Mold under logs.

Hi, I have 2 half logs that seem to have some mold growing in the underside where the snakes would chill. Both my redtail boa and bp's hides just started randomly growing this mold. Im assuming its from taking them both home with me over spring break. (and please, these are NOT their hides, just something extra in the tank so dont freak out lol)

My question is, what is safe to use to get rid and stay rid of mold. I dont want to go soap this thing down and it not work, but I dont want to bleach it and kill my babies. So any tips or suggestions would be wonderful.

Thank you!
:taz:

You might try soaking them with Isopropyl Alcohol.

It is most likely not occurring because you took the hide home for a period of time. This is a common problem with them half log hides because the are wood in a very humid environment. Humidity is what causes the mold to grow on them. They best thing to do would be to throw them out and stick with plastic hides. Hope this helps, good luck.

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Originally Posted by Vypyrz

You might try soaking them with Isopropyl Alcohol.

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That would only get rid of the mold temporarily. There is really no way to keep the mold gone with out harming your animals as far as I know, don't quote me on that though. I stick with plastic or rock hides for a reason.

In my hermit crab tank I keep lots of wood items in an 80% humidity environment. Mold can be a huge problem, but if you soak the wood in extremely concentrated salt water that may help with it. That's what I and many people on the hermit crab forum I'm a member of do to control mold.

Yeah, sounds like I need to go buy another hide. Well thanks for the help all I appreciate it.

Soak the hides in a 10% bleach solution for a couple of hours, then soak the hides in water for a couple of hours (4-6 hours), emptying and refilling the water every hour or so. Let air dry for the rest of the day Then put hides into a 200 degree oven for 2 hours. Keep a close eye on the hides when in the oven. 200 degrees shouldn't burn the logs but it's always better to be on the safe side.

If you don't want to dry in the oven, let it air dry for a couple of days.

Jim Smith

Jim's suggestion should kill the mold, and at least partially remove any stains it might have left behind. The bleach will probably also slow down the possible return of the mold, but it won't totally prevent it, unless you keep treating it.

Vinegar will kill mold and mildew (and lots of other germs), and is safer to use around your snakes than bleach is, so there is no need for all that rinsing. My recommendation would be to do the treatment Jim suggested, then use vinegar for preventative maintenance. You could probably just spray the vinegar on the wood, let it soak in a bit, give it a quick rinse, then replace it in the enclosure.

thank you