a question about mold

[victoria nicole]

hi everyone! :3

so, ive done some research on google about this already, but can’t really find much solid information. i feel like id rather ask you guys since maybe some of you have experienced this.

basically, when i was cleaning fufsy’s cage this evening, i found maybe 2-3 inches of white, fuzzy mold with a minty greenish tint. i keep her water bowl and pellet bowl sitting on this carrot bowl (i use it as a table, pretty much lol) and i fill the carrot with carefresh to hold up the pellet/water bowls. i have always done this and never had a mold issue. i noticed that under the bowls, in the carrot, there were (im guessing?) soggy looking pellets and thats what the mold was growing on.

i soaked her cage & bowls with straight vinegar and rinsed with hot water. cleaned the potty with dawn and a tiny bit of clorox. should i wipe down the bar part of the cage? or is the mold only where i saw the mold growing?

do you guys think she will get sick and have any of you had a mold scare? id really like to hear your stories, and i hope they have a good ending :c id feel terrible if she got sick and passed away.

*also, she has an oxbow hay bungalow. should i throw this away even if it wasn’t touched with mold?

thanks guys! (:

[Sarita]

Not all mold is toxic and I don’t think that you need to worry about this mold. If you’ve cleaned it up you are fine.

[victoria nicole]

okay, whew~

thanks for giving me peace of mind. all the websites i was reading kind of kept freaking me out because they have to tell us every issue mold can cause to your rabbit, and i just kept reading “death” D:

thank you for answering me! (:

[FrankieFlash]

I agree that you’d probably be okay if it’s all cleaned up. But unless you clean the carrot everyday it’s probably going to happen again. If you think your rabbit prefers her food and water elevated, they make metal holders that are adjustable and hook to side of cage or pen. I don’t personally have experience with this because my bun is small enough that his food and water dish are comfortable for him on the floor of his condo but I thought I’d throw that suggestion out there too.

[victoria nicole]

yeah, im guessing it happened because maybe she was binkying a little too much one night and it spilled. i normally clean her cage/dishes twice a week however, this week i only wiped it down, and of course, the potty is cleaned daily. so i guess this taught me a lesson that i need to clean EVERYTHING every single time. if she was sick at all from it, i would know, right? and i need this holder! it will save so much more room. are they found at like the local petsmart?

[FrankieFlash]

I’ve heard people mention drs fosters and smith having them. Petsmart might. Here is one I found on drs fosters: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=6067+10382+17222&pcatid=17222

I know if something like this worries me sometimes its worth the 30 to have the vet check and get peace of mind. I’m assuming you would look for any unusual behavior in her but I don’t really know.

[Sarita]

The mold you are talking about is found in hay and feed (usually feed is where I believe it’s been predominately found in the past). The mold is not the problem though, it’s the toxins that are present in the mold that can cause problems. Mold like you describe is not a problem as long as you eradicate it (clean the area).

[RabbitPam]

I would just add that it wouldn’t hurt to clean the cage bars and bottom around the area where it happened just to be sure to kill any mold spores that might be too small to see yet. Just create a slightly hostile environment with cleaning.

If you ever are concerned about the cleanliness of dishes, most can be put into a dishwasher. It’s more than hot enough to really kill germs, and you only want to watch out for plastics with low melting points. Otherwise, since food dishes are finished with safe glazes, they can be washed in very hot water.

Definitely try to make a different arrangement. There are lots of possible products to fit your habitat, so check out the habitat section to see ideas that may work for you, too.

[victoria nicole]

the mold was growing on the mushy pellets that the water spilled on that fell under the food dishes. it kinda resembled the white mold that grows on bread. the mold looked like this. i read that type of mold does give off toxins, but when i read about mold on hay everyone said its black/brown-ish. so i have no clue, but i feel a lot better that youre saying its okay now. i just feel terrible that i didnt change the bedding in the carrot, or even check for spilled food, even if it was just skipped for one week. if something bad happens, its just going to be my fault.

[victoria nicole]

oh, cool! im going to get one of those. itll be so much better in every way. thank you (:

and yeah, im kind of really anal about fufsy. she really is like my child haha. even though it doesnt sound like it because i skipped cleaning food dish for a week, but i honestly didnt think much of it since i was like oh, its just food, what could go wrong as long as i clean the potty and spot clean everything else. but no, i was wrong. the vet has to run tests to determine if shes been exposed to mycotoxins. im going to have to discuss it with my mom about how we should prolly just check to be safe. shes been great everyday this week except last night she wasnt as “relaxed” as she normally is (stretching out, laying down etc) and now this morning, shes sitting slightly hunched, one ear up, one down. i dont know if im just freaking out and associating all of this with the mold, because i just found it yesterday. 

[victoria nicole]

hi thanks for posting! i wiped down the bars of the the cage today with vinegar. hopefully thatll help. and she uses ceramic dishes (: so i can put them in there. thanks for the tip. i normally soak them with vinegar for 5 mins and then rinse with really hot water. but the dishwasher seems like itd work better and less work for me

[Sarita]

Well, the mycotoxins that are found in rabbit food happen during processing at the plant, harvesting of they hay, etc…not normally at home, so I would not worry about that if you left food out. I’m not sure there is a particular test that the vet can do to determine if your rabbit has been exposed…

[victoria nicole]

i read on some website saying they could test either the feed or something? i don’t remember exactly, but i threw the moldy, soggy mess away anyway. i called the vet about 30 minutes ago, for some reason i got the machine.

since the deadly mold that emits mycotoxins grows on hay/pellets at the plants is caused by moisture, do you think at all the same could happen since it was growing on wet timmy pellets?

i just have no other clue why she’d be acting this way today? i mean, i haven’t changed her diet or anything. its just strange, but it could just be a coincidence. 

[Sarita]

I’m not sure – how is she acting today? I didn’t see anything in the post about that.

Well, they could check the feed, but since you disposed of it, it won’t do any good. Normally these things are cumulative though – mycotoxin poisioning.

[victoria nicole]

oh i’m sorry! i guess i wasn’t too clear about where the mold was my first post was a lot of me rambling haha.

but yes, it was growing on old mushy pellets. i just never noticed because they were out of sight unless i did more than just a spot clean.

today, she is sitting in meatloaf position, her ears are up and back with the insides turned towards the outside. she doesn’t look very happy. i’d like to think if she did get mycotoxin poisoning, she would have gotten very sick by now, but its hard to tell with rabbits. i just know i feel terrible about this :c

[Beka27]

Hmmm, well I’d just keep an eye on her. She might be having an off day today.

[victoria nicole]

i have her out right now and shes playing, etc. so maybe youre right. ill let you guys know if she gets sick and what the vet says. thanks for all your help! (:

[Author]

Messages