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Prepping my own vines

M

Moneypit

New member
I located some great vines and cut some lengths to go in my newly split enclosure set up. These are from NH and we're living (well dormant because it is winter). They are tightly twisted pairs and 3/4"-1" in diameter. I've had them in the oven for 2 hours at 350f. A lot of sap has come out. I'll let them bake for another couple hours. Pictures to follow in the next day or two. I prepped some small local granite rocks as we'll.

Please feel free to comment on any concerns, suggestions or precautions.
 
sounds like a fun day in the feilds!

the ONLY concerning thing that I can think of is tat you said their was a lot sap.
what kind of wood are the vines?

any hard woods and fruit woods are safe, aswell as cork bark!
the rocks sound awesome though!

hope this helps! :)
 
So after about four hours, the vines seemed pretty dry. I did a fresh cut on one about two inches back and it was dry at the cut. I have no idea of the type. It appeared to be a tree and a vine or two trees that grew like a vine. It is definitely tree like and not plant like.
 
This is a section of the trunk. This piece is 24" long and will be used in the future.

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Here are the vine like sections I cut out of about 25'. Some of these sections shrunk about an inch.

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And here are a couple pieces in each side of the divided enclosure

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One side still needs a water bowl. Both water bowls will have 3/4" tall PVC feet to provide a cold side hide. I find my corns bury themselves under the current bowl on the cold side a few times a week. Plastic plants will be added along with some plastic vine leaves to the vines.

I'm using six clips on the screen top. I verified the warm side substrate material to be 78-82F degrees using a surface contact probe that goes out to .1 degree.
 
hmm, I have no idea as to what those vines are.. they do look to be from a tree not a plant, but I know that cedar, pine, and any other woods that give off a strong odor are big no, no.

I would try and find out what type of trees they are from before I put them in my viv with the snake though. IMO.
 
Those vines are neat, very nice looking. I'd love to snag something like it, even if fake ones. Looking real good.
 
Identifying the wood will be difficult for me given the absence of leaves. I do know that it isn't cedar or pine and the mature trees directly around are maples and oaks. It is definitely a deciduous one.

Any other known wood to stay away from that is deciduous? I think it would be a lot easier verifying what it is not -vs- what it is.
 
Those don't look hairy, so that's a good sign. Around here, we sometimes have poison ivy vines that are thick enough to look like they have bark, and are twisted like that, but they have little hairs all along them.
 
Alli_Draggy said:
Those don't look hairy, so that's a good sign. Around here, we sometimes have poison ivy vines that are thick enough to look like they have bark, and are twisted like that, but they have little hairs all along them.
Click to expand...

Yikes! I don't think we have any of that (size) in NH. This is definitely woody with concentric rings when cut and definitely has bark, not hairy. I'm bringing a few pieces to a friend that is "outdoorsy" for his best guess. This grew like a tree and then the branches reached out from the cover of larger trees and grew up a hill wrapping around other branches. The trunk was about 7-8' tall before the branches turned vine-like.
 
yes I do think I have seen those here, I think should be good.
hopefully your friend can fingure out what they are, or sent. ;) lol

I just tend to be a huge worry wort when it comes to adding anything to tanks that I'm unsure of.. :eek:
 
Google is my friend. I see that both names are the same plant. I checked out some photos of leaves and I am going to remove some snow cover to look for some that dropped to compare.
 
I was able to find some dead leaves tangled with the Vine and the leaves match photos of leaves found using Google Images. Looks like it is confirmed as being Oriental Bittersweet or a hibrid of it with American Bittersweet. I also researched toxicity in general and specific to snakes and reptiles. Every search comes back negative for toxicity including in several documents from states (including my own) on its description, control and environmental impact.

So it looks to be a safe alternative to store bought (once treated) or plastic.
 
Oh okay. And as far as I'm aware, worm snakes use the vine as shelter. Not too sure how that would work with corns, but I'm assuming the care is transferrable? Not exactly a herpetologist lol.
 
very nice!!

I'm glad you found a safe type of wood!
I absolutely love the look of natural wood in a viv. :eek:
 
In my continued search for additional info and confirmation these are safe, it appears ne herp, Petco and many others are selling something that's at least very similar if not the same under the name of twisty vines. Sourced from zoo med. All of the descriptions and images I've found appear to be this same vine.
 
aha!
well there ya go!

I know that zoo Med also sells mopani wood which is from Africa and that's safe, so I'm not surprised they sell other types aswell.

your just gunna be able to save a lot of money on the long run! ;)
 
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