Grapewood disappontment..

[sammi]

This morning I went to re-wet Ernies substrate. I put Ernie in his bath, and started pulling out everything onto a towel as I normally do. To my dismay, when I pulled out the grapewood, I saw tiny white, fuzzy, dots appearing on the underside [where the grapewood sits in the substrate]. MOLD! Gosh I was so upset. Luckily the pieces under/near the lights were okay. I salvaged 2 of 6 pieces I had, and also the 2 fake plants I have, that are mounted on pieces of grapewood. Did anyone else have this problem? What can I do so that they won't mold? Do I have to abandon grapewood altogether? It looks so good in his enclosure!..It looks pretty barren in there now =/ Should I just stick with rocks instead? Or will fake plants [i.e. from Michaels Arts & Crafts] without the grapewood attached be a better option?

 

[Meg90]

Most petstore wood will mold in damp substrate, its a bummer. You can wrap the part that goes in the substrate with cellophane and a little tape, so its "waterproofed" you could also dip the ends in wax I suppose.

Scrape the mold off, sanitize and dry the pieces that got icky. You don't have to throw them out.

All my plants have a rock base (you can use the large river rocks) I use a teeny glue gun and mount them to the plants. I've had great results. And I LOVE Michaels...which reminds me, I haven't been out there in a while!

 

[Yvonne G]

Well, I don't know the first thing about taking care of Star tortoises, but from what I've read here on the forum, it seems like they are supposed to be kept pretty dry. If your habitat is dry for the Stars, then you shouldn't be getting mold on your "decorations."

Take that as a warning that something is not quite right in the habitat, and try to see why the mold grew in the first place. I also hope you don't have to keep it out. It makes for a pleasant-looking design.

Yvonne

 

[Meg90]

Yvonne, she's got a Russian.

 

[Yvonne G]

Yvonne, she's got a Russian.

O-o-ops! I could swear it was a Star. Thanks, Meg.

Yvonne

Well, my answer might still hold true. Just keep the humidity in the hide, and let the rest of the habitat be dry.

 

[sammi]

Got it. Well Meg, I already trashed the bad ones, but its okay because I was still a bit worried about them having rotted inside or continuing to mold or whatever. BUT we did just get back from Michaels, and got some AWESOME greenery for him. Totaling about $16 we got about 5 different types of silk plants for his enclosure, I'll take new pictures when I've got them all figured out. I'm so excited! I love buying stuff for him =]

 

[GBtortoises]

Wood (of most species)+moisture-air flow=deterioration (mold, fungus & rot)

 

[Laura]

Too wet. I'd put it on the dry side.

 

[Kadaan]

Aquarium driftwood (like mopani) should work fine in humid environments. Grapewood needs to be really dry though, you can't use it in an aquarium because it gets this white mold-like film on it even completely submerged underwater.

You can probably salvage your current pieces by boiling/baking them and letting them sit in the sun for a couple days.

 

[sammi]

Thanks everyone. From the get-go I always thought any type of wood in an enclosure would rot. But when I bought my grapewood the package said "mold-resistant". So me being the naive person that I am sometimes, bought into it completely thinking it wouldn't ever grow mold. I've scrubbed down the wood under scorching water and am letting it dry out completely, but will definitely boil them to sanitize them.

As for now the plastic plants I bought from Michaels are doing pretty well, they were cheaper than the first two I got [which are mounted on grapewood], and they are bigger, and take up more space, thus creating less visibility to the other end of the enclosure.

Aquarium driftwood (like mopani) should work fine in humid environments.

Where can I find mopani? Is it expensive?

 

[tortoisenerd]

I got mine at the Bean Farm (they have a website). Not too expensive, probably comparable to the grapewood. I think the plants are better because they take up less floor space and provide hiding spaces. The wood doesn't do too much for the tortoise frankly. I try to have everything in the enclosure serve a purpose. I have a piece of mopani in there and sometimes my little guy will snuggle up to it. When he gets bigger he'll like to climb it

 

[sammi]

Well I'd say 3 out of 6 of the grapewood pieces were small enough that he could climb over them. The other 3 sat more vertical than horizontal and just served as decoration. Thanks! I'll check out Bean Farm.

 

[terryo]

I got mine at the Bean Farm (they have a website). Not too expensive, probably comparable to the grapewood. I think the plants are better because they take up less floor space and provide hiding spaces. The wood doesn't do too much for the tortoise frankly. I try to have everything in the enclosure serve a purpose. I have a piece of mopani in there and sometimes my little guy will snuggle up to it. When he gets bigger he'll like to climb it

Kate, did you get the mopani at Bean Farm Too?

 

[tortoisenerd]

I got mopani at the Bean Farm. I do not know if they carry grapewood. I live close enough to them I went and picked it up, so I don't know about their shipping costs/policies. I would highly recommend them based on prices and customer service. I get a huge (45 lb?) bag of aspen shavings that is very high quality for $20! Best deal I found by a lot.

 

[shelber10]

i use gapewood just as a decoration

 

[K412]

I have grapewood in my tree frog viv and it molded for a bit after the initial set up. Once it had been in a while it went away altogether. It's okay for the frogs, would a tortoise eat it or something?

 

[GBtortoises]

It's extremely doubtful that a tortoise would eat it. That's not the concern. The concern is that mold will spread and the fact that mold release spores. In humans mold spores are proven to cause respiratory problems and can often lead to bigger issues. The same is assumed for tortoises. Years ago I kept many species of amphibians and if I recall most frogs and salamanders that live in highly humid conditions secrete a natural anti-fungal toxin from their skin which helps safeguard against mold and fungal bacteria. Tortoises don't have anything like that.

I have grapewood in my tree frog viv and it molded for a bit after the initial set up. Once it had been in a while it went away altogether. It's okay for the frogs, would a tortoise eat it or something?

 

[sammi]

Now I'm concered..Do you think I pulled the grapewood out in time? Or should I be worried about the substrate now? Ernie seems fine..no funny breathing..

 

[GBtortoises]

It's hard to say not seeing the actual situation but I personally wouldn't be too concerned as long as the source was removed before the tortoise had alot of exposure to it. Assuming that the area is now clean and not really damp. I don't think you have anything to worry about. I would just pay close attention to the area that the mold was in to make sure that it does not re-populate.