New tarantula owner, with an issue

[JMBGal12701]

Hello,
I’m a fairly new tarantula owner here. I was given my friend from a woman who used to run a “wildlife/animal” show for kids birthday parties and such. I will first say I have NO CLUE what kind of tarantula have, other than it’s black (supposedly male) and is named Timothy (ironically, my exes name). So I did my first cage cleaning this past weekend, and I noticed today the coconut fiber substrate she gave me to use is molding. I didn’t think to get pictures of it, but it was basically a thin white fuzzy carpet. I’ve already removed it, but now I’m worried what I did wrong? Admittedly I probably should have come here sooner just to ask more normal questions, but honestly never even thought a page like this existed.
Any general tips for a tarantula newbie greatly appreciated, as are any ideas as to what happened to cause mold.
Thank you!

 

[Poonjab]

Going to need pics first. This will give us an idea of what species it is and allow to correct all husbandry requirements. For all we know you have an arboreal species set up as a terrestrial, if you catch my drift.

 

[JMBGal12701]

Going to need pics first. This will give us an idea of what species it is and allow to correct all husbandry requirements. For all we know you have an arboreal species set up as a terrestrial, if you catch my drift.

Added a picture

 

[Konstantin Konstantinov]

Hi and welcome to the forum.
Tarantulas dont care or recognise the names we give them so you can call him(her) whatever you want.
The thin white fuzzy carpet if it was peeling off in large pieces is probably web layer over the substrate.Its not an issue you have removed it it will web again and don’t remove it this time.
Will be very helpful to post pictures of your spider and its enclosure in order to get it unidentified and get accurate advise for the care of your new pet.
Regards Konstantin

 

[JMBGal12701]

Hi and welcome to the forum.
Tarantulas dont care or recognise the names we give them so you can call him(her) whatever you want.
The thin white fuzzy carpet if it was peeling off in large pieces is probably web layer over the substrate.Its not an issue you have removed it it will web again and don’t remove it this time.
Will be very helpful to post pictures of your spider and its enclosure in order to get it unidentified and get accurate advise for the care of your new pet.
Regards Konstantin

I’ve seen the webbing before, this was definitely not it. Even the extra I still had in a separate bucket was starting to get it also. I do have that still I can grab a picture of, it’s just not as bad

 

[basin79]

Looks to be a Grammostola pulchra. Bone dry substrate, a water dish and a hide. Cork bark lead up against the side of the enclosure.

 

[JMBGal12701]

Here is a couple pictures from the extra I had in the bucket. It wasn’t as grown in the bucket (the two chunks are dog food that fell in after I got the cage set up, so what was in the cage was not cross contaminated by the dog food, but seems to be growing off that also). Hopefully you can see it.

 

[RadicalSquire7]

Here is a couple pictures from the extra I had in the bucket. It wasn’t as grown in the bucket (the two chunks are dog food that fell in after I got the cage set up, so what was in the cage was not cross contaminated by the dog food, but seems to be growing off that also). Hopefully you can see it.

That my friend is what we call a tarantula death trap good call on taking that stuff out but I also recommend taking your G. pulcra out and baking that substrate in the oven for 45mins on 200 degrees. Or buy new substrate if you don’t want the hassle. Kind regards

 

[viper69]

Too moist and not enough venting perhaps

 

[Olan]

A bit of mold is not a concern in itself, unless it is quite extensive. But a G. pulchra should not have an environment moist enough to grow mold. Post pics of its enclosure to get specific suggestions.

 

[dman13760]

congrats on your new T, G. Pulchra are really cool!

 

[Thekla]

Not sure what you mean by "cage cleaning", but you don't have to completely clean (e.g. taking old substrate out, clean the cage and putting new substrate in) ever, except for really severe mould outbreaks or other nasty stuff. Spot cleaning like in taking out boluses and such is all you need to do.

And as others have said already, an adult G. pulchra doesn't require any moisture in the sub that could cause mould in the first place.

I would highly recommend reading this thread:

Tarantula Information for Beginners (and More)

Below are some helpful resources. (Rather than having half a dozen or more pinned threads, which clutter the top of the board, we are pinning this index.) While the focus is on beginners, there are other threads on health and more advanced species that may be useful to more experienced keepers...

arachnoboards.com

And please post a picture of the whole enclosure.

 

[Konstantin Konstantinov]

Here is a couple pictures from the extra I had in the bucket. It wasn’t as grown in the bucket (the two chunks are dog food that fell in after I got the cage set up, so what was in the cage was not cross contaminated by the dog food, but seems to be growing off that also). Hopefully you can see it.

It is mold.Please follow the advice given above and change it with dry substrate.One more thing is that you should compress it down when you add it.Most tarantulas dont like fluffy substrate
Regards Konstantin

 

[JMBGal12701]

Ok, I am adding some photos of the entire enclosure. We are going to be heading to the pet store shortly to get him some new stuff. I don’t like the entire enclosure itself, and it just has a small screen on top for air so ventilation I fear is probably very lacking. I’m not sure what is available for other homes so I was thinking a 10 gal tank with screen cover. From what I am reading, the coconut substrate seems to be the most popular choice so I’m going to get that again, but hopefully pre-expanded so I don’t need to worry about adding water and it being too much. Oh these pictures were takes kind of mid-cleanup so he does have a water dish I just didn’t have it back in yet. Is there any other things that I could get to “spoil” him? More plants? Do they like thinks to climb on? He tends to try to climb the wall sometimes. Should I switch out the log hide for something different to hide in? Thank you for all your help. I’m not even sure how old this creature is. I’m normally a much more researched pet owner but this was very much a spontaneous thing for us, she offered him and his initial supplies 100% free and I didn’t want to lose the chance.

 

[RadicalSquire7]

Screen covers are very bad for tarantulas they can loose legs to screen mesh so you might have to find a different way to close the top but like putting a placemat cut to size on the underside hot glued with small holes in it for ventilation but other then that you should be find just be careful

 

[Ungoliant]

Ok, I am adding some photos of the entire enclosure. We are going to be heading to the pet store shortly to get him some new stuff. I don’t like the entire enclosure itself, and it just has a small screen on top for air so ventilation I fear is probably very lacking.

What kind of enclosure is it in now?

The one pictured is less than ideal, because the front-opening style means it's impossible to put enough substrate in it to protect the tarantula from fall injuries. (The distance between the top of the substrate and the lid should not exceed 1.5 times the tarantula's diagonal leg span.)

I’m not sure what is available for other homes so I was thinking a 10 gal tank with screen cover.

While you can make a 10-gallon aquarium work (with lots of substrate and replacing the screen with a ventilated acrylic lid), it's easier (and lighter) to go with something that has a lower profile.