# Vivarium Wood and branches?



## RoyalBlood (Jan 5, 2011)

Hey,
Looking at getting new vivs and everything for my snakes next week and I want some nice decor and stuff. I got the fake plants sorted but I really wanted to know if anyone knows where to get cheap nice cured wood for branches and climbing
Its going to be mainly for an adult macklots python in a 4ft viv.
The stuff from the actual reptile shops is quite pricey, and when i walk around i see branches and stuff on the floor thinking 'oh god that would be great in a viv!'
but i would never put it in a viv unless I felt it was cured enough for my snakes health.
Anyone know any good branch websites or wood curing methods?

Thanks


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## iajo (Sep 16, 2008)

firstly make sure you know what wood you are putting in your viv, trees are most easily identified by their leaves. General rule of thumb avoid any woods that are soft wood, have a lot of resin, and smell strongly for example pine and cedar. These are toxic to reptiles along with a few others such as red wood. Avoid damp or rotting wood also as it will have attracted more bacteria and parasites that can be hard to remove.

Freeze - you need to have a chest freezer that can accommodate the size of the branch, freezing will kill some things but not everything.

Baking - Again depends on the size of your oven but this will kill bacteria and creepy crawlies.

Bleach solution - Make sure it soaks for a good while in a very weak bleach solution, should be thoroughly rinsed and left to dry. Remember bleach will kill pretty much everything pets included.

Salt solution - safer than bleach will kill many parasites that cant survive in salt water though probably not as thorough as the bleach. 

F-10 solution - Safer than bleach similar idea. 

Stripping - My favourite method, remove bark and sand the under layer. Leave wood to thoroughly dry out and then varnish a few times. Smooth, wipeable and i think looks good but less natural than wood with bark left on.


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## RoyalBlood (Jan 5, 2011)

iajo said:


> firstly make sure you know what wood you are putting in your viv, trees are most easily identified by their leaves. General rule of thumb avoid any woods that are soft wood, have a lot of resin, and smell strongly for example pine and cedar. These are toxic to reptiles along with a few others such as red wood. Avoid damp or rotting wood also as it will have attracted more bacteria and parasites that can be hard to remove.
> 
> Freeze - you need to have a chest freezer that can accommodate the size of the branch, freezing will kill some things but not everything.
> 
> ...


Thanks so much, I was wondering about baking too... Ill have to look up a safe method for that.
I thought of stripping as the easiest option but ill need to find good wood to be stripped... I will continue research.
Really helpful thank you! :no1:


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## TonyToca (Oct 6, 2010)

Can u just varnish the wood with the bark on?


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## iajo (Sep 16, 2008)

Ive never tried, i suppose it could be done but depending on what wood you use it may be hard to get it all coated as some barks are rough and it may be quite absorbant so would need loads of coats. Might also not stop bugs that are under the bark from burrowing out. Probably worth a try just leave it for a while after to check for problems.


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## haunted-havoc (Aug 6, 2009)

if they can burrow through wood, i wouldn't imagine a thin bit of plasticy varnish would pose much of a hindrance.

ive found the bleach solution to be the best. but they must be dried THOROUGHLY. there is a guide on here where a guy leaves it over a BBQ pit to dry during the summer


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## PhilipM111 (Dec 6, 2010)

im also interested in more info on this,

currently ive had a large piece of log in a water/bleach sollution for a about a week and then left it to dry for a day and today i left it in a kiln for a couple of minutes and im planning to leave it ontop (mind you it gets *very* hot) for about a week.

my mate originally did this and gave me the idea so if for any reason you have access to a kiln, this method is quite effective


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## madhandstylez (Mar 28, 2010)

Wildlifewarrior has a good post on wood treatment somewhere. I used it and it worked perfectly - never had a problem! U should try to find it!


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## sambridge15 (Nov 22, 2009)

to be honest i always use locally collected wood moss leaves etc for my viv its common practice for phib keeping and phibs are far more delicate than any snake(i think:lol2due to the lack of water tight skin ,plus the variaty is outstanding that you can find in a local wood!

this myth of "nasties" is flase in fact most of the organisms are very beneficial and can help to reduce viv maintenance control fungal and mould outbreaks

as proof find me 1 person 1 real person with evidence that has ever had a pet die from using local wood?


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## RoyalBlood (Jan 5, 2011)

sambridge15 said:


> to be honest i always use locally collected wood moss leaves etc for my viv its common practice for phib keeping and phibs are far more delicate than any snake(i think:lol2due to the lack of water tight skin ,plus the variaty is outstanding that you can find in a local wood!
> 
> this myth of "nasties" is flase in fact most of the organisms are very beneficial and can help to reduce viv maintenance control fungal and mould outbreaks
> 
> as proof find me 1 person 1 real person with evidence that has ever had a pet die from using local wood?


Well im certainly not fanatical about wood from outdoors killing my snakes haha. Just getting some opinions, and Im glad not everyone is terrified of natural wood :lol2:


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## sambridge15 (Nov 22, 2009)

RoyalBlood said:


> Well im certainly not fanatical about wood from outdoors killing my snakes haha. Just getting some opinions, and Im glad not everyone is terrified of natural wood :lol2:


yea i mean i know most exotic pets wid habitats are completely sterilised but i still prefere to use good old contaminated wood :lol2:


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## haunted-havoc (Aug 6, 2009)

i do see your point about the wild counterparts of our animals. however most of the reps in the market are CB. there are some species that are WC or CR. but this is the minority. our reps have been bred in near sterile condition for generations and all immunity or resistance has long been bred out.

yes like many things there is a nanny culture, however the reasons behind it are well justified. and to be fair, it cant hurt to dunk in bleach and water, even if it is just for your own piece of mind.

also sorry if this came across sarcastic or offensive, it is not meant, and i just wanted to offer a counter balance


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## RoyalBlood (Jan 5, 2011)

haunted-havoc said:


> i do see your point about the wild counterparts of our animals. however most of the reps in the market are CB. there are some species that are WC or CR. but this is the minority. our reps have been bred in near sterile condition for generations and all immunity or resistance has long been bred out.
> 
> yes like many things there is a nanny culture, however the reasons behind it are well justified. and to be fair, it cant hurt to dunk in bleach and water, even if it is just for your own piece of mind.
> 
> also sorry if this came across sarcastic or offensive, it is not meant, and i just wanted to offer a counter balance


hey mate dont worry! I agree with you, I wouldnt just pick up some log out of a forest covered in moss mud and ants and dump it in the viv, I would always dunk in the bath with disinfectant and rinse with boiling water c:
I just need to find wood now... A lot of the stuff out there is wet and rotten from the winter


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## haunted-havoc (Aug 6, 2009)

i think your best bet would be to hack abit of a tree off. as your perfectly right most of the 'findings' on the ground will be rotten through and through (at least over here i know they are)

by taking it from a tree it is essentially still alive and therefore as long as taken from a healthy tree should be pretty good quality


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## Mynki (Mar 24, 2010)

RoyalBlood said:


> Hey,
> Looking at getting new vivs and everything for my snakes next week and I want some nice decor and stuff. I got the fake plants sorted but I really wanted to know if anyone knows where to get cheap nice cured wood for branches and climbing
> Its going to be mainly for an adult macklots python in a 4ft viv.
> The stuff from the actual reptile shops is quite pricey, and when i walk around i see branches and stuff on the floor thinking 'oh god that would be great in a viv!'
> ...


This place sells lots of aquarium wood. The mopani and sumatran driftwood is definately reptile safe. The marsh root will also be. But this might look more in place in terrariums to be honest.

items - Get great deals on Ornaments, Accessories and sundries items on eBay.co.uk Shops!


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## sambridge15 (Nov 22, 2009)

I'm Sure more harm comes to exotic pets from the exesive use of chemicals used by most keepers, this is especially true for phibs! The high immunity of reps along with the lack of native herps means near on anything is usable and very beneficial :2thumb: also is there any evidence to support that captive herps are any more susceptible to illness ?

But I'd definatly rather have a few woodlice ants springtails and mud than using unbelievably harmful substances like bleach into my viv 

Seems so silly to trade beneficial bugs for harmful bleach....


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