Is Fungus/mold harmful to my chameleon? How can I prevent fungus/mold growth in bare bottom enclosure?

[Tnest]

I am a first time chameleon owner and am extremely paranoid about husbandry. This is my first time owning any sort of animal like this as i have only been taking care of tarantulas prior to getting my new baby amilobe panther chameleon Tandy.
I have a hybrid enclosure and provided a lot of plants and sticks for him. My misting system goes off i believe three times a day for 85 seconds, and so far i have been using my fogger all day to try and keep humidity up but realized this might not be good for him so by tonight I'm only using his fogger at night to get his humidity to the high 80s-90s like it usually is. I got him about three days ago and he so far has not eating which i'm assuming is due to him adjusting to his new enclosure (i hope).

Just now i was checking up on his enclosure plants since i wanted to clean the bottom of his enclosure and noticed on a few sticks there were some weird white little circles that come off when i touch them, I also saw some small fungus growth so i cut off that part of the stick because i didnt want to completely get rid of it since its the base that holds all the other sticks in the enclosure. When i took these from outside i cleaned them with water and dish soap but i'm not sure. I also saw really really tiny white bugs inside of the bark of the stick which kind of looked like some sort of isopods but i'm not sure. The only way i can think of possibly fixing this is to allow the enclosure time to dry out but it's not really possible because of his misting routine and fog routine so i'm completely lost and a worried mess. I'm also extremely concerned that this will affect his health so I wanted to come on here and ask you guys if you can help me and if any of you may have experienced the same struggle as me. I'm a completely new chameleon owner and have been super anxious this whole time because i want to be sure he's healthy. I'll also give a picture of the enclosure if that would help but not too sure if it's relevant

 

[kinyonga]

Welcome to the forum!

Can you post some photos of the white stuff and bugs that you’re worried about please?

I’m thinking the white things that you can knock off might be mealy bugs.

 

[Tnest]

Ugh in my panic I wiped the whole stick down with hydrogen peroxide. I’m not sure if there’s any bugs visible now, but I was able to find some of the white things. Hopefully you can see them in the picture. I peeled back some bark to take this photo as I tried to wipe all of them off. There the round things and they’re somewhat hard in texture

 

[Tnest]

Welcome to the forum!

Can you post some photos of the white stuff and bugs that you’re worried about please?

I’m thinking the white things that you can knock off might be mealy bugs.

Whoops I think I didn’t reply directly to your message, I posted the photos of the little white things.

 

[Sonny13]

Hi welcome to the world of these amazing little creatures.
Beautiful setup, great start you made here. Some small bit important things.

The fungus problem is caused by the high humidity. During the day we let the enclosure dry out, no misting nor fogging and aim around 30-40%, during the night we aim for maximum. Misting is best just before light go on and before lights go off. Fogging during can even be harmful the chameleon and could cause an upper respiratory infection (URI). Fogging is great, should be used when the temperatures are low, during the night. Mainly between 11.00pm till 06.00am and mostly around 15min every hour.
This way your enclosure can dry out during the day.

 

[Tnest]

Hi welcome to the world of these amazing little creatures.
Beautiful setup, great start you made here. Some small bit important things.

The fungus problem is caused by the high humidity. During the day we let the enclosure dry out, no misting nor fogging and aim around 30-40%, during the night we aim for maximum. Misting is best just before light go on and before lights go off. Fogging during can even be harmful the chameleon and could cause an upper respiratory infection (URI). Fogging is great, should be used when the temperatures are low, during the night. Mainly between 11.00pm till 06.00am and mostly around 15min every hour.
This way your enclosure can dry out during the day.

This is incredibly helpful thank you so much. I switched my fogging to night and will only mist during the day. As for what’s on the sticks, will my chameleon be harmed? Or me wiping it down with peroxide was okay? I just wanna be sure that his health isn’t at risk or anything

 

[Beman]

So you may also need to get a wet vac and start vacuuming out the water that is just sitting in the bottom of the enclosure. When the sticks just sit in muck and water it will produce growth. They need to be able to dry back out rather than have consistent contact with water.

Does your enclosure have any screen panels or is it just the one on top?

 

[Tnest]

So you may also need to get a wet vac and start vacuuming out the water that is just sitting in the bottom of the enclosure. When the sticks just sit in muck and water it will produce growth. They need to be able to dry back out rather than have consistent contact with water.

Does your enclosure have any screen panels or is it just the one on top?

Its hydbrid so screen on top and half screen on both sides, back and front is glass. If i were to get a wetvac, should i vacuum the water every day or is every other day ok? I mist three times a day so i feel like it would get a bit annoying to vacuum water after each mist, I guess i see why people make drainage holes but that's not really available for me due to where the enclosure is setup

 

[Beman]

Its hydbrid so screen on top and half screen on both sides, back and front is glass. If i were to get a wetvac, should i vacuum the water every day or is every other day ok? I mist three times a day so i feel like it would get a bit annoying to vacuum water after each mist, I guess i see why people make drainage holes but that's not really available for me due to where the enclosure is setup

You could vacuum every other day. Another great option would be to lay down a panel of plastic egg crate in the bottom. This will pull the plants and branches up about a 1/2 inch. Then you can wet vac the front. Water should flow under the crate. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Plaskol...-Crate-Light-Ceiling-Panel-1199233A/202025149

But reducing the pooling water at the bottom will be important. The biggest issues with allowing the water to sit and get nasty is that it is going to make the air the cham breathes funky. So this is where I would be concerned about potential for bacterial infections as in a respiratory infection due to breathing in the mold from the water sitting.

 

[Tnest]

You could vacuum every other day. Another great option would be to lay down a panel of plastic egg crate in the bottom. This will pull the plants and branches up about a 1/2 inch. Then you can wet vac the front. Water should flow under the crate. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Plaskol...-Crate-Light-Ceiling-Panel-1199233A/202025149

But reducing the pooling water at the bottom will be important. The biggest issues with allowing the water to sit and get nasty is that it is going to make the air the cham breathes funky. So this is where I would be concerned about potential for bacterial infections as in a respiratory infection due to breathing in the mold from the water sitting.

This is super helpful thanks, I may have to take apart the enclosure to install the egg crate, ill see if i can buy it today. Since i'll have to take him out of the enclosure where could i put him so he doesn't get stressed?

 

[Beman]

This is super helpful thanks, I may have to take apart the enclosure to install the egg crate, ill see if i can buy it today. Since i'll have to take him out of the enclosure where could i put him so he doesn't get stressed?

Just get a cardboard box... Push a branch through the bottom horizontally about an inch from the bottom. Make sure there is no tape exposed in the box... Put him in there and close up the box. Baby will sleep while you work on the cage.

 

[Tnest]

Just get a cardboard box... Push a branch through the bottom horizontally about an inch from the bottom. Make sure there is no tape exposed in the box... Put him in there and close up the box. Baby will sleep while you work on the cage.

Got it, and question about the egg crate, is the material already suspended off the ground so I can just place it on the floor of the enclosure? Or do I need to glue it to the sides for it to be suspended?

 

[Beman]

Got it, and question about the egg crate, is the material already suspended off the ground so I can just place it on the floor of the enclosure? Or do I need to glue it to the sides for it to be suspended?

I would zip tie something like pvc pipe running on the bottom to get it up off the ground a bit.

 

[Sonny13]

This is incredibly helpful thank you so much. I switched my fogging to night and will only mist during the day. As for what’s on the sticks, will my chameleon be harmed? Or me wiping it down with peroxide was okay? I just wanna be sure that his health isn’t at risk or anything

it’s already answered by Beman, but is some kind of fungus or alike which grows when the branches stay constantly wet can’t dry out during the day. I can’t say if it’s harmful or not, but better safe then sorry and just wipe it off with kitchen paper. Personally, I won’t use peroxide to remove it.

By time, when you’re lucky and using the egg crate, the roots from the plants will grow towards the bottom through egg crate and profit from the water.

 

[Tnest]

it’s already answered by Beman, but is some kind of fungus or alike which grows when the branches stay constantly wet can’t dry out during the day. I can’t say if it’s harmful or not, but better safe then sorry and just wipe it off with kitchen paper. Personally, I won’t use peroxide to remove it.

By time, when you’re lucky and using the egg crate, the roots from the plants will grow towards the bottom through egg crate and profit from the water.

yup i got the egg crate just now. I just got home so i'm going to take apart his enclosure and put the egg crate in

 

[Sonny13]

Btw is this such hybrid enclosure with a mesh strip in the sidewall? And even with a cable duct? You could place a small pc fan or some kind below to create a bigger airflow to let things dry out quicker. Because I think I had the same enclosure

https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/project-royal-penthouse-suite-ranjo.183628/page-2

 

[Tnest]

I would zip tie something like pvc pipe running on the bottom to get it up off the ground a bit.

Fungus issue should be resolved now, thanks so much for your advice! I attached the egg crate and elevated it.

 

[Beman]

Fungus issue should be resolved now, thanks so much for your advice! I attached the egg crate and elevated it.

Fantastic job!!!!