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Post by animalsgetrevenge on Dec 2, 2008 14:42:44 GMT -5
I cleaned the rodent cages last Tuesday night and switched the rodents around since I bought new cages. I left the ten gallon tank with 1 week old bedding in it in the room and left for California until Saturday. When I got back, their was white fuzzy mold all over in the dirty ten gallon...
Why would mold be growing? Is it the soil? Is it the food? I haven't noticed any mold in the other cages that are being used.
The mice had been in the tank for about a week, then were out of the cage while I was away for 4 days... So overall, the soil and food was only in the cage for about 11 days.
Any suggestions?
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Post by fuzzymom on Dec 2, 2008 14:53:15 GMT -5
It might be naturally present in the soil. I use wood pellets and aspen for my rodents, so I've never used soil. Are you using soil from the store or from outside?
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Post by animalsgetrevenge on Dec 2, 2008 15:37:24 GMT -5
The soil is from Home Depot. It's natural, and possibly organic. I baked it and nearly burnt my house down too!
About wood shavings... I know Aspen is okay, but are both cedar and pine bad or is it just one?
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Post by fuzzymom on Dec 2, 2008 16:24:04 GMT -5
I think both are bad. Something about the oils in the wood causing problems in the rodents. Aspen works great for me. I use a layer (about 1/2 an inch) of wood pellets that I get from the farm supply store down the street ($7 for 40lbs) and then a layer of aspen over that. The wood pellets absorb a lot of urine and keep the smell down while the aspen provides a soft bedding and nice scent. My rodent cages rarely smell bad. I plan on getting wire cages so that ventilation is even more effective. If you baked the soil, I can't imagine why there would be mold in it. It is getting wet through urine, but I'm not sure urine provides a good environment for mold to grow. Does mold like acidic environments?
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Post by animalsgetrevenge on Dec 2, 2008 16:38:27 GMT -5
I have no idea, I know nothing about mold. The wierd thing was that while I was away and my boyfriend watched both of our dogs and my parents dog, ONE poop in our yard area grew similar looking mold... I have never seen our dogs poo grow mold, so I figured it was from the heavy rain, but it was white and fuzzy (looked like a baby bunny sitting in our grass) and looked just like the mold in the tank!......
It's so weird!
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Post by fuzzymom on Dec 2, 2008 16:46:34 GMT -5
There might be mold outside that got on your clothes and when you messed with the mice at some point and time, you transferred some to the cage. That could be a way that mold got in there. I have seen mold grow on some dog poo from a previous dog we had, but I've never had it inside.
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Post by Heather on Dec 2, 2008 16:53:44 GMT -5
Mold is part of the decomposition process. You must have some form of contaminent in the tank as mold like any bacteria cannot thrive in a sterile environment. There must be some form of food for it to feed off of. Same as the dog poopies. As there are billions of types of molds you may very well have had the right conditions for that mold to grow in those two places. The right amount of food and very essentially moisture. One of the common problems (even with sterilized potting soil) with potting soil is it's ability to grow mold. Think about the problems that growers have and why they like the hydroponic growing system...no soil hence none of the problems associated with soil...mold. Just a thought ciao
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Post by animalsgetrevenge on Dec 2, 2008 17:15:03 GMT -5
Thanks for the information you two. I live in Portland, OR so EVERYWHERE is a good place for mold to grow... It is so damp here! I will have to look around for cheap bedding since soil probably won't work in my home.
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Post by tss on Dec 2, 2008 17:50:40 GMT -5
As long as you aren't allergic to the mold it shouldn't be a problem. It isn't like "black mold", it shouldn't even harm the mice. It is probably just from the food and poop, you could always just scoop off the top layer every once in a while.
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