Page 1 of 1
Mold In High Humidity Enclosure
Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2022 6:49 am
by mrmikes21
Hello all, I just the other day re set up my Indonesian to adjust the temp and humidity, Humidity is about 90% with Temp ambient in the high 80s to 90s with a hot spot of 100. Because of the humidity the entire enclosure is always quite damp and I noticed it only takes a couple hours before his half log and other non cypress wood start to get fuzzy mold on them. Anyone have a way to get rid of or mitigate the mold, or suggestions as to alternative hides that look wooden but wont mold?
Re: Mold In High Humidity Enclosure
Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2022 7:34 am
by splashy07
Possibly a little more ventilation is needed, and there are plenty of resin type and plastic hides on the market. Also the addition of springtails will help control mold if you want to go a little bioactive..I use those in my Isopod tubs for that reason.
Re: Mold In High Humidity Enclosure
Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2022 10:50 am
by mrmikes21
splashy07 wrote:Possibly a little more ventilation is needed, and there are plenty of resin type and plastic hides on the market. Also the addition of springtails will help control mold if you want to go a little bioactive..I use those in my Isopod tubs for that reason.
Won’t adding more ventilation lower the humidity as well? I’m going to the New England Reptile Expo this weekend so I will take a look around for some resin hides, I’m sure there will be springtails as well! Obviously I’m cleaning up the mold from the wood, but will it hurt him if there is a bit of it in there for a day, I can’t be home to clean it every couple hours.
Re: Mold In High Humidity Enclosure
Posted: Mon Apr 04, 2022 5:06 am
by splashy07
Yes, more ventilation would cause drier air that's where you have to experiment until the balance is correct. A large water bowl or even an extra one if you have the space will help. Coco husk substrate does not mold unless there is some material on it such as feces or food spills that attract mold. I would switch the wood for a ceramic or resin piece.
Re: Mold In High Humidity Enclosure
Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2022 10:00 am
by mb606587
Agreed, those wooden half logs don't do well with high humidity. Look to either cork bark tubes or resin piece as splashy suggested.
Re: Mold In High Humidity Enclosure
Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2022 8:14 am
by mrmikes21
Just a quick update I switched out all the wood for cork and have not had an issue with mold, I did add a little more ventilation and spring tails as well. Seems like it should be good!