mold in terrarium! what should I do?

[tiddlywinks]

Hi,

I'm new here, I got a pair of crested geckos a couple weeks ago. Their set up is potting soil with live Pothos plants planted in it, in a 10 gallon tall aquarium. I also had some spaghum moss mixed in there.

I noticed today that mold is growing on the soil! What should I do to get rid of it, and should I change my set up? I was misting a couple times a day so it got up to 70% humidity and would go down to 30-40 during the day, but I think the humidity meter was just measuring the humidity of the air and it was staying much damper and wetter next to the ground.

Thanks for your help, I'm really worried about the effect of the mold on the geckos.

[TIKI]

OK first of all get the cresteds out of the tank. Then take out the soil, clean the cage and then replace the substrate with paper towels, moss, etc.(i think that its easier for mold to grow in potting soil than in these other things). try not misting the substrate directly also ... btw how old are your cresties?

[tiddlywinks]

They are 5 and a half months old.

[PandaParade]

do you know the sexes of them too? and the weight?

[tiddlywinks]

They are both females.
I'm going to get a gram scale to weigh them soon, I don't currently know what their weights are.

[PandaParade]

ah ok awesome! Hope everything works out!
I would switch to paper towels to make it easier too.

[Krestie Kate]

If there 5 months theres more than likley no way to tell for sure that there females. I dont declare geckos being female till about 9 monts and even then they can still develop pores and then drop a pair.

[crestedkeeper]

Hello and welcome to the forum.....

I assume you have done what has already been said but also try not misting as much ...once in the morning if needed and heavily at night pushing the levels up to 90 -100%. A rule of thumb is the cage should try out completley within 6 hours and be try until the next mist. If the levels drop to 30 -40% thats fine but just keep a cycle.

Maybe keep a nice sized water dish to help also. If the levels are dropping to rapidly (Levels vary by location) some people also cover half the screen with a wet washcloth or add a humid hide so the gecko can regulate itself.

They should be fine though without going to those extremes as most people dont have to.

[Saucy]

Honestly, there is no need to freak out. Mold is going to happen because you are using soil and it's very moist. Generally this mold is NOT harmful. There are plenty of people that get mold and don't worry about it. It's going to happen when you use a natural substrate like soil and are keeping it too wet.

[Chewbecca]

Honestly, there is no need to freak out. Mold is going to happen because you are using soil and it's very moist. Generally this mold is NOT harmful. There are plenty of people that get mold and don't worry about it. It's going to happen when you use a natural substrate like soil and are keeping it too wet.

You know, I almost started freaking out reading this thread.
Pablo's cork bark has been molding a bit, and every other day, I do my best to clear off the mold.
Nothing else in his cage gets that way, though.
And after reading this thread last night, I kept thinking, "I am tossing out that cork bark tomorrow!!!!"
But that cork bark is new.
And I remember reading on a tag on a slab of cork bark I bought at the store that said it's normal for it to get moldy, and then as it gets used to being damp, or something, it stops getting moldy.
ACK, I cannot remember what was on the tag now!

I *think* the problem is solved now because I have more air flow in his cage, but I am not sure.
I get afraid that the mold on his cork bark will hurt him.