’ll “disturb” it no matter what if you rehouse it now or later. And it will adapt, and move on. It disturbs us more, in our concept of what disturbs them. They have evolved to survive in the most extreme conditions.

a rehouse will just make it more comfortable.

 

[Arachnophobphile]

Oh really? I think i have more problem with soil than cocofiber, im trying abit with different measurements but i have more luck in more cocofiber than soil and sand for drainage and burrow stability but i keep a small layer of leca in the buttom and put water down with a tube so the soil is moist and dry on top.. but one of the repliers noted that it blocked out the ventilation and i belive that might be the cause of the mold.

But the issue was more my concern of my T, disturb it and rehouse or wait and hope it appear soon.

That's been my experience with coco fiber and eco-earth. Coco fiber just takes longer before mold starts appearing than eco-earth.

I haven't used top soil yet even though I have two bags sitting here for years

It's definitely something that takes a lot of time to get the hang of. How to maintain substrate without a mold overtaking it took me a while to get the hang of.

As I write this I have a mold issue in my mature male A. geniculata enclosure. In fact it is today while I have off work that I'm going to attempt to some maintenance on his enclosure. If I can cup him then I can if I cannot then will try a different day. He's over 8 inches so he could be out of the enclosure in a blink of an eye.

 

[Ricki]

so i have a Chilobrachys sp kaeng krachan, and it started to dig down to the leca stones and bring them op, first i thought it was abit funny and clearly i should rehouse her with deeper substrate, she didnt come up as usual and i thought that she might be premolting and trying to settle down in peace so she could molt, so i let her and thought i could just rehouse her after.. a couple days went by and this mold start appearing and spreading quite rapidly..its been maybe 3 weeks now i want to rehouse her so bad but i dont want to disturb her before she molted if that is the case… any tips on what to do?

Edit: she molted and i rehoused her, shes doing great

so i have a Chilobrachys sp kaeng krachan, and it started to dig down to the leca stones and bring them op, first i thought it was abit funny and clearly i should rehouse her with deeper substrate, she didnt come up as usual and i thought that she might be premolting and trying to settle down in peace so she could molt, so i let her and thought i could just rehouse her after.. a couple days went by and this mold start appearing and spreading quite rapidly..its been maybe 3 weeks now i want to rehouse her so bad but i dont want to disturb her before she molted if that is the case… any tips on what to do?

Edit: she molted and got rehoused, shes doing great, thanks for the help!