yellow fungus in terrarium

Jerickson

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Dec 24, 2022
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Tucson, Arizona
Hi Everyone,

Trevor is a 3 month old sulcata hatchling in a 40 gallon terrarium.

Today I noticed a bit of yellow fungus near the humid hide, and when I looked behind it, I found it was growing in threads up the wall! I panicked and wiped it all out before thinking to take a picture, but it's also in the substrate, and I was able to take a photo of a healthy sized chunk of it (see below).

I'm curious if anyone has any experience or knowledge about this? there's no visible fungus on Trevor and his behavior hasn't changed. I am noticing some dark coloration around the mouth that is new.

I'm going to do a 100% substrate change tomorrow to be safe. Any additional info or advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Jonathan

yellow fungus.jpg
 

Tom

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I've had that sort of thing pop up in my tarantula enclosures with coco coir. What substrate are you using and where did you get it?
 

Jerickson

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Tucson, Arizona
I've had that sort of thing pop up in my tarantula enclosures with coco coir. What substrate are you using and where did you get it?
Hi Tom -
I'm pretty sure you won't approve—my substrate is a generic wood chip product (not even specified what kind of wood) that I bought at Home Depot. For the record, I did go into Home Depot looking for "orchid bark" as you recommend, but customer service said they had never heard of it.

I noticed the hardware store down the street sells hard packed, shredded coconut husk - it's not labeled as coco choir - but I'm assuming it's the same thing? Or I can order some "orchid bark" on Amazon (do you have a recommended brand?) although that will probably take two days to arrive. Do you think it's okay to leave Trevor in there in the meantime or should I go with the coconut husk today?

Thanks,

Jonathan
 

Yvonne G

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Hi Jonathan: "Orchid bark" is really fir bark. "Orchid bark" is sold under that name so orchid growers can be assured they are buying a pure product that won't harm their orchids. If you can find fir bark, then that's ok to buy. If you don't have a very big enclosure to fill you can buy the large bags of "Reptibark" from chewy.com or from Amazon.com
 
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Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
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Hi Tom -
I'm pretty sure you won't approve—my substrate is a generic wood chip product (not even specified what kind of wood) that I bought at Home Depot. For the record, I did go into Home Depot looking for "orchid bark" as you recommend, but customer service said they had never heard of it.

I noticed the hardware store down the street sells hard packed, shredded coconut husk - it's not labeled as coco choir - but I'm assuming it's the same thing? Or I can order some "orchid bark" on Amazon (do you have a recommended brand?) although that will probably take two days to arrive. Do you think it's okay to leave Trevor in there in the meantime or should I go with the coconut husk today?

Thanks,

Jonathan
Its not that I don't "approve". Its that other stuff can cause problems. Like weird yellow fungi growing out of your substrate, for example. 😎

If you can't find or special order "fine grade orchid bark, or "fine grade fir bark", then what Yvonne said is a good way to go. When buying coco products from a nursery, you have to be careful you don't get too much coco fiber. Coir is great. Chips are wonderful for some reptiles, but not for tortoises. What you don't want is that stringy coconut husk fiber stuff.

You won't find orchid bark in the big box stores usually. You have to go to a plant nursery for it. If your local nurseries don't stock it, ask if they can special order it for you.
Orchid Bark.JPG
 
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