# Getting Mold in Exo Terra Terrarium?



## that Frog Guy

So I set up an Exo Terra 18 X 18 X 24 Terrarium for my Poison Dart Frogs.

It has not been set up for that long and I already am growing a few spots of Fuzzy Mold.

One of the reasons that I got an Exo Terra was that their Web Site says that they guaranteed no mold since they have a patented air flow system that continually circulates the air so it is impossible to get mold.

But I now have it.

Has anybody else had this problem with Exo-Terra Habitats?

How bad is Mold for Poison Dart Frogs (And Lizards - I have Day Geckos and Crested Gecko in other Terrariums).


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## SnakePaparazzi

Mold is very common in vivariums... I have 6 exoterra vivs and they all went through the normal mold cycle. Are you covering the screen on top (typical for us Frogger folk to do)? If so, that would explain the mold... Their tanks are designed with a 90 something percent open top, allowing lots of airflow and circulation...


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## SamsonsFrogs

You could add some springtails and isopods to help control the mold growth.

Sam Cavoulas


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## CLP

I am quite new to the hobby as well and have now set up 4 different tanks, two of which are 18x18x24 exo terras. I have had mold grow in all of them, but it subsides after awhile. I had frogs in all my tanks while the mold was going on, and have not had any health related issues. In fact, I am currently trying to slow down the breeding from all of them, so definitely no ill effects 

Isopods and springtails will definitely help. I find springtails especially like the mold!


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## BlueRidge

Yep..its natural and goes away after all the other beneficial stuff catches up with it.


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## therizman2

It is part of your tank naturally cycling itself. If you have frogs in it, you should also have springtails which will usually quickly take care of the mold/fungus that naturally occurs. 

The only time I have ever had an issue with mold is when frogs lay eggs on a plant leaf and the eggs go bad, the mold many times seems to kill the leaf. Now I just watch over my rarer plants and if I see eggs on them, they get scraped off and put in a petri dish instead of letting the parents take care of them.

Other than that, any mold or fungus that grows in my tanks I just leave alone and it doesnt seem to have any ill effects on the frogs. Some can actually be pretty cool to see, espeically if you get slime mold on the glass!


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## that Frog Guy

Ok, so Terrariums go through a cycle like fish tanks. I did not know that.

Yes, I have glass over the top. Should I take it off?


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## JasonE

that Frog Guy said:


> Ok, so Terrariums go through a cycle like fish tanks. I did not know that.
> 
> Yes, I have glass over the top. Should I take it off?


No. Just let it proceed through its cycles.


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## Ed

that Frog Guy said:


> Ok, so Terrariums go through a cycle like fish tanks. I did not know that.
> 
> Yes, I have glass over the top. Should I take it off?


 
Actually they don't go through a cycle that is analagous to an aquarium. The cycle in an aquarium is the establisment of bacteria that converts nitrogen waste to nitrate and involves water quality issues that can kill an aquatic animal, this doesn't happen in terraria. When people talk about a terrarium cycling, they are referring to the growth of molds and decline as other competing microbes also get established. It should be noted that massive mold growth isn't inevitable in an enclosure, and tends to only occur in enclosures that have poor air flow and/or excess humidity. 

Some comments

Ed


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## gardennub

As everyone else said, mold is not a problem. In fact it is inevitable in warm, wet environments.


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## Niamh

I see this thread is super old and but I am new, having this problem and I have questions. By 'new' I mean first time with a vivarium- not my first frogs but they will be my first dart frogs. I planted the viv 11 days ago, added springtails and white dwarfs about 10 days ago. I'm watching the humidity and heat levels: both could stand to be higher (temp is around 72° humidity just over 80%) but now there's mold. So I added more springtails yesterday. 

I've put a full spectrum light at the top for the plants and blocked off some of the mesh, but not all. There's a vent at the bottom near the door so air can circulate in the front and out the top. 

Here's where I'm struggling to find answers: how long is "a cycle"- like when would you expect mold to be under control? Are we talking the life cycle of the springtails? 
What is considered excessive mold? If it's expected then how much is expected? Anyone want to share some pics of what's normal? 

I read a post on the Googles from Josh's Frogs that says if it's 'excessive' you should remove your frogs and clean it all out- so I'm concerned that if I wait for a cycle then it will just get worse and the clean up will mean a whole rebuild.


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## fishingguy12345

Hello, 
This is completely normal. All new vivariums will have mold go in cycles. It can take weeks, or months for the mold to get under control. 

For dart frogs, you're better off aiming for 60-80% humidity. They don't need anything higher than this. 

Temperatures at 72F are quite acceptable as well.


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## Niamh

fishingguy12345 said:


> Hello,
> This is completely normal. All new vivariums will have mold go in cycles. It can take weeks, or months for the mold to get under control.
> 
> For dart frogs, you're better off aiming for 60-80% humidity. They don't need anything higher than this.
> 
> Temperatures at 72F are quite acceptable as well.


 Thank you!


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## Niamh

I’m going to post a few pics. Ease my troubled mind and tell me it’s normal after seeing what I see please!


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## eMCRay

Totally totally normal and should go away in a few days.

If you want it to go away faster stock up on springtails (I always keep a clay culture or two with some yeast and leaf litter). You can try adding different types of springtails (e.g. larger springtails and smaller ones - e.g. podura). 

For example if you have larger frogs / the viv is smaller your smaller springtails are more likely to go unnoticed and bloom whereas the larger ones are more likely to get eaten. Again, a balance of both is important - and restocking too.

One word of caution - your Gecko viv should usually have less mold than your frog vivs since that should be running at a lower % humidity. Geckos can be very susceptible to fungus (more so than frogs). That said there will always be microclimates and some mold.


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## Niamh

eMCRay said:


> Totally totally normal and should go away in a few days.
> 
> If you want it to go away faster stock up on springtails (I always keep a clay culture or two with some yeast and leaf litter). You can try adding different types of springtails (e.g. larger springtails and smaller ones - e.g. podura).
> 
> For example if you have larger frogs / the viv is smaller your smaller springtails are more likely to go unnoticed and bloom whereas the larger ones are more likely to get eaten. Again, a balance of both is important - and restocking too.
> 
> One word of caution - your Gecko viv should usually have less mold than your frog vivs since that should be running at a lower % humidity. Geckos can be very susceptible to fungus (more so than frogs). That said there will always be microclimates and some mold.



Thanks for looking and for helping! This is the zoo med 18x18x36 super tall or whatever excessive word they used- it's 36 tall. I added 3 colonies of springtails (packaging says collembola species but google says that's the scientific name for generic springtail so I have no idea what type they are.) I'm going to a reptile show this weekend though so I'll likely find all the things I need there. I had hoped to put frogs in this tank at that time too but it'll only be just over 2 weeks after planting and likely still moldy by then, should I hold off on that? Maybe set up a spare space and wait till the clean up crew does it's magic? I'm looking to purchase a few tinctorius azureus- my research suggests they are a good beginner dart and they happen to be my fav too. (I watched at least 70,004 viv build videos and 0 of them mention how long you should wait after building and planting before adding frogs- except the few that make it look like a matter of minutes from spray foam to happy home.)


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