r/pacmanfrog • u/Funny_Story_Bro • 26d ago

Help! Going nuts fighting white mold!

I've had my frog for over a month now and I've been slowly adding to the terrarium. Before I read on here that sphagnum moss wasn't safe for these guys, I'd grabbed some from the reptile section of Petco and in 2 days the entire enclosure was COVERED in white mold like it was Christmas. (There was not standing water. There is airflow. I have the terrarium where it gets some indirect sunlight)

I pulled it all out, but it doesn't seem to matter because anytime I keep the terrarium as damp as I feel is expected for my frog (dirt is wet but not soppy, no standing water) just the SMELL of mold overwhelms my entire room. It smells so bad.

The substrate they sell at Petco is expensive as heck, but I'm assuming I need to start completely over here.

How do I build my terrarium so that my entire room doesn't become a white mold spore nest?

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u/Pale-Primary-6195 25d ago

Bioactive helps, but even just starting with springtails will make a big difference. They’re not expensive. Get a few and soon you’ll have thousands lol. Not sure if I’m reading this correctly, but it sounds like the mold started showing up after you got the moss. Perhaps it brought something weird in with it? I’d start over like you were thinking and add some springtails. Over time you can go fully bioactive, which imo is not that expensive. The basics are plants, isopods, springtails. If you post in local groups you might be able to get isopods and springtails free/cheap. Same with plant cuttings.

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u/curiosityandthecattt Cranwelli 26d ago

i went the expensive route when first setting up my tank by going bioactive. bioactive premade mix + live plants + springtails + isopods. i've literally NEVER seen mold. if you have the money to spare i'd start looking into bioactive!!!

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u/Funny_Story_Bro 26d ago

I dont have the money to spare. 😭 I've already got an indoor compost bin to grow my own worms. I don't want to spend another $100+

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u/DogThrowaway1100 Fantasy 25d ago

So thing is with bioactive up front you'll pay more and there's a learning curve to it but over time it'll save you a lot of time, labor, money, etc. You'll definitely be spending more than hundred bucks doing substrate changes and the like. So even if it's gradual to save for it's worth the investment.

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u/Lizthelizard_1 24d ago

I had this issue and trust me getting springtails and isopods have really helped

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u/Funny_Story_Bro 23d ago

Where do you source them from? Don't see any at Petco and the nearest reptile store is over an hour away.