Huge Flaw!! lots of MOLD

[CammieNLeno]

I had to move yesterday, lease was up in Jan.. so i was disassembeling my cage to move. Its in 3 peices, and when i removed the main portion from the base, i found a very terrible flaw in my design, and the inside of the entire base was absolutle COVERED in mold. The stench was almost unbearable.

Let me post 2 pictures from my old thread -

So the top portion of the cage sits in that groove outside of the white material. I then sealed the inside crack with silicon to keep all the water from getting underneath. Well i DIDNT seal the ouside of it, just assuming water would never get out and under the base.

Boy was i wrong..

Its a no brainer that i will be taking my guy to the vet to get some tests done.. i am seriously guessing that there is NO way he would totally be uneffected by that amount. Mold is micro and in the air and such correct?

What I am curious about is would he already have been effected by it had this been someting that is dangerous to us? Or is mold a longterm silent killer?

It sorta looked like this:

I would have got a picture but like i said, i was in the middle of a move and everything is packed. There was no blackness to it at all, just really light fluffy fleshy stands that smelled really really strong. Prior to loading the cage into the moving truck, i soaked everything and everything in a mold and mildew killer with bleach.

Second question.. is it a poor idea to return him to this cage?.. is there a proper disinfecting techique to guarentee this mold will not come back, pending i fix the insulation from water and moisture the second time around?

Right now my guy is staying in his baby cage till i get everything sorted out. I really really dont want to loose this cage, its quite an accomplishment that i built by hand.

Here is the post on the build:

https://www.chameleonforums.com/svens-castle-lots-pics-10677/

edit: Also, is there any reason i should be concerned about my OWN health with such close contact to a large amount of mold? Like a dumbass, i just got to cleaning up.. no mask no gloves. Today my throat is very sore, and im kinda loosing my voice.

 

[ChromaChameleons]

I've never been to Maddy , but I would assume a chameleon lives in an environment where things are dying and decomposing all the time. Mold would be a part of that environment.

I would also assume that the mold was pretty much contained , if you couldn't smell it until you exposed it by disassembling your cage.

Watch your cham for URI. But you may not have a problem at all.

 

[opihiman]

I think that you Cham will be OK...But the vet visit is still a good Idea. I would imagine the mold was confined to the under surface of the viv where the air flow and dark, moist, stagnant air persisted. The upper surface where your Cham lived had good adequate air flow. Good exposure to light and was able to dry out all things mold and fungi hate.

your design is still really nice...Perhaps fiberglassing or rubberizing (vulcanizing) the base will solve the problem...I don't know...what do you think?

OPI

 

[CammieNLeno]

I think that you Cham will be OK...But the vet visit is still a good Idea. I would imagine the mold was confined to the under surface of the viv where the air flow and dark, moist, stagnant air persisted. The upper surface where your Cham lived had good adequate air flow. Good exposure to light and was able to dry out all things mold and fungi hate.

your design is still really nice...Perhaps fiberglassing or rubberizing (vulcanizing) the base will solve the problem...I don't know...what do you think?

OPI

I totally re-did the drainage system last night, and its drying/venting out another day or two before i put my guy back in there. I have a rubberized flooring type base on there now, with like 3 coats of the black silicon on both the inside and outside now of the base attachment. IT looks alot better, so i will cross my fingers.

 

[hallenhe]

Mold can be an irritant, if spores are being inhaled (as can small, inert objects that get into the lungs, like dust). Occasionally an allergic reaction can result if the immune system produces antibodies to fungal proteins; if your cham were allergic, you would almost certainly have seen symptoms. The toxic mold that makes the news sometimes, Stachybotrys chartarum, is black in color and produces toxins (toxin production in airborne propagules is not common in fungi); that is not the mold you have. My guess would be that your mold was generally saturated and not able to discharge spores (which would require the spores and the surrounding air to be dry (many mold spores require a static charge to become airborne). I would keep an eye on your cham, but he's probably going to be fine, especially since you're alleviating the problem.

 

[opihiman]

I totally re-did the drainage system last night, and its drying/venting out another day or two before i put my guy back in there. I have a rubberized flooring type base on there now, with like 3 coats of the black silicon on both the inside and outside now of the base attachment. IT looks alot better, so i will cross my fingers.

Cool...what a christmas present for your cham...LOL....One more thing to look for. I don't know of a specific brand or type but there are anti-fungal/mold paints or sealer out there. that may help provided that it isn't toxic to your cham also.

Oh yeah one more idea would be to periodcally mist that under surface with a bleach and water mix to keep the mold and mildew down to a minimum....I would imagine that even if you rubberized the bottom (since it is porus) mold an and milidew will still be able to grow some.

good luck

OPI

 

[sandrachameleon]

Wow! I agree you are unlikely to suffer any long lasting effects.
Could you paint/seal the previously moldy surfaces so they cant grow mold in future? Oh wait I remember you did put a new silicon layer down. GOOD LUCK!

 

[Sang]

thats a white mold, pretty commonly found on lumber is stalagtite based mod, feeding off the wood and calcium build up of water.


It'd be advisable to rebuld the bottom with acrylic, because no matter what you do to treat the wood, as long as it stays wet in a dark undisturbed area, mold is inevitable.