Is mold on wood dangerous?

Lumberguy

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 26, 2009
Messages
141
When I got my T enclosures set up, I went out and found a good branch, debarked it and hollowed it to make two real-wood hides for my Ts. Because they are real and not corkbark, I was curious if any mold that grows on them is going to be harmful for the Tarantulas or just eat at the wood? I've already had a few spots of molding on the two pieces a few weeks back, and I took them out and let them dry out completely, then microwaved them for three minutes (I still smell burning wood in there from that lol) and hoped that that would kill any spores that might be on the wood and prevent further outbreaks, but I really don't know much about it all.

Assuming mold does come back, should I just toss the pieces of wood out completely? I don't like the T enclosures being so bare, but at the same time I don't want to go paying $15 a piece for plastic logs or decorations of the kind, and I certainly don't want anything in there that will harm the tarantulas. What would you guys advise? No real wood?

As always, thank you to those that help less-informed hobbyists!
 

Arachn'auQuébec

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 21, 2007
Messages
137
Make sure you have good ventilation and the wood should not mold. If it does mold again, use bark next time (any species, exept maybe yew or other toxic plants...) if you don't want to pay for something you can get in the woods. Bark generally have a better resistance to decay than wood.
 

bobsleaf

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 19, 2008
Messages
218
I'm guessing it's not good. My suggestion would be to either increase ventilation to decrease humidity, alternately you could mist the enclosure less often.

I think if you're talking about a sling you need to sort it, pronto.
:)
 

Stan Schultz

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 16, 2004
Messages
1,677
... I was curious if any mold that grows on them is going to be harmful for the Tarantulas ...
In general, the mold/fungus/bacteria you can see are harmless. It's the ones you can't see that should keep you awake at night!

A far greater question is why on Earth is your tarantula's cage so damp that it allows for a growth of mold on wood in the first place?

What kind of tarantula?

What kind of substrate?

What temperature? (Since temperature and humidity are inversely related.)
 

SylverTear

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 10, 2009
Messages
80
Maybe try boiling the wood too? I know that helps kill any pests or parasites that might be living in the mold. I would think that the boiling water would be able to seep in and get to the spores and possibly destroy them. Once the source is destroyed it should lessen the chances of any mold from the wood coming back. Now airborne spores are a different story.
 
Top