# white soil clumps! good or bad for tarantula?



## Arrans (Nov 10, 2012)

Just did my daily check on my T before i hit the bed. found a few white clumps of substate...looks like fugus bacteria growth or something.. anyone had this and is it harmful for my T. cheers


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## mrkeda (Nov 6, 2012)

Don't keep T's but I'd imagine if it's mould then I'd probably take it out


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## Biggys (Jun 6, 2010)

Any chance of a picture?

to be honest I'd take it out regarless of what it is!

but pictures will help tell if it is mould or not then people can advise on how to get rid of it/stop it coming back.


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## Arrans (Nov 10, 2012)

Biggys said:


> Any chance of a picture?
> 
> to be honest I'd take it out regarless of what it is!
> 
> but pictures will help tell if it is mould or not then people can advise on how to get rid of it/stop it coming back.


hmm not sure, according to some people they said its a sign of good soil...you can get good bacteria ofc so idk...i cant get a pic atm condensation on side of tank..and the bacteria seems to be in the burrow... ventilation seems to be good though.


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## kitkat2 (Jul 18, 2012)

I would remove it but I doubt its anything to worry about too much


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## Arrans (Nov 10, 2012)

I cant remove it...its in the burrow :O i dont want ruin it either!


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## dragon's den (Oct 6, 2010)

Most likely a food bolus, sometimes they leave them in their burrow afterwards.
It would be in your best interest to remove it as they mould up after a while and attract phorid flies if the substrate is damp.


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## kitkat2 (Jul 18, 2012)

Then I wouldnt worry too much, if it starts to spread then I would maybe consider getting it out but unless it gets too much I wouldnt worry


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## Tarantulaguy01 (Mar 31, 2012)

If its mould you NEED to get it out! Mould and tarantulas do not mix its as simple as that


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## Tarantulaguy01 (Mar 31, 2012)

Arrans said:


> I cant remove it...its in the burrow :O i dont want ruin it either!


Regardless of where it is if you can see it (as you can) use long tongs to remove.


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## Arrans (Nov 10, 2012)

Tarantulaguy01 said:


> Regardless of where it is if you can see it (as you can) use long tongs to remove.


 so basically ruin its burrow which took a week to build! ive only had it for just over a week too...ill try too take a picture first, before i ruin its home.:bash:


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## 34531 (May 27, 2009)

Surely it doesn't matter how long you've had it, or how long it took to build? 
If you've fed it, it's probably a food bolus, if not then it may be mold, which needs to be removed.


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## gambitgareth (Sep 18, 2011)

your not very humble for someone asking advice,, its not difficult to get some tongs in and remove a piece of unidentified 'white' object - if it is mould it can be harmful and can spread - who knows what impact it might have,, but surely it would be better to risk ruining a burrow than risking the health of the t and the aesthetic of the enclosure,, if it burrowed this once then no reason to think it wont again - im with tarantulaguy it makes sense to me to investigate - and it will probably rebuild its burrow several times down the line...


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## Tarantulaguy01 (Mar 31, 2012)

Arrans said:


> so basically ruin its burrow which took a week to build! ive only had it for just over a week too...ill try too take a picture first, before i ruin its home.:bash:


Put your tarantula's health first the tarantula will make another burrow. It don't matter if its mould or food bulb it needs removing :devil:
Don't come on a forum asking advice if your not going to take the advice given


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## Rosko (Apr 20, 2012)

It's beyter to remove a bit of mould now than a dead spider later on down the line


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## Arrans (Nov 10, 2012)

no need for so much hostility..i just wanted to know if anyone has had it before...i didn't say i wasn't going to remove it.. i want to research into it first then remove it......

and btw it's spelt; You're not your.....as in You are...


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## mrkeda (Nov 6, 2012)

Arrans said:


> no need for so much hostility..i just wanted to know if anyone has had it before...i didn't say i wasn't going to remove it.. i want to research into it first then remove it......
> 
> and btw it's spelt; You're not your.....as in You are...


Don't be so arrogant, people are trying to help you and your T but mainly your T and you have the cheeck to say I'd rather not take it out becuase i like his burrow. 
There's no room for grammar police on this site either.


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## Arrans (Nov 10, 2012)

mrkeda said:


> Don't be so arrogant, people are trying to help you and your T but mainly your T and you have the cheeck to say I'd rather not take it out becuase i like his burrow.
> There's no room for grammar police on this site either.


Certainly isn't enough grammar Police to correct your horrible spelling and grammar anyway.


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## mrkeda (Nov 6, 2012)

Arrans said:


> Certainly isn't enough grammar Police to correct your horrible spelling and grammar anyway.


Thought as much....


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## FOREST FLOOR (Nov 3, 2009)

Bizarre, the OP asks for advice then insults people who doesn't give the answer they wanted. Personally, If I get ANYTHING in my Tarantula enclosures that seems odd or out of place I remove it, damaging a web is a whole lot better than damaging an animal.
I would advise removing it to be on the safe side, at least you would get a better look at it yourself then.
(I think my spelling was ok!!).


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## gambitgareth (Sep 18, 2011)

Arrans said:


> You're not your.....as in You are...


thanks for that I always wondered how with such knowledge I could go through university then go on to a masters.. hm that could go on - but i was merely choosing to speak colloquially since the thread doesnt require a formal standard. I might however point to how it was indeed ur hostile lexical and emoticon choice at members who merely care for your animal. 

If your really so clever you might have thought that none of us are telepathic therefore we cannot know what the thing is - even after seeing the thing we may not know what reaction it has had or could have with the enclosure - determining the specific bacterium may take an age to define and then investigate its affects. As a gambling man my thoughts are that your t probably is not a baboon, therefore many of the other burrowers i know of need higher humidity which will provide a perfect haven for infection and the spread of bacteria... 

For some reason you cannot see that people here only want to help you - and on your behalf i thank them for that!


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## jigg1990 (Nov 22, 2012)

lol what was the point in asking for help when you just abuse what everyone says....


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## angelgirls29 (Jul 10, 2010)

Just an FYI for anyone interested:
I had this white stuff on coir that had been sat in an uncovered tub in the kitchen for about 6 months. No idea what it was but it made the "white bits" rock hard and it would only crumble under loads of pressure. It doesn't look like mouldy-mould but does smell like it if you get a load of it.

So remove it or lose it.


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## mrkeda (Nov 6, 2012)

gambitgareth said:


> thanks for that I always wondered how with such knowledge I could go through university then go on to a masters.. hm that could go on - but i was merely choosing to speak colloquially since the thread doesnt require a formal standard. I might however point to how it was indeed ur hostile lexical and emoticon choice at members who merely care for your animal.
> 
> If your really so clever you might have thought that none of us are telepathic therefore we cannot know what the thing is - even after seeing the thing we may not know what reaction it has had or could have with the enclosure - determining the specific bacterium may take an age to define and then investigate its affects. As a gambling man my thoughts are that your t probably is not a baboon, therefore many of the other burrowers i know of need higher humidity which will provide a perfect haven for infection and the spread of bacteria...
> 
> For some reason you cannot see that people here only want to help you - and on your behalf i thank them for that!


Like a sir!:2thumb:


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## Veyron (Mar 29, 2011)

angelgirls29 said:


> It doesn't look like mouldy-mould


Sterile mould :2thumb:

:Na_Na_Na_Na:


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## angelgirls29 (Jul 10, 2010)

Veyron said:


> Sterile mould :2thumb:
> 
> :Na_Na_Na_Na:


I knew what I meant :blush:


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## Veyron (Mar 29, 2011)

angelgirls29 said:


> I knew what I meant :blush:


I know, it just made me laugh when I read it :lol2:


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## Poxicator (Nov 14, 2007)

*Please folks, bickering is increasing within the invert section. Its not welcome and its not going to be allowed to continue.
I've posted similar comments in other threads.
If people can't avoid the bickering they'll either lose their whole reply and/or receive a reminder of the rules/infraction.

Lets keep it civil*


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## Poxicator (Nov 14, 2007)

There are several answers to this, and most would have been answered by supplying a picture, so perhaps you'd like to do so for us to give a better understanding.

Lets start this off with saying MOULD DOES NOT KILL TARANTULA. I'm sure someone will come up with a report that it does, but anyone looking at a natural environment in the rain forest will see mould, fungus, mushrooms and a thoroughly unsterlised habitat. This is what most spiders live in and have done so for millions of years! Mould is unsightly and an inconvenience because of that, nothing more. There are of course a few parasitic fungi in the world, some will attack ants and caterpillar but you're very unlikely to have these at home.

Its quite possibly a bolus (the inedible bits of the food items) that you'll occasionally see discarded and no doubt this will be thrown into a corner once the T feels it needs to be removed. However, it could also be salt and limescale deposits from the water. This usually builds up over time forming a thin white layer on dried matter.

The simple answer is to remove anything you don't recognise, that's simple and effective precautionary maintenance.

Removing this is only going to solve the issue temporarily. We have to ask why its there. If its bolus then we know that will be seen again. If its white deposits from your water then that may occur again, but of no worry. If its mould then we need to address that.

Our new enclosures are often used to house tarantula soon after being set up. Its much better to have the enclosure running for a month before inhabitating it with a T so that we can be assured its settled and we're happy with how we've furnished it. I'd suggest the condensation is caused by the moist substrate and lack of ventilation. You haven't mentioned which species you have but if its a dry loving species you need to get the substrate dried out. If its a humid loving species you need to sort more ventilation.

Whatever you choose to do, listen carefully. You can choose to take on board what people say or discard it, but, as the saying goes "don't bite the hand that feeds"


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## GRB (Jan 24, 2008)

angelgirls29 said:


> Just an FYI for anyone interested:
> I had this white stuff on coir that had been sat in an uncovered tub in the kitchen for about 6 months. No idea what it was but it made the "white bits" rock hard and it would only crumble under loads of pressure. It doesn't look like mouldy-mould but does smell like it if you get a load of it.
> 
> So remove it or lose it.


Calcium deposits from your tap water would be my bet. They form white crystals that are hard yet crumbly. Eventually they can turn orange-yellow.

Either that or it's salts of various forms. Some coir is harvested from coastal plantations and can be quite high in various salts. A lot of growers of carnivorous plants found this out to their horror a few years ago when coir first started being imported. At first it seemed like an ideal replacement for vermiculite or perlite, but in the end you had to be very wary of where it originated from.


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## Poxicator (Nov 14, 2007)

coconut alongside the shore line who'd have thought eh!


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## angelgirls29 (Jul 10, 2010)

GRB said:


> Calcium deposits from your tap water would be my bet. They form white crystals that are hard yet crumbly. Eventually they can turn orange-yellow.
> 
> Either that or it's salts of various forms. Some coir is harvested from coastal plantations and can be quite high in various salts. A lot of growers of carnivorous plants found this out to their horror a few years ago when coir first started being imported. At first it seemed like an ideal replacement for vermiculite or perlite, but in the end you had to be very wary of where it originated from.


I don't know. It was webby (I am so good at English today...). And I have a Tefal hot water thingy so I don't think it could be my water (though it could be).
I never got round to using it and it's now getting very wet in the garden :2thumb:


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## GRB (Jan 24, 2008)

Poxicator said:


> coconut alongside the shore line who'd have thought eh!


I remember it was very localised though, which was weird. Some batches from the same supplier were lethal (even after washing several times) whilst others were used straight out the pack with no issues. It took long enough for people to even realise it was the coir rather than some unforseen propagation issue. 

I even used coir several times but must have been lucky - I had big pots of _Drosera capensis_ for ages on the stuff and they seemed fine. Other growers had theirs nuked!


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## GRB (Jan 24, 2008)

angelgirls29 said:


> I don't know. It was webby (I am so good at English today...). And I have a Tefal hot water thingy so I don't think it could be my water (though it could be).
> I never got round to using it and it's now getting very wet in the garden :2thumb:


Ah, if its webby then it's probably a fungus. I've seen similar in beech chippings and such in gardens. Seems harmless to spiders, having seen various forms in some of my tanks over the years. There's a bright yellow one in one of my tanks that persists year round.


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## Arrans (Nov 10, 2012)

Right, Due to not coming on here before checking my T.(putting my T first,ofc)
I have investigated it, and it turns out to be(i have it on video, will upload to Youtube)some sort of hard looking crystal type white thing, which was described....Upon removing this and then removing my cork bark from the enclosure i discovered that the cork bark had began to grow fungus on it, blue/purple type fungus which was spreading all up the inside of the cork bark.Sooo, i have got rid of all the substrate and i have cleaned the tank and drinking pot with burning hot water to kill any bacteria which may have been developing. My T is safely in a little pot right by me just chillin' and fine!  Instead of using a piece of cork bark, i am now going to just cut half a plant pot. I would like to put my T into a smaller enclosure but unfortunately i don't have one available! I think i may not put as much substrate in this time around as i don't want it to burrow too deep as this will make it hard to remove anything in the future. Anyway, going to finish the job and get my T back into it's new home. 
Thanks for all the positive replies....and all the bitching which has been going on whilst i haven't been online....well...you know what to do with yourselves hah....:Na_Na_Na_Na:


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## Arrans (Nov 10, 2012)

Oh and my spider is a 2inch B.Albopilosum


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## Veyron (Mar 29, 2011)

Glad you sorted it : victory: Bark goes mouldy quickly but a B Albop shouldn't have such wet sub. A damp corner around the water dish will be fine. 

I'm sure nobody was really bitching, they just want what's best for the T and as no one could provide a definite answer from your description, it's always best to remove it


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## Arrans (Nov 10, 2012)

Veyron said:


> Glad you sorted it : victory: Bark goes mouldy quickly but a B Albop shouldn't have such wet sub. A damp corner around the water dish will be fine.
> 
> I'm sure nobody was really bitching, they just want what's best for the T and as no one could provide a definite answer from your description, it's always best to remove it


Thank you for your understanding.  I've totally re-done the tank, turns out i only have enough semi dried sub' for about 1 inch! :S not the best for my T but it'll will do and stop it burrowing as much for now, i need to down size the tank a little bit and get some dry sub'. As for the cork bark, best to bin that right? or is there any way of getting rid of the mould?


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## Veyron (Mar 29, 2011)

Arrans said:


> Thank you for your understanding.  I've totally re-done the tank, turns out i only have enough semi dried sub' for about 1 inch! :S not the best for my T but it'll will do and stop it burrowing as much for now, i need to down size the tank a little bit and get some dry sub'. As for the cork bark, best to bin that right? or is there any way of getting rid of the mould?


I would imagine a blast it the oven or microwave should do it....that's an educated guess though. Mould needs moisture to grow, so just keep organic stuff off the wet part of the sub.


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## Arrans (Nov 10, 2012)

True, I've got no cork bark in my new setup, T should settle in tonight though, it's got a nice quite day tomorrow so it should do some exploring!!
I've put a cricket in to make up for ruining it's home! hehe :Na_Na_Na_Na:
Thanks, Arran.


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## Veyron (Mar 29, 2011)

He wont give a poop about you wrecking his home if he has food, that is number one on their list :2thumb:


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## Arrans (Nov 10, 2012)

Veyron said:


> He wont give a poop about you wrecking his home if he has food, that is number one on their list :2thumb:


Yup, just watched as it demolished a cricket! Good stuff! should be fine tomorrow  Hopefully it'll do a little dance for me too!


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## Tarantulaguy01 (Mar 31, 2012)

Arrans said:


> Right, Due to not coming on here before checking my T.(putting my T first,ofc)
> I have investigated it, and it turns out to be(i have it on video, will upload to Youtube)some sort of hard looking crystal type white thing, which was described....Upon removing this and then removing my cork bark from the enclosure i discovered that the cork bark had began to grow fungus on it, blue/purple type fungus which was spreading all up the inside of the cork bark.Sooo, i have got rid of all the substrate and i have cleaned the tank and drinking pot with burning hot water to kill any bacteria which may have been developing. My T is safely in a little pot right by me just chillin' and fine!  Instead of using a piece of cork bark, i am now going to just cut half a plant pot. I would like to put my T into a smaller enclosure but unfortunately i don't have one available! I think i may not put as much substrate in this time around as i don't want it to burrow too deep as this will make it hard to remove anything in the future. Anyway, going to finish the job and get my T back into it's new home.
> Thanks for all the positive replies....and all the bitching which has been going on whilst i haven't been online....well...you know what to do with yourselves hah....:Na_Na_Na_Na:


Just can't help yourself can you ?? That's how children act .


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## Arrans (Nov 10, 2012)

Tarantulaguy01 said:


> Just can't help yourself can you ?? That's how children act .


give it a rest mate, nobody cares, dont dig yourself a even bigger hole.


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## gambitgareth (Sep 18, 2011)

my advice is to not microwave nor oven the original hide - from experience it will make your house stink like a hermets grotto - just put it somewhere dry for a term and it will be useful again,, from pete + grbs discussion we can learn that its most likely nothing to worry about but for the aesthetic issue,,


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## Poxicator (Nov 14, 2007)

B. albopilosum inhabit rainforest of Costa Rica and honduras NOT the dry plains of Mexico, therefore in the wild they might actually experience a little of that rain in the forest!


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## mrkeda (Nov 6, 2012)

Arrans said:


> give it a rest mate, nobody cares, dont dig yourself a even bigger hole.


It's 'Give' not give when starting a sentence.
It's 'don't' not dont.


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## Veyron (Mar 29, 2011)

Poxicator said:


> B. albopilosum inhabit rainforest of Costa Rica and honduras NOT the dry plains of Mexico, therefore in the wild they might actually experience a little of that rain in the forest!


We can't make it rain in a rub :Na_Na_Na_Na:


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## gambitgareth (Sep 18, 2011)

Veyron said:


> We can't make it rain in a rub :Na_Na_Na_Na:


i guess i could dust off the old hydroponic kit :whistling2:


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## Arrans (Nov 10, 2012)

mrkeda said:


> It's 'Give' not give when starting a sentence.
> It's 'don't' not dont.


I highly suggest you stop commenting.....


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## Arrans (Nov 10, 2012)

Veyron said:


> We can't make it rain in a rub :Na_Na_Na_Na:


Think I'm made of money! lmao
I've made the tank nice and simple now.
Thanks for the support! And I have just bagged the cork bark. I have a video on later, I can link my youtube if you want? Got the cork bark in detail.


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## Bab1084 (Dec 9, 2011)

Biggys said:


> Picture didn't work


Did on mine! :lol2:


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## GRB (Jan 24, 2008)

Pete already told you guys to tone it down. 

Looks like my last few days before retiring as admin are not to be without the usual silly infractions issued when they didn't need to be. 

I'm not going to clean this thread again. Any more bickering and petty attempts at causing arguments and this will be closed and more infractions issued.


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