Mold

[krabby_katie]

I've been getting A LOT of mold lately under the food dish. Noone ever goes under the dish, but there's mold (the cobweb kind) under it within 3 days. I have coconut fiber for substrate. It's becoming a bother. I have to take it out all the time. Why is this happening, and how can I prevent it?

[erikleeson]

Well the substrate is wet, and water attracts bacteria. What kind of dish is it?

[krabby_katie]

Just a glass shell. Nothing that would propote mold. Maybe I'll spray that specific area with saltwater?

[erikleeson]

I would scrub with hot salty water. Then when no mold is there you can try that. I don't think mold is all that bad, hermits eat anything and they are immune to alot of things aren't they?

[Wai]

I've never used coconut fibre, but you can try pouring the subtrate (after you've removed all the hermit crabs of course) with hot saline water, remove the junk that floats to the surface and then let it dry. Salt in the past was used to kill bacterial infected wounds.

[erikleeson]

is mold bad for the hermies though, I have A LITTLE mold on a peiece of grapevine but they probably eat it in the wild and if they have fruit they would rather eat that anyway should I just leave the mold? I'm telling you theres like no mold.

[Wai]

I'd just remove the mould. I don't have any scientific evidence to prove that it is harmful to hermit crabs, but I doubt they will benefit from eating it.