• Are you a Tarantula hobbyist? If so, we invite you to join our community! Once you join you'll be able to post messages, upload pictures of your pets and enclosures and chat with other Tarantula enthusiasts. Sign up today!

What's mold look like?

RobnBig

Member
3 Year Member
Messages
97
I got a curly haired a couple weeks ago. His substrate seems to be mostly just dirt and it was super dry. I moistened it and got the humidity up in his tank. Seems to be some white stuff on top of the dirt now. Is it mold? Time to get a better substrate?
 

Tgirl1010

Active Member
3 Year Member
Messages
274
Location
My burrow
Do you have a picture? Could be mold, or you could be looking at a layer of webbing you didn't notice when the substrate was dry. What kind of substrate do you have?
 

RobnBig

Member
3 Year Member
Messages
97
Substrate looks just like dirt.
image.jpg
 

Atx13

Well-Known Member
3 Year Member
Messages
927
Location
Ohio
Coco fiber or straight peat moss for sub. works great, if you overflow your Ts waterdish once a week, thatll give em all the humidity they need :).
 

Ricky Black

New Member
3 Year Member
Messages
6
White mold spores grow from waste, I would move the spider in straight coco, its very dry, so a misting once in a while is fiine. Peat moss, coco mix stays much more moist. I also believe tarantulas like a packed down substrate, I have seen green mold spores in peat moss. Lose the dirt for sure. Mold can thrive in dirt, and when you wet it, you most likely started the mold again.
 

Kurt Nelson

Active Member
3 Year Member
Messages
399
Location
Airdrie, Alberta
I use coconut husk, stuff is great. I have an avic and I pretty much drench the substrate with water once a week and mist once or twice a week. Stays relatively moist and I've yet to see a spot of mold grow. However I do see white stuff some times, but it's always on the side of the glass. Pretty sure that is where sir legsalot poops.
 

Scoolman

Well-Known Member
1,000+ Post Club
3 Year Member
Messages
1,091
Location
New Mexico
That looks like mineral deposits from the water you put in the sub. As the water evaporates out it will leave behind the heavy mineral, especially if you have hard water in your area.
 

RobnBig

Member
3 Year Member
Messages
97
That looks like mineral deposits from the water you put in the sub. As the water evaporates out it will leave behind the heavy mineral, especially if you have hard water in your area.
Thanks for the input. That is the side I would spray down the most. Its not fuzzy or anything like mold. I have city water though. Does that matter? I do put the de-chlorinator in the water.
 

Kurt Nelson

Active Member
3 Year Member
Messages
399
Location
Airdrie, Alberta
I strictly give my T's soft water, never give it anything else... I could spoil my T's though... I wouldn't think there would be a problem with that, but I don't have chlorinated water, or fluoride in my water soo.
 

Scoolman

Well-Known Member
1,000+ Post Club
3 Year Member
Messages
1,091
Location
New Mexico
Don't use dechlorinators. Just fill a jug with tap water, leave the cap off, let it sit for 24 hours. The chlorine will gas off naturally. Viola, dechlorinated water, no extra charge. Water is really a personal choice. Many keepers have used plain tap water, right off the tap with no ill effects for many, many years. The only drawback to tap water is the mineral deposit buildup that inevitably happen.
Softened water is going to contain high levels of either salt or potassium, depending on which medium you use to soften your water. I have no idea the effects these would have on tarantulas; I would steer away from this option myself.
Personally, I use filtered water for my Ts, and my family. The city water here is very hard, and there is no telling what is in it.
 

Kurt Nelson

Active Member
3 Year Member
Messages
399
Location
Airdrie, Alberta
Oh no. I don't give them the water with salt in it. I give it the water that I drink that filters out the salt. However all water has salt in it. No mater how much you filter water it will always have salt in it. Hence why it's so conductive to electricity.
 

Scoolman

Well-Known Member
1,000+ Post Club
3 Year Member
Messages
1,091
Location
New Mexico
Oh no. I don't give them the water with salt in it. I give it the water that I drink that filters out the salt. However all water has salt in it. No mater how much you filter water it will always have salt in it. Hence why it's so conductive to electricity.
No worries. I thought you were talking about using a water softening system in your home.

Water conductivity is determined by the amount of dissolved solids. Distilled water has no salts, and is still weakly conductive.
Typical conductivity of waters:Ultra pure water 5.5 · 10-6 S/m
Drinking water 0.05 S/m
Sea water 5 S/m
 

Josh

Administrator
Staff member
1,000+ Post Club
Messages
1,167
Sorry to top an old thread but I think I see some mold in my Ts enclosure and I'm kinda terrified of hurting him when I do a substrate change. Guess I should start a new thread about how to safely do a substrate change
 
Top