humidity vs mold

[Chromatic Corns]

So originally my tank had nice moist ecoearth on one side and reptibark on the other (I hate aspen). They spent all their time buried in the ecoearth but the logs started to mold. I let the ecoearth dry out too much while I was away and now they are constantly in the bark under their water dishes. I sprayed the ecoearth today but I don't want mold problems again. How do I keep the humidity up but mold down? They obviously prefer the moisture. Maybe I need to replace the logs with stone caves instead?

 

[dave partington]

Pure long fiber high quality sphagnum moss does not seem to mold, holds moisture/humidity well. At least until it gets pooped in.

 

[Guruofchem]

What's your tank setup? If you have a screen lid, covering the middle half of it can reduce evaporation rates and keep humidity up without adding water. Covering the middle section helps encourage airflow up and out the hot side, which will pull air in on the open cold side.

 

[Nythain]

Pure long fiber high quality sphagnum moss does not seem to mold, holds moisture/humidity well. At least until it gets pooped in.

Pretty much this ^. Sphagnum moss actually has anti mold qualities to it, and is a great humidity increaser/controller. Using it as a full substrate might get expensive since you'll have to actually replace any soiled spots. But some light decoration with it will help keep humidity up without requiring moist misting. There's a difference between "humidity" and "wetness", and any misting (I'm actually adamantly against misting to increase humidity... the moisture causes too many problems and there are better ways to increase ambient humidity) or wet product requirements probably aren't the best way to go about humidity.

As far as general snake preference, they're gonna prefer anything that feels good that they can burrow through. It could also just be they wanted to explore/burrow the bark side because it was unexplored or the temps over there were good. You could definitely consider getting rid of the logs if they are a problem, other types of hides will probably be more resistant to molding but if it's too damp in your viv then molding will happen either way. So it's probably best to just address the molding at it's root.

 

[dave partington]

Pretty much this ^. Sphagnum moss actually has anti mold qualities to it, and is a great humidity increaser/controller. Using it as a full substrate might get expensive since you'll have to actually replace any soiled spots. But some light decoration with it will help keep humidity up without requiring moist misting. There's a difference between "humidity" and "wetness", and any misting (I'm actually adamantly against misting to increase humidity... the moisture causes too many problems and there are better ways to increase ambient humidity) or wet product requirements probably aren't the best way to go about humidity.

Pretty much this ^. (Tagging you back). Thanks for expanding that out. My turn.
Get the moss soaked, but then wring it out & squeeze out as much moisture as possible. Placing it in a place where it will not rapidly dry out will be helpful too.
As far as misting goes, it's awful for plants; it causes the stomata (pores) to open up, as if the leaves had just been rained on. But in an indoor situation where the room has low humidity, the stomata open up, the leaves dry out quickly, and before the stomata can close down, the leaves loose inner moisture rapidly which results in drying cells inside the leaves, which causes the leaves to develop dead spots. I know grandma used to mist her plants blah blah blah, and that may have been quite practical in naturally humid geographical locations, before air-conditioning, when the windows were open anyways, with a nice east-west breeze, so the plants didn't suffer.
I don't know for a fact if misting on snakes or in terraria in closed space homes causes a similar effect on snake skin as I haven't had a chance to shoot a movie for youtube about this under my home election microscope, but generally as you say, misting appears to cause more problems then it solves. jmho.
thanks for sharing-

 

[cagedbirdsinging]

I am planning on using the EE for my substrate as well. Does this need to be kept moist as the OP describes?

 

[HerpsOfNM]

I am planning on using the EE for my substrate as well. Does this need to be kept moist as the OP describes?

If using as a sole substrate, I'd keep it dry but it's fairly dusty when dry. I love the stuff, but hate it dried out. I'd stick to using it, or as suggested long-fiber sphagnum moss within a moist hide and opt for aspen or repti-bark as main substrate. You can get the long-fiber sphagnum moss at Lowes for around $5-6 for a bale, versus a couple corporate petstores that sell the same stuff in the same volume for $15! I works great for green tree python lay boxes too.

To the OP...
A safe way of cleaning those molded logs would be a 50% dilution of isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) is a spray bottle and a toothbrush. The alcohol should kill off the mold, in combination to scrubbing with a toothbrush. Just do so in a well ventilated area. Once done, simply rinse with water. The alcohol will naturally evaporate and shouldn't leave a residue.

 

[HerpsOfNM]

forgot to add....use distilled water (no impurities) when you make the 50% dilution and a good ole ch-em is try formula, c1v1=c2v2.

c1=original concentration = 70% or 91% isopropyl alcohol
v1=volume to be diluted
c2= final concentration = 50% dilution
v2=final volume = whatever volume container you'll place the dilution into, i.e. 32 oz spray bottle

0.7v1 = (.5)(32)

0.7v1 = 16

v1= 16 / .7 = 22.857 oz of isopropyl for a 32 oz spray bottle.

And I've now done enough chemistry for the month, back to being a biologist.

 

[Chromatic Corns]

Thank you everyone for all the suggestions I'm going to look into changing or cleaning some of the decor this weekend and look for the moss to see what I think.

 

[diamondlil]

Just a warning over using sphagnum moss, it can cause a chronic skin disease through abrasions or breaks in your skin, called sporotrichosis. The risk is quite small but it's a nasty condition if you do get it and gloves are a good precaution in handling moss. (The disease is usually seen in florists and gardeners)