Help! I think we have mold.

[TurtleAsylum801]

We had two homes custom built for our sulcata babies & set them up last night. They are 2x2x4 box enclosures made of melamine & have a sliding plexi glass front. There are two vents in the top back corners & we drilled holes in the bottom part of the plexi glass for more ventilation. We have them stacked on top of each other to save on space. We have one 150 watt basking lamp on the left side & one 75 watt red heat lamp on the right side for night heating. There is a 24" uvb strip light hanging in the top front of the box. The substrate we are using is slightly moistened coconut fiber. In each box we have 1 water dish & a plate for food. There is one tupperware that we drilled a little door on the side & put vent holes on the top. We also put some rocks and fake plants to make it look more naturalistic. During the day we turn on the day bulb (left side) & the UVB strip light. At night the day bulb & uvb go off & the night lamp on the right turns on. When the day bulb is on the temp is 95 on the warm side & 83 on the cooler side & the humidity was around 75%. At night the temp was 75 on the right side (I don't remember the temp on the left side). When we woke up this morning we noticed what might be mold on the left side of the cage. Does anyone have any suggestions on what do to? Any I formation would be helpful.

 

[RosieRedfoot]

I found my cuttle bones molded in Rosie's humid environment. It looks like your questionable spot of mold is by a cuttlebone, correct? I'd recommend throwing out the substrate in question (not all of it, just surrounding it) and probably the cuttle bone too. Try to keep the cuttlebone in a dry area or give it sparingly, like during the day near the drier basking spot.

 

[wellington]

First may I say, I would not let the temps, day or night go below 80 with the higher humidity, which is a good thing. Second. You have something in there, food, poop, etc, something that is molding. I have always used only coconut coir, except in the very beginning and never had mold. Now, that's not to say that the fake plant might not get molding or something, but you won't get mold in the coir, without it being from some other source.

 

[TurtleAsylum801]

Yes the white fuzziness was only on the mound the cuddle bone was on. I think you both are correct! I never would have thought the cuddle bone would be an issue but it makes complete sense. We like to keep it in there because our girls like to nibble on it, or use it as pillow or surfboards. We discarded the coconut fiber that had the fuzz so I will take it the cuddle bones out tonight to see if it makes a difference.

The zoo med thermometer did say 80 but I've found that they always read 4-5 deg higher then what the actual temp is :-/. I purchased some other thermometers just to be safe. I also purchased a bigger red bulb to see if it will help keep the nigh time temps above 80. We like the red bulb because then we can keep an eye on them at night because we are usually up pretty late. We hope the bulb, removal of the cuddle bone will do the trick.

Thank you both for the info. I appreciate your quick response!!

 

[Tom]

Try getting a 4-6" terra cotta plant saucer, sinking it into your substrate so that its flush, and putting your cuttle bone on that.

 

[TurtleAsylum801]

Good idea Tom, we can try that. This will be easier then trying to remember to take them out. Thank you!!