Mushrooms

fear742

fear742

New Member
alright, i cant say that this is a really big problem but was just curious if this happens to anyone else. I have an ultrasonic humidifier that i keep on for 3 hours and off for 6. i spray the cage between 2 and 3 times a day depending on when i work and occasionally throw on my lil dripper. My humidity stays between 70-85 percent. i use supersoil for my plants and every now and then, i get mushrooms that grow in my cage. i always pick them out of it becuz i let one grow before to see how big it would get and it ended up turning into a black mush that kind of exploded when i touched it. ever since then, i pull em out before they get remotely big, but was just curious if anyone else had this conundrum. my chameleon loves the humidity becuase when the humidifier is on, hell actually go right up to it and chill in front of it, letting the mist hit him in the face.
 
Ive never had issue with mushrooms, but if they are growing in your plant pots, the only way to get rid of them is to completely replace the soil. And that may not work either. The mushroom you see, is the fruit of the mushroom plant. That plant is a mycelium; a thread like organism that runs throughout the soil substrate. Once it is there, it is always there and the mushroom that grows is simply the fruiting phase of the plant. It probably originally came in with the soil.

I would attempt to get rid of it , because when it "explodes", it is releasing thousands of microscopic spores that will carry on the air currents and "seed" any moist host it finds.
 
I get them in my dart frog tanks sometimes. They are harmless to frogs, says the experts on the frog forums. Not sure if they are harmless to chams as well, but frogs are pretty sensitive, more so than chams in most cases.
 
I would get rid of it. Where exactly is it growing? Do you have a substrate on the bottom? That is awfully high humidity, what species are you keeping?

-chris
 
panther chameleon. no substrate whatsoever. it grows in the base of my plant which is either 2 ficus benjaminas or an umbrella plant. i rotate the two the ficuses and the umbrella every 2 weeks keeping one in the cage, and other set on the patio. when they are out on the patio, there are no mushrooms. i live in az so there isnt humidity for them. i have to actually spray my ficus plants on the patio to keep them semi humid. like i said, i dont allow the mushrooms to grow after that first one decided to do what it did. i guess my next question would be what other type of soil could i use? i use supersoil right now.
 
Your first concern is to obtain organic soil with no vermiculite or perlite in it. I would assume that if you bake the soil in the oven, you will kill the mushroom mycelium and any parasites that may be hanging out . That should fix you up.
 
i will have to say the potting mix you use may be to compact with your watering regimen.

if your pots are staying wet through the night, try the following.

a. raise your bots off the base of your floor using almost any type of stand, cd case almost anything, upside down square 4x4 container

b if that doesn't work you may need to get tricky tricky which is something everyone should get a good feel for as it may be nescesary down the road and is good to have exp in general:

Repot your plants in a mix that suits your watering environment. if you have a panther and are misting and have a humidifier going you are probably creating a good amount of moisture and its not running off because the soil you use is too compact or just lacks properties of good flowing mixes.

here are a few things you want to keep in mind about your mixes:

a. suits the actual plant species
b. rocks, gravel or broken ceramics on the bottom of your pots creates good oxygen source for your plants, if the holes in your pots are all covered up you get less surface area of drying and oxygen intake. as water comes out of your plant, gases are pulled in!
c. perlite is an excellent ingriendient to mix with potting soil, most already have it in it, the white foam balls. however if you use this you will want to cover with top soil at least a few inches and even more so on a plant you plan to shower with as perlite floats!!!!
you can also use coco coir, sand, grow rocks, river rocks/pebbles to mix with your regular potting mix to provide a more suitable container mix for plants that get watered frequently due to mistings!

i suspect your plants are sitting on your cage floor start there and move your way up, in my experience a clear cage floor is the secret to less cage maintenance. where as a dirty cage floor will accumulate filth and grime and may stress your cham if he has refined tastes

edit:

Also for the time being when you kill the mushrooms, make sure to place a small baggy over them without disturbing it whatsoever and pinch at the base to keep from spores contaminating your medium further. i don't know if thats for sure the case but from what i know about mushrooms which isn't very much, it would be your best bet not to let an outbreak occur
 
Alright as someone that knows a more than just a bit about
different fungi I can say it's a matter of fact that there's no way
you're going to live in a sterile environment.. nor should you.

The fungus that is living in your soil is not a plant.
All fungus belong to another order of life

The variety of fungi that you're keeping is either living with the plant,
off the plant or breaking down the soil's content itself.
If the plant is alive in well it's very likely that the fungi is beneficial
and even intended to be there to begin with (happy / healthy soil is alive)

If the concern you have is with the spores
they may be totally benign (most likely) and not present a major threat.
IF they were able to able to pose a threat, it would not be the eyes
that would be my concern -it would be the lungs.

The probability that your "puffball" is dangerous is really low.
Even then, Panthers evolved in moist forests where fungi will thrive
- just pick the fruiting bodies for now before they mature.

If you wish to limit the problem... first: limit the water in the soil.
The plant will better survive a dry spell much better than any active soil fungi
Replacing the soil isn't going to do anything but restart the process.

You can also introduce some other competitive fungi
and beneficial bacteria into your soil (always a good move)

I recommend this fertilizer... it contains an array "pro-biotic" critters
that will combat soil Pathogens that can harm your plant/pet.
http://drearth.net/index1.php?page=pro
It's cheaper and easier then getting a new plant.

You also wish to limit your soil's water content and or change
to a less nitrogen rich soil - that will help limit anaerobic growth.
Lastly, improve the soil type and drainage
all these in combination should eliminate future fruitings & worry.

enjoy.
 
Jewel:

What causes the fruiting cycle? Is it temps or moisture? And if the variety are saprophytic, could they be feeding off decomposing wood in the soil mix or possibly the plant in the pot itself?

Legend has it that Oyster mushrooms have consumed whole forests with their proliferation, but I suspect thats only folklore.

I've always wanted to get a few Oak logs seeded with Reishi spores. Great backyard project. In Asia , they would beat the logs to shock them into fruiting. Modern operations actually immerse the logs in cold water to start the cycle.
 
one time i let my friend convince me to eat mushrooms and i really had a crazy experience laughing as hard as i've ever laughed!
 
it was magical until i tried it again the next night and lay in fetal position wishing global destruction for 6 hours!
 
alright. my plant is potted in a clay pot that has a clay umm plate? to it that lets water that runs through my plant and end up on the plate so as not to run onto the bottom of the cage or stay inside the plant. my double sided little dipper drips into two separate cups that i empty and subsequently turn off before i go to work. there is a humid environment, which i would say allows the mushrooms to grow, but not a wet environment, which is my interpretation of what yall are saying. Like i said, i do not allow the musroom to get even close to being long and "pop". that happens when they are about two inches long, and i pluck them usually just when the head pops up. as for the soil, it has pieces of wood in it and i do not think that repotting will do a thing for me. my chameleon, as i said, loves standing in front of the humidty cloud that rolls into the cage. He has extremely white waste which tells me that he is hydrated and my plants grow more when they are in the cage, as opposed to on the patio, where they seem to whither a lil. thanks for the help, but as it seems to be, i dont think im going to change the way i water or humidify sherman, so ill just have to deal with mushrooms while i have the lil guy. thanx for the input
 
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