Well I have two awesome trees frogs, Bonnie and clyde, and recently read that they're humidity should be between 50 and 70% but t these levels mild keeps growin on their driftwood branch thing. I took it out and scrubbed it and rises with with extremely hot water but it keeps coming back. Is it safe for them to be in there with it?? And if not how do I stop this from happening??
I have some branches I sanded down and used from outside.. I didnt really do much to them other then sand them nice and smooth. I have read that you can put them in the oven for 30mins on like 300d maybe even 250 depending on the size of the branches. I think the issue your having is that the piece has mold in bedded inside the wood or piece you have. My frogs are amazing when something like this happens they will stay away from that piece in the tank so I know to go in and check it out. I have had some issues with mold so I know how you feel. If I think of anything else I will get back to you on it.
Oh ya you can also use bleach is you dilute it but I would stay way from this since its always risky to use chemicals. I also think vinegar is safe to use to clean things that go in your tank.. but please look into it more.
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Well I just bought it from the pet store and it said it was heat treated already
Heat treating only kills the mold that is already present. If new spires come in contact with the wood more will grow. If its white mold then it is very common on driftwood and usually doesn't spread too much, but can grow in an hour or two. You may want to remove the wood place it in some boiling water then soak it in de-chlorinated water before replacing it in the enclosure. I've never treated any of my driftwood with bleach. I just scauld mine.
I have had a few mold reach my pieces of wood. I heat treat everything i can, if you put it in the oven for a while and then keep it in a sterile or at least an area with out mold it should cure the problem. If you keep getting the mold it may be coming from somewhere else that you have not treated.
Could it be possible that it's coming from my German ivy plant?
See when you treat the wood you will have to tear down the enclosure and give it a thorough cleaning so their are no mold spores left behind go reattach themselves to your treated driftwood. You will even want to rinse and wipe down any fake or live plant leaves so all spores are removed. then replace everything as it was before so that nothing in their setup has changed. Replacing everything exactly the same will keep stress low.
Is the mold harmful to frogs? I have recently made a vivarium and once i got it fully set up, i got white mold on some of my leaf litter at the bottom. I heard it will go away and is not harmful to my frogs. I have varaderos though so it might be a different case since you have tree frogs. I dropped some springtails in the bottom of my tank to help with it. It is unsightly but i was under the impression that it wont hurt the frogs.
The white kind that grows on the driftwood usually doesn't cause much of a problem and I've never had it harm my frogs, but with any fungal and mold growth you want to watch it carefully so it doesn't get out of control. Its a natural process for the wood to grow some mold as it is dead and therefore decaying. I always remove any mold I see due to amphibians being highly susceptible to fungal infections. The white mold grows rapidly showing back up within an hour of being wiped off or rinsed away from the wood, but usually doesn't pose much of a problem.
Always practice safety though and remove it whenever you see fungal or mold growth. Some Vivs have been known to grow mushrooms which is also a natural process and a sign of a fully functional Vivarium. I've had Mushrooms grow in my Viv before and since there are no animals in my Viv I just let them be.
I had this same problem.. I found a bunch of nice driftwood and decided I'd use some in a pacman tank for some cover.. I boiled it, cooked it in the oven for 20 mins at 200 and then I put it in the tank. Within a couple of days I had white mold.. so I took it and threw it outside. -_- It's relieving to hear that white mold isn't necessarily harmful though.
So if I just continue to wipe it off when I see it, will it just go away? If so, how long does that take?
It depends on the climate within your frogs enclosure. Really high humidity like Pacman Frogs require takes the mold probably over a month to go away. Usually distilled water will kill it too, but not always. just continues to remove it if it comes back until it doesn't anymore. If it never goes away then replace the wood. I'm sure you wouldn't want to continually keep wiping the mold away for more than a month.
You can also try to add some springtails, they will clean your enclosure.
Ok thanks, and what are springtails, and where do you get them?
Springtails are an Isopod like Saulbugs(Wood Louse, Rolly Polly). They eat fungi, mold, mildew, and decaying plant matter as well as your frogs waste. Usually not enough of the frog's waste will be eaten for it not to attract bacterial growth though. They will live in the substrate where it remains 100% humidity and venture out to feed. They may venture far up to eat the mold, but I'm not sure.
Edit; You can buy a Springtail Culture from JoshsFrogs.com
AZDR.com - Arizona Dendrobate Ranch - Quality Dart Frog Breeders & Terrarium Supplies
New England Herpetoculture - Live Insects
Feeder Insects - Products
Above a just a couple of places that sell them, there are many others. Springtails (Collembola sp.) are soft-bodied insects that live in the soil and leaf litter of terrariums. They assist in completing the eco-system of your tank by aiding in the decomposition of the leaf litter, animal feces, and dead plant material. They also provide smaller frogs like PDFs with an additional food source.
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