Help! Is this mold?

[TeenyToad]

Hey guys!

Not too long ago, I planted some moss in my new viv. I planted some on soil, and the rest on this big dead piece of wood I bought from a reptile store.

Today, I noticed this white fuzzy stuff underneath the moss that was on the wood. Parts of it remind me of rabbit fur. I'm assuming this is mold. I thought it was possibly from the moss, but when I removed it I noticed it was only on the wood. I'm curious if my recent watering (since there were no plants in it until the moss) caused the wood to mold.

My question is, is this moss? How can I take action to remove it, and make sure it's gone? And if it is from the moisture, what product should I seal the wood with that will not harm the future froggy residents?

Thank you so much ahead of time! I want to act as soon as possible!




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[TeenyToad]

Oops, I obviously meant is this "mold" not "moss" haha


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[LilyPad]

Mold is completely normal in a new viv cycle. I just asked about this a month ago, you're not alone! If you introduce springtails, they should clean it up for you.

[TeenyToad]

Really? That much mold though? It seems like a lot!

And strangely, it was only under the moss that was on the wood.

I'm wondering if it would be smart to seal off the wood?

Also, I took this moss from my backyard. I completely rinsed it and took the steps to make sure there weren't any critters in it--but I guess you can never be too sure. Perhaps, this had something to do with it?

As soon as I'm totally finished with my viv, I'm throwing springtails in there for sure!


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[LilyPad]

This is my post with mold...after a week or so, after the springtail population exploded, it was gone. http://www.frogforum.net/vivarium-te...tml#post225267

[TeenyToad]

Thanks Amy! That actually made me feel a lot better, seeing how much mold you had! I'm wondering if I should wait till I get the springtails to replant the mold there.

I'm also still wondering if I should seal the wood somehow to avoid future rotting. What do you think?


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[LilyPad]

What kind of wood is it? You should not need to seal it. Certain ones will be more prone to rotting than others. I'm not exactly sure which though, someone else would have to chime in there.

Do not try to replant the mold I'm assuming you meant moss, and yes, keep your moss out for now. With Bill's advice, I took my moss out after showing him the pictures, and only lost a small bit of it.

[TeenyToad]

Haha oops!

I'm not sure what type of wood it is, here's a picture


And here's a picture of the moss



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[LilyPad]

Did you purchase or collect the wood? If you purchased it, it's likely grapevine by the looks of it. I have never used it, but it has a bad rap for rotting and molding. Some say to wait out the mold cycle with it, others say it never stops molding. I guess you can either try it or find a different piece.

[TeenyToad]

I purchased it. Ah man, I hope it isn't. I laid it into the expanding foam background! Ha, the problems truly are never ending with viv builds, aren't they?! Still worth it


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[DigitalPunk]

White mold is very common in new vivariums. It will run its course with or without springtails present.

The types of wood you want to avoid is "GrapeVine wood" (it will get a very nasty grey mold that is VERY bad) and Softwood (think Pine). Hardwoods are great. They resist breakdown and mold. Hardwoods will last a long time in a vivarium in very humid conditions.

Moss from your backyard will most likely die in a humid terrarium. It is work a shot, but typically it doesn't go well.

[TeenyToad]

Noted, Paul! That's too bad, I love the look of the velvet-like moss and haven't been able to find any online.

Do you have any idea what type of wood it is? There's a picture above.




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[LilyPad]

I purchased it. Ah man, I hope it isn't. I laid it into the expanding foam background! Ha, the problems truly are never ending with viv builds, aren't they?! Still worth it


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You aren't the only one that has had issues! You are doing a big build for your first build. It is frustrating to have these ideas running through your head, put it together and it looks wonderful, and then have it fail for practicality reasons. You will get there and will love your viv!

You could possibly seal it (since it's already built in to the background) if you can be 100% certain that it's completely dry. Or it will just rot from the inside out. Does anyone have ideas on how she could go about this? Would really suck if the background had to be torn out to replace it

[TeenyToad]

Amy, you're awesome! I needed that pep talk It can get so discouraging sometimes. I've never taken care of plants, or been very handy, but I've certainly learned so much throughout this process. It's so nice to have a forum with such helpful people--especially you, Paul, and Bill!


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[DigitalPunk]

Tenny it is hard to say what kind of wood it is from the picture. It is either Manzanita or Grapevine wood, but it looks to big around to be grapevine wood.

I think you are ok on the wood thing. With as much white mold as you have I would guess you would also see Grey mold if it was Grapevine. As for the moss. Put it in the tank and see how it does. It may surprise you and survive. If it dies off than you have learned another invaluable lesson to take with you to future builds

I have bought my moss from NeHerp and love it. I have used their pillow moss and what they call NeHerp Moss, which emends me of Christmas moss. Josh's frogs sales moss and so does BlackJungle. The thing about NeHerps moss (the one they call NeHerp Moss) i like is that they pre process it before they ship it out to you. So when it arrives you are save to toss it in the tank and watch it grow

You are doing great on this build. We all hit little speed bumps in builds from time to time. It is those "speed bumps" thaw make this interesting, unique, and challenging that keep us all coming back for more Keep up the good work!

[deranged chipmunk]

That there would be mopani wood. It, just like most other hardwoods, it susceptible to mold at the onset of a new vivarium. You can add microfauna or let it run it's course naturally. It normally takes a few weeks.


Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world ~ Nelson Mandela

[mpmistr]

Is there a way to tell Mopani from Grapewood? They look pretty similar to me.

[LilyPad]

Is there a way to tell Mopani from Grapewood? They look pretty similar to me.

I was wondering the same thing! I've always avoided anything that looks like that in pet stores because I assumed it was grapevine.

[deranged chipmunk]

Mopani is normally a bit darker and has black knots on it. It's also more likely to have recesses in it, like the piece in teeny's (we need a real name here! Lol) tank.


Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world ~ Nelson Mandela

[DigitalPunk]

ahh yeah I meant Mopani. Thanks Bill!