Possible mold in salamander tank

[speckles]

I found mold in my tiger salamander tank, i emptied out the substrate and bought new but plan on cleaning the tank before i put the new dirt in and cleaning all his hides and water bowl. What can i use to make sure the mold is gone? i don't want him to get sick.

 

[Azhael]

Make sure there is adequate ventilation. You might also want to spot clean feces when you can find them or introduce springtails/isopods.

 

[speckles]

I just bought a new screen but it let's out a lot of the humidity.

 

[Azhael]

As it should. To prevent desiccation of the substrate, cover it with a layer of leaf-litter or moss. That way while the surface might get dry between sprayings, the layers below will be alright.

 

[speckles]

What kind of moss is safe? I know spagnum is bad. I don't trust moss from outside as people spray alot of pesticides around here. Any store bought ones that are safe?

 

[Azhael]

Some brands carry dyhadrated bricks of "forest moss" wich as far as i can tell seems to be some kind of Hypnum sp. If you can find that, it is perfectly suitable.

If finding moss is a problem just go with suitable leaf-litter like beech, aspen, birch...