New enclosure after 5 years

[unholy82]

So I've had this Chilean Rose hair for about 5 years. It was a gift for my son (he was 8 yrs old). His school had a reptile show and I was a volunteer for his school. My son was the only one who was intrigued by tarantulas while others went for lizards and snakes. The host of the show saw this and by the end of the show he gifted my son the tarantula that my he volunteered to hold. I thought it was cool and we've had her ever since. We give her at least 2 crickets a week. If we try giving her more she won't eat it. I guess 2 is her limit. She has molted 4 times. So recently we've discovered mold in her enclosure. Shes had the same enclosure since we got her. Today we bought her another. We bought coconut husk (fine) and pretty much transferred her water bowl and mini tree trunk (that also came with her originally). Now she does not want to get off of her tree trunk. If she touches the dirt she'll get on the tree trunk again. My question is: did I mess up on the type of dirt? Also, the dirt is slightly damp. Do they prefer it dry?

 

[unholy82]

 

[DustyD]

I am by no means an expert but a few things come to mind.

Firstly, it can take time for your T to adjust to a new environment, so she may just be acclimating to it.

Secondly it may be too moist as you mentioned. I have several G. rosea and keep them on the dry side. I keep water dishes in their enclosures and fill them one to two times a week. I do spill the water over the dish and sometimes water another side of the enclosure later in the week.

What were you using for substrate in the previous enclosure? Where did the mold come from? Leftover decaying food? moisture?