Mold/fungus forming on branch?

[jcarlsen]

Just noticed this today as I was doing a cage clean…

Seems to be some kind of mold or fungus forming on this branch that I'm now realizing never seems to dry during the day and sits in a darker area of the enclosure.

Any way I can eliminate this and prevent in the future? I had a dripper going for too long and that seems to trail down to this branch.

Can I soak this in bleach or something or bake it in the oven until the bacteria is dead?

I was gonna post this to the health clinic, but my Cham seems fine and this is a branch that he never seems to actually touch (wonder why 0.o).

Advice greatly appreciated!

 

[trickedoutbiker]

Did you thoroughly clean and/or bake the branches before you put them into the enclosure? That looks like it has been growing a while... How often do you do a deep-clean of the cage?

 

[jcarlsen]

Got my branches with the whole cage as a setup from canvas chams. I had assumed (possibly incorrectly) that they were ready to go. They seemed pretty clean and dried out when I got them.

I try to do a deep clean once a month, but I can do it more frequently if you think it's necessary.

 

[brownie64]

If your worried about it I would just clean it with bleach, and rinse really well before returning it to the enclosure. Bleach purifies just about everything. Good luck

 

[trickedoutbiker]

I try to do a deep clean once a month, but I can do it more frequently if you think it's necessary.

Once a month is plenty.

 

[macyb-vancouver]

You could be safe and get new branches, or just scrub this one really well and bake it.

 

[Carlton]

I don't think you need to BAKE it (and it may not fit in an oven anyway), but dry it thoroughly. Here's what I do to wooden branches: Scrub with a 1:10 bleach to hot water solution. Rinse until you can't smell the bleach on it, Let dry thoroughly...maybe in a very warm place like over a water heater, a furnace, etc. Wood by its nature will eventually rot...just the way it is. The moss/fungi/lichen/algae growth is a sign that organic matter (a film of bits of skin, fecal or urate matter, flecks from the live plants, dust, etc) is building up on a surface that gets wet over time. Its more likely to grow in areas that are sheltered and more humid. Its not entirely preventable, but is removable.