# Help! Mold!



## Toby Wan Kinoby (Jul 31, 2017)

So I got my hatchling arg b&w a week ago. Her substrate is cypress mulch/eco earth mix. I have a "grapevine" log which is part hollow that she uses for basking and also a hide. While I had her in her feeding bin today I lifted up the log and noticed the bottom part that was buried in substrate has mold all over it. What can I do to get rid of the mold and keep it away? Also is this dangerous to my gu? She loves that log and without it her basking temps will be too low. Please help!


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## Zyn (Jul 31, 2017)

Throw it away and just use a rubber bin or something also was it pure cypress or a blend from Home Depot or something.

For basking I have a large river smoothed rock for my baby blue, its doesn't sit flat so he can get as close to his heat lamp or as far away as he needs, and for hiding I cut some drain irrigation pipe in half and partially carried it in his substrate. The corrugated black stuff at Home Depot. He uses it some times but more often than not i find him wrapped up in the tshirt i leave in there lol


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## Toby Wan Kinoby (Jul 31, 2017)

The mulch is zoomed forest floor. The only mold is on the part of the grape wood that was in the substrate. None of the substrate has any mold on it that I can see, I guess grape wood wasn't a good idea for humid tegu cage lol.


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## dpjm (Jul 31, 2017)

This happens EVERY time that you bury a piece of wood in damp substrate. You just can't do it. If the mulch is wet the wood in contact with it will get mold, always. So it's not the substrate's fault, you can keep using that type. Just remove a good section of the substrate where the mold was and it should be fine. You can use the wood piece still as well, just scrub off the moldy part and then dry it well. If you keep the log a bit drier in the enclosure it should be fine. So it can't touch the substrate. I like to half-bury flat rocks in the substrate and have logs resting on those. Even logs that were moldy once don't develop mold again if you do it this way.


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## Toby Wan Kinoby (Jul 31, 2017)

Thanks Dpjm! I love the idea of having the wood rest on a flat rock. I'll scrub the mold off and bake the wood in an oven at about 200 degrees until dry. I'll just have to be careful not to spray the wood when misting the cage!


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## dpjm (Aug 1, 2017)

The wood can get sprayed, it just needs to be able to dry off afterward. Keep an eye on the area of the wood where the mold was and make sure it doesn't return. Maybe have that section facing upwards if that is an option.


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