Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well, my hisser tank was spelling a bit putrid, so i descided to do a lil cleaning, and found out that the mold monster paid a visit to my hissers. That was what was making the horrid smell. Sveral deaths were found, but i think i caught it in time. I took out quite a bit of pine shavings, anything that was sticking together or had alot of poop in it, and i took out a bunch of paper towel rolls. They were the main focus of the mold. It seems that they deteriorated quite quickly, and were somewhat hairy. UGGGGG. Thia was a terrible adventure. I am getting some more egg cartons tomorrow and will be replacing the rest of the rolls. Even though TP and paper towel rolls are said to be good for the roaches, it seems that when you provide the constant humidity of at least 65%, and you have no air flow, you are doomed. Just thought I would share this lovely experience. Now, If you excuse me, I have to was my hand 20 more times. later.

Truth

We don't tend to get mold, but we do have grain mites that have been a persistent probelm - I work more on keeping their numbers low since I can't seem to get rid of them. I have a higher ick factor then DH - he has a harder time, but when we do a complete "empty" that's a lot (500 ) roaches to pick up and clean!
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The Classroom Zoo is...
1:3 leopard geckos
1:0 Jackson's Chameleon
1:0 Veiled Chameleon
1:1 Bearded Dragons
0:1 Florida Kingsnake
0:1 White's Tree Frog
Hairless Mice, Roaches, Mealies, and Supers...

Because of similiar problems I have use a different method. I have 2/3 of my rubbermaid with red bran, then a piece of 2x4 with the other 1/3 having moss. I try and keep mine very dry. They get there water from the oranges, apples, or other fruit and veggies I place of the 2x4. By placing it on the 2x4 it is easy to remove the old food if they don't eat it. I have done it long enough to realize how much they eat so it works well. I dumped their dry food on the bran, and they will also nibble on the bran itself. Every other day I give them a quick spray on the moss for a little extra water. I like to move my adults every 1-2 months to a new cage, and let the babies grow. By the time the babies are big enough to feed or easily remove I move them with the rest and then have a new clean cage. This method does works well with my non-climbing species, but I recently sold all my hissers because my animals preferred the softer shelled roaches so not sure if it would have worked with them. Good luck!!
James