mold

[michael_gillis]

in my ten gallon fire belly toad tank its all land and a water bowol in the corner and i'm getting all this grey mold and fungus on the substrate what should i do?

[Abrahm]

How long have you had that substrate and what kind is it? It may be time to change it out for some new stuff. I've also heard potting soil is prone to growing mold while coco fiber is more resistant to it. If you continue to have problems of mold growing up quickly you should try baking it in the oven to kill any mold spores.

[otterwoman]

Speaking of changing the substrate, do you have an idea for a rule of thumb for how often to change soil substrates? I change all my soil substrate tanks every three months (maybe I shouldn't admit that).

[Abrahm]

I think it depends upon many factors: how big the enclosure is, how many animals are housed within and the temperature the animals are kept at (i.e. their metabolism level.) I think every three months sounds appropriate for most enclosures, unless you have a large amount of animals.