Mold or mildew in tort table

[mhbgirl]

I recently cleaned my redfoot tortoise cage and was shocked to see some areas that had black growth (I'm not really sure if it was mold,mildew, etc). Some parts of the cage were pretty bad and the mold had actually grown through the wood and was visible on the bottom outside.

I have since then cleaned the cage as best as I could with soap and other cleaners, added new cypress, and lined the entire inside with heavy duty plastic. This is what my tort table looks like. By the way I do have a cover.



Have any of you had this issue? I have to spray the cage a lot to keep the humidity up. I can still smell mold or mildew from time to time. I just don't want my redfoots to get sick! I have never noticed them having breathing problems though.

 

[theelectraco]

I have had the same problem and have been told its from high humidity and low temps. I cleaned it really well and redid my lighting and stopped it from coming back. Where exactly is the mold? What are your temps?

 

[lisa127]

I have never had black mold, though I did find that fuzzy white mold this morning.

 

[theelectraco]

The fuzzy white mold is also what I was getting.

 

[mhbgirl]

I have had the same problem and have been told its from high humidity and low temps. I cleaned it really well and redid my lighting and stopped it from coming back. Where exactly is the mold? What are your temps?

My ambient temp is 70 with a basking spot that can get up to the 90's.

 

[theelectraco]

70 is too low for ambient temps. I keep my enclosure at 82-84 all over except directly under the light or CHE its a little warmer. 70 is only room temp and too low for your tortoise. Can you out one light on each side, and cover the top to trap the heat in. When I used a zoo med tortoise house I had the whole wire part covered to keep in humidity and heat.

 

[sulcatadude]

My temps are no lower than 85 during the day, and drop to a minimum of 80 at night. I just noticed that my new closed chamber is developing mold at the top, on the pine wood used to build the enclosure.. Is there any way to inhibit this mold growth, or kill it? I didn't want to seal the wood with anything for fear of detrimental chemicals. Humidity in the chamber is around 80%, btw.

See picture below:

 

[bmt123]

I had it on my crested gecko tank and just sprayed it with a mild bleach solution and let it dry. Make sure the enclosure is not flat against the ground, I lifted mine up and put 2x4s underneath and haven't had a problem since.