20 x 10 x 12 too big?

[KhoanScart]

I'm an idiot.

So it looks like not even a week into my first venture in tarantula keeping I'm dealing with mold. It's my fault. I overfilled the water dish too much to where it soaked to the bottom and now there's mold around it, or at least I think there is. I have a picture attached.

Anyway, I feel bad because my girl Bianca finally started feeling better and isn't constantly in a stress curl. Now just as she's settling in I have to disturb her and rehouse her, but I guess that just comes with the hobby. I do have another enclosure but I think it may be too big for her. She's a sub adult about 4 to 5 inches and this terrarium is meant for an adult Aphonopelma Chalcode. I don't have that spider yet, obviously, and probably won't for months so I don't mind rehousing Bianca in that until I can clean her current enclosure. I'm just wondering if it's too big. As mentioned, it's 20 x 10 x 12. I also had the mesh on the lid replaced with plexiglass so if someone could rate the ventilation on it I'd appreciate it. Can I house her in that or do I need to get another smaller enclosure for her?

Oh, by the way! You know those styrofoam backs that come with the exo-terra terrariums? Are those safe to clean with mild soap and water or do I need to remove it? I only ask because I can't remove it without breaking it. It's pretty well wedged in.

 

[Enn49]

As it's such a small amount I'd leave it just to dry out rather than disturbing her again. Mould won't survive once the substrate is dry.

The Styrofoam backing will come out in 1 piece with care. I have removed it from all of mine for 2 reasons, one being that I like to be able to see my T if it chooses to make its home at the back of the wood/cork bark and the other is because my son lost his adult P. vittata after she tried to moult behind it. Crickets had chewed a hole in the top corner and the T found she could get behind it and sadly she tried to moult, unsuccessfully, in the tight space and died before we realised.

 

[Aykut Altuntop]

I don't think it is a big enclosure for it. It will grow up. You just need to control her eating. Be sure that she ate her food and there won't be any problem.

 

[Tortoise Tom]

I wouldn't move her. I use a big spoon and you can scoop out any substrate that looks suspect.

 

[RonC]

I don't see any reason to tear the enclosure up. Move the water dish till it dries out.

 

[Arachnoclown]

Dig out the wet moldy spot and replace it with bone dry substrate. It really doesnt look bad at all. Personally I would just move the water dish somewhere else and let that area dry out completely.

 

[Arachnoclown]

What happens to all the millions and millions of tarantulas in the wild with mold in there burrows???? Nobody there to clean it up for them....

 

[InEx Situ]

You can always add meso and micro fauna into your enclosure.

 

[Dave Jay]

It probably looks worse than it is, part of what you're seeing is condensation on the glass. I'm still surprised at seeing mould on Coco peat at all, a lot of my enclosures are permanently damp to some degree and I've never had a mould problem at all, perhaps it's because I use treated boiled tap water, mineral water or distilled water in my enclosures and for hydrating peat blocks, I don't know, maybe the nutrients needed by the mould are coming from the water supply? The only mould I ever get is where a dead cricket or similar sits, in which case I just scoop out the mouldy portion. I have had mould on wood in enclosures and as per the comment above I have added one large Rough Slater, Porcellio scaber, and the mould is eaten in a few days and doesn't come back. If you choose a large solid dark grey one it will likely be male so you won't get a population explosion, which has happened to me before I realised that they are sexually dimorphic.
As for the lid, more ventilation is always better but it looks serviceable. If you were to add more I'd advise concentrating on one end, this creates an air flow of sorts because any airflow across the lid will draw air out of the end with the most ventilation forcing air to be drawn in through end with less ventilation.