# Ball Pythons > BP Husbandry >  Yuck! White fuzzy stuff growing on terrarium moss...

## shelliebear

I have the same brand of "terrarium moss" (I think it's the same as sphagnum, or close) in all my BP tanks. 
Well, in one of the tank, but NONE of the others, there is this white, fuzzy stuff growing on it. It almost looks like someone ripped apart a cotton ball and put tiny amount in little places on top of the moss.
It smells weird, too. Not gross, just...weird. The moss didn't smell like that when I got it wet the first few times.
I know growth is bound to happen if you keep anything damp in a humid environment, but is this bad for my BP's? Will they get sick?
Just in case, I took all the moss out of the tank with the growth on the moss and replaced all the aspen bedding. 
I'm getting frustrated with how the bedding is getting soaked, along with the moss. I don't think that is good for them either, but I could be wrong.
Thanks for any and all help.  :Smile:

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## jjmitchell

ur growing mold..... u can spot clean it, or just throw the bedding out and start over.... Thats why I dont mess with moss or coco bedding..... I run junk mail and paper stuff through the paper shredder and use it for bedding..... its absorbent, cheap, and spotcleans easy......

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## mainbutter

In most planted terrariums, a mold cycle is pretty typical, especially for new terrariums.  99.99% of mold is harmless.  However, mold can be an indicator of an environment being humid enough for other bad things (bad bacteria etc).  This is often why some people tend to associate mold with poor health.

In all likelihood it's not a bad thing.  My planted terrariums had mold pop up about a week or two after I got them put together, and then after a month or so it went away.  I also dumped some springtails in there, they help decompose animal waste and also eat mold.

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## shelliebear

what are springtails?

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## steveboos

I wouldn't worry about it, but definitely clean it out, don't want it to get worse!! Sounds like mold to me also.l

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## amnesia

> what are springtails?


Small insects. Many people use them as a food source for smaller dart frogs. They eat mold and fungus.

edit:

Here is the wiki.

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