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- Jan 14, 2003
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this is my p.ornata enclosure vial on the bottom there is a big patch webing or mold???? here is the pic
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that's not safe because the mold will continue growing.. you have to take everything out and steralize the container and put in new peat moss or whatever.. about the wood, put it in the oven for 20 minutes at 250 degreesArachnogeek said:Err on the side of safety and pull it out with tweezers just in case.
Dan
from what i know mold is live and you don't see all of it so just pulling that bit out leaves a great chance of it coming back, i mean if you like taking chances, by all means go ahead.. but i had one of my rosehairs always spilling the water in her dish and eventually all around the dish there was mold and i steralized everything and put in new peat moss with no dish.. mold can kill your T thru the booklungs and by sterilize i mean give it a simple wash with dish washing detergent.. i was just stating what i'd do being as how i really don't take any chances when it comes to my t's... you don't have to do it but i still suggest it.. good luckkrtrman said:i say just pull out the moldy bit and add another hole for some extra ventilation. this is what i do if i see a bit of mold. (only happened twice).
to illest:i have actually never had a problem with just pulling the mold out of an enclosure. and no i did not sterilize the entire thing. just plucked out the bit of mold and then provided another hole or 2 for added ventilation.IMO ripping the enclosure apart and sterilizing the enclosure is overkill for a bit of mold. if it were mites that would be a different story. but transferring a t is stressful esp one so tiny. i would avoid stressing the t if at all possible.
The substrate is loaded with spores 24/7. 5 minutes after you sterilise it, it's covered with spores again. You prevent mold by not keeping things too moist and by cleaning up dead insect parts not by pretending you can keep things sterile when they're open to the air.da_illest said:from what i know mold is live and you don't see all of it so just pulling that bit out leaves a great chance of it coming back
why would i have done a search? to answer somebody else's question i already knew the answer to? your telling that to the wrong person.. i just like being able to help others as i like sharing what i've learned thru experience along the way.. i believe that taking a chance on stressing the t is a far less risk then having mold come back.. all i said is i like to play it safe.. annnnd in my opinion, moving a t to a new enclosure or to a temp. one while you clean the container out is safer then the chance of any left over mold or anything killing my t.. now your and everyone else's t's are a different story.. i take extremely good care of mine because i enjoy it and can't afford to lose any, money wise and emotionaly, i'm attached to each one in a different way except for all my avic slings, i'm attached to them as a group.. lol.. some1 asked a question and i specified what i would do as i KNOW it works... hope your method works just as good though..krtrman said:to da illest :i am well aware that mold is alive. try a search next time. if you had you would have found that on the forums under "mold" are quite a few responses similar to the ones made in this thread in favor of spot mold remouval. also, if you go back and READ this thread there are responses almost identical to the one i made. unecessary stress due to movement back and forth between enclosures IS taking a chance with your t's. different situations require different solutions.
yea, your right.. i like to go all out with things i know i can control 100%, meaning not humidity etc.. my t gets fed every 2-3 days and is plump and healthy as ever.. i see no point in risking leaving a water dish in with this girl just to risk mold and probable death in my t... i respect your opinion, but in mine moving the t once to clean out the enclosure isn't something to worry about... i personally, am a germ freak.. everytime i go out, i come home and my hands feel dirty, like i HAVE to wash them.. everytime after i touch anything in my animal room i wash my hands.. even if i don't touch anything.. i don't like the idea that there might be a little bit of mold left in there wether it dies off or not.. that's just me.. i was only trying to help you know.. anyways, i'm at the point where i know my t well enough to know it's not dehydrated.. i know one should have a dish in but it's not nessesary and there are many t's that have lived years without one.. mine's thriving.. i have peace of mind as long as it's eating because i know much moisture comes from food.. now, when a t goes in pre-molt and stops eating, I GO TO ANY LENGTH to make sure the T CONSTANTLY has a source of water, meaning i fill it everyday if not every couple days.. plus i know it helps keep the humidity up to help the t thru the molt..krtrman said:it seems to me that providing a water dish every once in a while as you stated earlier IS a risk. (IMO). I thought that a water dish should be provided at all times. I could be wrong...but I remember reading that somewhere...but for the life of me I cant remember...anyway.
how do you know when to provided the water dish? does you t tell you its thirsty? if you ask me, not providing a source of water IS very risky. and yes i am aware that there are those that may disagree.
ventilation will help prevent mold. and unless the mold is EVERYWHERE in your tank spot remouval and adding more ventilation will stop the mold from spreading and thus saving your t. and i am well aware that mold can get in the booklungs, but more ventilation and less moisture will prevent this.
i understand you are attached to your t's (as are most of us) but complete remouval of substrate, and sterlization of the tank and all its contents is not always the solution. AND IT CAUSES STRESS!
I respect your right to disagree, however I think that you are misguided in your attempt to provide the best possible environment and basic needs of your tarantulas. sometimes providing for them the best we can involves feeding, providing a water source, providing species appropriate space, temp, humidity requirements, AND leaving their immediate environment alone save for remouval of feeder parts, spot mold, and exuvia. yes there are occasions when an entire enclosure cleaning IS required, but this case was not one of them. once again different situations require different solutions!