help!!

[christopher furlong]

Hi all,
I Looked in on my pampho tanks tonight and notest somthing that looked like fungas!! Its growing on sum of the substrait and in one tank its on the ceiling of the hide! I realize there prob isnt enough ventilation even though theres loads of vent holes! The holes on the lids dont count because there stacked on top of each other! I'v placed the t's in seperate tanks for now but im wondering if its ok to re-use the substrait and cork hides if i give them a good blast in the oven? I really need to get this sorted as im breeding them shortly so i want the conditions spot on and dont want to stress to T's. I think i will keep the substrait a little dryer this time and drill lots more holes!
Thanks all
Chris

[Christian Elowsky]

If things (peat, wood, coconut choir) are kept damp at all, you'll get fungus. The only way to avoid this is to pre-compost substrate before using it in an enclosure. I have never had an issue with fungus in the substrate being a problem, nor on hides. Of course the airborne species of fungi here are going to be different than there, but I suspect if you let the surface dry out a bit, and keep the deeper substrate moist everything will be fine. The only exception are large mushrooms, or fruiting bodies, those can be an issue, and may result from large a large biomass of mycelia. I believe I've read articles in both the ATS and BTS publications regarding dangerous mushrooms. Short of that, I'll say my usual, relax.

Nuking the tanks will only buy you time before it starts all over again. Just let biology happen.

Good luck.

[christopher furlong]

Thanks for the advice christian! When you say just let biology happen do you mean i should leave the substrait? I mating them shortly so i didnt want to risk the sacs developing the fungas! Mabe i could use a garden compost instead?
Cheers mate
Chris

[Christian Elowsky]

Chris,

I am sorry I did not reply quickly. I have not bred this genus, so have no idea of how sensitive the eggsac is, so hopefully someone will chime in on that. Other than some odd news, I would keep the old substrate, and just let the surface dry out a bit. I have never had a problem with fungus in my substrate killing a tarantula, but you're right in that this is a special case. Running water down the side of the enclosure will keep the lower substrate moist, but not expose the animals to sogginess. In the future, you may compost the peat or whatever alone (maybe adding some dry leaves which you know are safe), and then use it, the easy to digest foods will have been broken down and the likelihood that you'll see fungus is greatly reduced. Good luck.

Christian