# How do I stop mould growing on wood decor?



## BenjyCJ (Apr 15, 2011)

Hi everyone!

I recently noticed mould growing in my cresties exo terra, the wood had been in there for about a month with no mould before, so I just took it out and gave it a wash, then put it back in. The mould has started growing again (~2 days later). I realise this may be as I did not cook it in the oven like I did last time, however I was just wondering if anyone had any tips that would make it stay away more permanently?

I have searched the forum and found things about putting woodlice in to eat it (i'm thinking no for my crestie!), "it will go away on it's own", and yacht varnish.

Any of these sound useful? (I'm leaning towards yacht varnish) 

Cheers
Benjy


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## kirky1980 (Apr 4, 2010)

if you use soil of any sort for your crestie tropical woodlice and tropical spring tails would work wonders on viv. they will help keep it clean but getting rid of any dead bugs poo skin etc etc so only need to be cleaning down glass if there in a glass viv. but if your having a problem with mould springtails will thrive and get rid of it for you : victory:


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## Meko (Apr 29, 2007)

if you put a branch back in while it's wet then you're going to aid mould growth as mould grows on wet / moist surfaces.
If you've got a live planted viv then woodlice and other bugs like that are advised because they're like a little clean up crew, but yacht varnish will form a barrier between the moisture and the wood and should stop it forming mould.


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## Spikebrit (Oct 23, 2006)

basuically any damp surface will cause mould growth. As above if you add tropical springtails these will eat the mould and keep the tank clean. Have a read of my thread on bioactive substrate in the planted habit section above. 

Alternativly, remove the wood and allow it to dry out for a few days, then place this back in. It may still grow some mould in humid tanks, but once it becomes used to the viv conditions this will naturally reduce, especially is sprintails are added. 

jay


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## OrigamiB (Feb 19, 2008)

If you increase the ventilation you will have less of a mould problem, try using computer fans to aid air circulation


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## BenjyCJ (Apr 15, 2011)

Thanks for all the tips! I currently have repti-carpet and fake plants, does this mean I should steer clear of creepy crawlies? I will be upgrading the substrate to something a bit meatier when my crestie is a bit bigger. I think for now I will clean and dry out the wood properly, then apply some yacht varnish and see how that goes. If it fails I will more onto something else.

Thanks again!


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## chapmand (Feb 3, 2011)

when i had the corn snakes they had wooden branches to climb on and everytime i cleaned the viv out i used to scrub everything inside with warm water. Anything that was wood i used to either pop it above the radiator or below it and leave it till it was completely dry. Even if it looked dry id just give it that extra bit of time incase the wood ever absorbed the water and it was moist inside this worked for me and i never had mould. Hope this helps


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## BenjyCJ (Apr 15, 2011)

Cheers, sounds like a good idea! Fortunately the piece of wood I have is small enough to fit in the oven, so I will just dry it out in there for an hour or 2 on a low heat!


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## OrigamiB (Feb 19, 2008)

Your wood will always eventually get mold, even with yacht varnish... its just a matter of time really. vivariums are the perfect place for it. Drying out the wood as much as possible and your type of wood will also make a difference I find. Grape wood is quite bad for getting mold and but bog wood seems to last longer

When I went for the totaly sterile set ups I used to soak my wood with disinfectant and leave it to fully dry for about a week. These days I just use bioactive soils and any molds that appear are gone pretty quickly


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## Spikebrit (Oct 23, 2006)

BenjyCJ said:


> Cheers, sounds like a good idea! Fortunately the piece of wood I have is small enough to fit in the oven, so I will just dry it out in there for an hour or 2 on a low heat!



That sounds the best way with your set up, you may still get mould, but when you clean him just give it a scrubs and let it dry again, it wont do any harm.

Jay


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