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Climbing branches

M

Malkingray

Certified Vet Tech
I am finishing up my rack system for my snakes. I would like to put something in the enclosure for them to climb on. I am planning on trimming branches from a few of my trees (maple, dogwood and plum). Can I use branches from these trees (not any that look diseased)? I know with parrots certain woods can be a problem and I wanted to check first before going ahead with the idea. I would assume that it isn't going to be a problem, but want to be sure first.
Thanks,
Amy
1.0 Candy Cane - Narsil
0.1 Creamsicle - Lorien
1.0 Snow - Isil
0.1 Amel - Anar
0.1 Anery - Kiril
 
The primary problem with doing this on parrots is because they will more than likely ingest at least a taste of it, if not the whole thing! Obviously your snake will not take a bite out of a branch. Of course you want to stay away from the carniferous woods such as cedar and pine because the oils from these wood are toxic to our little friends! Sometimes certain fruit woods are toxic as well, so I would stay away from the plum. Stick with your hardwoods such as maple, poplar (aspen), oak, etc.

The problem with doing this though is not fear of ingestion but parasites when talking about reptiles. If you do this, be very sure that you treat the branch accordingly so that all foreign parasites are killed off!

Different people have different theories on how to rid of them. Some will bake the object at high temps, but not extreme enough to burn! Other use a bleach solution and make sure they are very careful to get in all the nooks and crannies! When you use the bleach solution also make sure you let it dry several days to remove any residual bleach. Chlorine bleach evaporates with 24 - 48 hours.

Do a search here on the forums and on the web for suggestions and usages for amounts and temps. I personally don't use branches or anything like that so I don't know the exacts, unfortunitly. This has been discussed here several times though...use that SEARCH feature, it's wonderful!

Others will hopefully pipe in here and let you know some more opinions.

Quigs
 
yes

Yes, like Quigs was explaining, i would be worried about parasites that could be on the tree and could possibly be harmful to the snake.I would suggest that you do more research on the forum about this topic. You can also go to petco or any pet store and buy artificial vines, trees & tree branches. That would eliminate the hassle of sanitizing the tree branches.
 
Thanks for the info. I will wait until I do more research before adding any branches. I remember someone one of the parrot message boards saying they "baked" the branches 1st.
Thanks,
 
Well, here's what I did: First I scrubbed the wood (no soap, just water). Then I let it dry a bit in the sun. Then I baked it in the oven at about 225-250 for a half an hour. I don't know if this is the best way, but my snakes never got any parasites. There are a couple of really good threads about how to do this and what kinds of woods are safe... now if I can only remember which ones...
 
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