Question: Mold?! AHH!!

[fignewton]

Okay, so the other day I was gonna ask a question about mold prevention because I don't want Marley the tiger salamander to get sick. I saw someone metion mold but didn't see anything about how to keep it from growing. Well I decided not to post it. Tonight I cleaned out Marley's pond dish. I had to take the wood 'bridge' out to get the pond out. I was shocked and horrified to see mold on the underside of the wood. One end sits in the water, and the other sits on the land. The wood is never fully wet, and I'm so confused. I took it out and am really mad cause it was perfect for him! It was a bridge for him to get in and out of the water easily and he liked to hide under it while he was in the water. Now he has no water hideout. I'm bummed. It just occurred to me that if mold was there, it might be in the bark chips too. I should change those. I did check his little log house, but that didn't have spot on it! Which really confused me cause it's much more damp that the bridge.

So... how can I prevent this from happening again? The tank has only been set up like this for a few days. I'm shocked that there is mold already! Although, maybe the humidity in the tank is too high? The gauge says 80% humidity. I've had things so wet I guess because I'm quite paranoid that he will dry out. I had a bad experience in school, I took care of the class pet which was a tiger salamander. Before a holiday weekend I asked if I could take the sallie home and he said no, so I told him he needed more water. The teacher argued that the sallie didn't need any more water and that he knew better. Well when we got back three days later, all the water was evaporated and the sallie was dried up. It was horrible!! So I'm very paranoid about Marley being moist.
How do I know how moist to make the envoriment though? Will raking the bark chips around every day help keep things from getting stale and maybe help prevent mold? Because things are wetter than it would be if it was just being misted (like for a reptile) how often should I replace the substrate? The bag says every two months but since it's constantly being wet I thought maybe it should be changed more often than that.

Thanks so much for any ideas! I'm so bummed out
I'll have to get something else to put as a bridge, so that he can still have a hideout. I know that makes him feel more comfortable, and probably safer.
Here's a photo of how I'd set the tank up (with the log bridge.)
Emily

 

[Greatwtehunter]

Mold just seems to be a fact of life for newly set-up terrariums. You will find however that it seems to go away on its on in a couple of weeks. I have tried many things (especially in my dart frog terrariums) to curtail the mold explosion of a new set-up only to realize that it was a waste of time and that it is easier to just let it run its course. Oh as a side note, if your really bothered by it you could through some springtails in there and they will help keep it under control at least.

 

[Kaysie]

Springtails are awesome for just about everything. I have them in all my tanks.

I don't think you really need quite such a big water feature. I don't even have a water dish for my tiger sals. They can drown if the water is too deep.

 

[fignewton]

What are springtails and where do you get them?
Okay so the mold wasn't from something I did wrong... that's a relief! If I put the wood piece back in, would the mold on it go away eventually? I just thought because mold can make people sick that it might hurt him so I pretty much freaked out about it.

About the water, he seems to like being in it a lot. He's in my bedroom so I pass by him often throughout the day, and always look in to see where he's at/what he's doing (lol I've been keeping my camera by his tank.) Usually he's in the water, or partially in. Sometimes he will be on the log and last night I caught him using his house finally. I cleaned the water dish out and as soon as I put it back he went right in. I will definately keep the water level lower than it has been, I didn't think about him being able to drown!
Emily

 

[Greatwtehunter]

Springtails are tiny insects that live in moist soil and feed on decaying vegatation. I have yet to find a pet shop that carries them so more than likely you'll have to order them online. If you google "springtail cultures" you will be able to find numerous sites that have them. Hope that helps.