Mold in coconut fiber

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Amcgilbery

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Hey guys, sorry for posting so much but this is my only resource for newt help ? I have been noticing white fuzzy things that look like mold along the edges of my tank recently, I spray my coconut fiber down every other day with a decent amount of water as I want me newt be able to enjoy soft/damp ground. I have been wondering if this is common and what I can do to stop this mold from spreading/hurting my newt. Thanks guys


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Also(I know this is a little unrelated) I bought terrarium grass to try to get some live plants into the tank, I've just planted planted the seeds today so if anyone has any comments on this good or bad it would be very helpful as well
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What newt do you have in there? Perhaps a better setup would be to have a shallow water dish in there and don't mist. Most salamanders do poorly in a high humidity set up.
 
He is a Californian newt and he rarely uses his water dish which is why I feel like I need to mist the tank


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Hey guys just an update my (Californian) newt seems to really dislike his water dish for whatever reason. I'm having trouble figuring out how to get him to enjoy his time in the dish so he gets some moisture as today I went through the tank and found tons of mold spots in the coconut fiber, which I removed and planted more terrarium grass to help combat the unused moisture, my newt seems to have almost a white tint to skin, almost like when someone doesn't use lotion to keep their moist. I'm worried he isn't absorbing the moisture he needs and I'm curious to know if setting up a "pool" outside of his ten gallon tank would be most beneficial


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My tiger salamander Pirate doesn't like water that much either. Whenever I mist his tank and he is above ground, he sprints underneath his cave, like a bomb shelter
 
Sith the turtle said:
My tiger salamander Pirate doesn't like water that much either. Whenever I mist his tank and he is above ground, he sprints underneath his cave, like a bomb shelter
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Me too my newt likes to slink away to shelter, do you continue to mist him to get his moisture? Also do you treat your water before misting him? And would it be bad to not mist him?


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You guys are keeping your medium to moist. What species of california newt do you have?
 
Don't mist. Have a gradient of moisture levels in your set up instead of high humidity. Use isopods to eat mold in your set up. Keep things a little drier and be sure to have some hides. You will have better luck.
High humidity causes mold to grow and causes skin infections in salamanders kept terrestrially.
 
The plants should help decrease the moisture in the terrarium. Try opening the lid to allow fresh air to come into the tank every once in a while. And as Michael said, use isopods to eat the mold and mist your tank less often.

Also, try taking a handful of the substrate in your tank and squeeze it. If water can be easily squeezed out, it is a sign you are over-misting the tank.
 
AdvythAF said:
The plants should help decrease the moisture in the terrarium. Try opening the lid to allow fresh air to come into the tank every once in a while. And as Michael said, use isopods to eat the mold and mist your tank less often.



Also, try taking a handful of the substrate in your tank and squeeze it. If water can be easily squeezed out, it is a sign you are over-misting the tank.
Click to expand...


Thank you, and my lid is grated so it is properly ventilated so there is no humidity issue, the reason I've been misting so much actually is that the tank substrate seems too dry.


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Do you have gravel under your cocofiber or is their just a layer of cocofiber in the tank?
 
If you put down a layer of pea gravel first you will not have saturation problems and drying out problems.
 

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Update to the situation I recently put rocks under my coco fiber and completely replaced it starting fresh, I'm worried however that the new coco fiber still has mold I'm looking to maybe move to a whole new substrate because of the fact that this coco fiber has become such a hassle and I often feel like it gives my newt discomfort because it clings to him. Does any one have any suggestions for a good/reputable substrate for a terrestrial setup?


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Try mixing the coco fibre 50/50 with organic topsoil. Mould will grow on coco fibre to begin with because it doesn't have the micro organisms to keep it in check. It's basically dried, shredded vegetable matter (coconut husks). Once you add water the first colonisers will be fungal. Adding topsoil will inject a whole host of micro organisms which will help tackle mould growth.
 
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