We recently had a fungal issue in both chelonian habitats...
A small fruit body (Pleurotus genus?) appeared on substrate in Olive's enclosure. I believe that it spread from a potted sedge (with drainage hole), but we are not 100% certain.
Another fruit body (nondescript white parasol) appeared at roughly the same time in Sunny's enclosure. Its mycelium was more extensive, and seems to originate from a potted geranium.
This has never happened before, even when Sunny had a reptile fogger. I've since removed the contaminated substrate from both enclosures, and water plants/coir less frequently. I also sprayed problem areas with a hydrogen peroxide solution.
Is there a tortoise-safe fungicide? My brother suggested Benefect Botanical Decon 30 (with thymol), but I'm reluctant to use anything in a closed chamber. According to the Tortoise Table plant database, "...very high doses of oil distilled from Oregano plants can cause a build-up of toxic quantities of thymol in the kidneys and liver, but it would be almost impossible for a tortoise to eat sufficient quantities of the plant to experience this toxicity."
A small fruit body (Pleurotus genus?) appeared on substrate in Olive's enclosure. I believe that it spread from a potted sedge (with drainage hole), but we are not 100% certain.
Another fruit body (nondescript white parasol) appeared at roughly the same time in Sunny's enclosure. Its mycelium was more extensive, and seems to originate from a potted geranium.
This has never happened before, even when Sunny had a reptile fogger. I've since removed the contaminated substrate from both enclosures, and water plants/coir less frequently. I also sprayed problem areas with a hydrogen peroxide solution.
Is there a tortoise-safe fungicide? My brother suggested Benefect Botanical Decon 30 (with thymol), but I'm reluctant to use anything in a closed chamber. According to the Tortoise Table plant database, "...very high doses of oil distilled from Oregano plants can cause a build-up of toxic quantities of thymol in the kidneys and liver, but it would be almost impossible for a tortoise to eat sufficient quantities of the plant to experience this toxicity."
