Is this fungi safe for felinus?

**Graham_s** · #1 08-03-2009, 07:42 PM

A couple of days ago I saw a couple of fungi shoots in one of the felinus vivariums, and I just had a look and they've grown at an alarming rate, just since earlier today, and I wanted to know if I should remove them or if they are fine to stay in there.

**Riverside Reptiles** · #2 08-03-2009, 09:17 PM

Graham, I've never had this issue with felinus, but I did have a bunch of mushrooms pop up in my U. lineatus enclosure a couple years ago. I don't know if they can cause problems or not, but I removed them as I was worried that the spores might cause respiratory issues. I've read some other threads here on GU with people saying that it's no big deal. But I prefer the philosophy of better safe than sorry. If you do a search for "mushrooms" or "fungus", you should come up with a couple of threads.

midget · #3 08-03-2009, 09:50 PM

many dart keepers get them i have gotten them before in my dart cage too. there a good sign of a heathy sytem, they help break down waste as there decomposer they also losen up the soil for plant. id leave them in there. good luck

**Graham_s** · #4 08-04-2009, 02:45 AM

Ok, thanks guys. I just wanted to be on the safe side - I didn't know if they may be a poisonous species. Since those photos (about 6 hours ago) they have opened into huge umbrella shapes. They certainly are growing fast...

Lordoftheswarms · #5 08-17-2009, 10:53 AM

If you leave them and allow them to produce spores, your tank could be overflowing with shrooms soon. Or, if you one day decide to get rid of them, you might have to completely sterilize everything in the enclosure. Spores might even survive whatever you try to kill them.

**Graham_s** · #6 08-17-2009, 11:31 AM

I've come to the conclusion that the spores are from the substrate that came with some Hypoaspis predatory mites that I used a while back as a precaution after finding a few mites in a couple of vivariums. Incidentally, the mites have worked a treat and I still see them around and about in the vivs, presumably because of the springtail populations. I think they're supposed to only last a couple of weeks and I've had them for over a month now. I was wondering if the mushroom spores might have been included in the substrate mix as an indicator species of optimum conditons for the Hypoaspis..

mongzmaniac · #7 09-04-2009, 01:23 PM

For my dart frog, In his viv, I got a mushroom very similar to that sprouting a little above the waterfall. On impulse I removed it immediately and the surrounding moss. But then I found out that they are harmless to the frogs. Although im not so sure about cat gecko's, I hope I helped