Moldy grass mat?

[Luciole]

I just purchased three Superpet grassy mats at the grocery store to use as covers for the wired floor in one of my chinchilla cages. After I began removing the packaging, I noticed some black spots on the hay and got worried. Only one of the mats didn't have any stains, but as all three mats were in contact physical with each other the "clean" one might also be contaminated.

Are there any home kits to test for mold?

I've photographed the spots on the mat, but am still unfamiliar with uploading photos to web forums. I'll try to find CnH's guidelines for uploading photos, but until then, has anyone ever had problems with moldy grass mats?

 

[starleomach]

I would return them immediatly moldy feed/hay is deadly

 

[Luciole]

Starleomach: I took the "clean" mat out of his cage and substituted it with a a cardboard tile for now. He needed something to land/sit on as he hops around his cage.

The black stains were not powdery and easily scraped off like mold usually is, but they were hard and solid like a spot of dried mud and broke off in pieces.

I am going to look into a home kit for mold testing whether I return the mats or not. I would feel better knowing that I can test suspicious growth/substances/ etc inside of my home without formally submitting samples to an expensive lab.

 

[chinnychinchinchilla]

would you have to test it? i would just take it back and say i suspect that this has mold, can i get a refund or replace it? i would think the petstore would be too cheap to get it tested, they would just throw it out.