Mold???

[nocturnalpulsem]

I'm not sure what it is, exactly...but there's something funky in my Ts burrow. She not in the burrow right now, as she's still sitting in the corner of the tank on her little web mat, and that's why I noticed. This stuff is orange...and sorta hairy-looking. Any thoughts? I'm not going to mess with it until she after she molts, cuz I don't want to stress her out unless it's really urgent. Have any of you seen this orange-moldy-stuff and is it reason to get in there soon?

N.

 

[invadermike]

Never seen orange before, but it sure sounds like mold with the hairy part, so it probably is, what i would do for now scince shes preparing for a molt is, cave in the burrow so she can't go in there any more, then after she molts replace the substrate, it would probably be best, to do that ASAP. good luck with the molt!
Mike

 

[nocturnalpulsem]

Originally posted by invadermike
Never seen orange before, but it sure sounds like mold with the hairy part, so it probably is, what i would do for now scince shes preparing for a molt is, cave in the burrow so she can't go in there any more, then after she molts replace the substrate, it would probably be best, to do that ASAP. good luck with the molt!
Mike

Actually, I was hoping to just scoop out the nasty stuff and the substrate in the surrounding area and keep the rest. I need to get more to fill it closer to the top, anyway.

N.

 

[Tranz]

Is it Carrottop?

 

[nocturnalpulsem]

Originally posted by Tranz
Is it Carrottop?

Do you have a smart ass reply to everything?

N.

 

[Buspirone]

I've seen it or something similar before but not in a tarantula enclosure. Its a mold but hard to tell what type from your description, could be a variant of olive green mold which can turn an orangish color or lipstick mold its hard to tell because some molds change color in different stages of life. No matter what kind of mold it is it sounds like it has progressed to a point where it may have thrown off spores. The best solution is to replace all the substrate and clean the enclosure thoroughly and rinse with lots of hot water. If you don't then you'll most likely see it crop up again later. Its better to be safe than sorry. Mold spores could take up residence in the book lungs or mouth of your T and germinate if the conditions are right but thats a worse case scenerio. You can scoop the stuff out now....try spot treating the affected area with some hydrogen peroxide(once exposed to air and light this will breakdown into plain water after a few hours) until after the T molts and tans up but plan on changing the substrate as soon as possible. Mold itself can be a hazard but it will also attract other pests too.