toxic wood

[Carvid]

I have heard that some types of wood can be toxic to pythons.
I was wondering is there any truth to this and if there is which types of wood are the harmful ones?

[josho]

i know tee tree is

[Jungletrans]

Treated pine is soaked in poison - cyanide I think - to kill termites . Green wood not good .

[caffiend]

Try to stay away from exotics would be a good thing, there are loads of toxic woods out there I think everyone knows Oleander (Nerium oleander spp), anything with white sap is bad news!
try to go for woods native to the area your herp comes from if you can, I wasn't aware that tea tree was a problem, but bear in mind, that all Eucalyptus spp have very pungant oils, they may well be from the herps natural environment, but that natural environment is not 1m3 of glass and sealed wood with small vents - which can concentrate those oils considerably (unless you have massive air exchange which would mean massive heating bills too I assume )

Personally, I would hose a new branch off well, and sun dry it for some time (if it has been defacated on in the viv i use the 10% bleach solution method) so that it gets plenty of air and dissipates any strong oils. Also hosing will dilute any environmental toxins like chemical fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides that drift all over the place. Overkill maybe but I worked in horticulture for 16 years and became well aware of how toxic things are with human intervention - and yes I worked mainly in national parks.
re; commercial woods, it's probably a good idea to air anything new for a couple of weeks to dissipate any contstruction residuals to be safe (ie glues, sealants, paints, longevity treatments etc.)
I hope this helps, let us know how you get on
Cheers
Cat

[Carvid]

Thanks for that its some good info. I currrently have some gumtree branches in one tank as well as untreated pine. Im not even sure on what the other is but the python has been climbing over it for a while now. I soaked all the branches for about a week before putting them out to dry in the sun and then into the tank. Both pythons are feeding well and dont act any different to what they normaly do.
thanks again

[caffiend]

I need more sleep!
I'd just like to say, that what I MEANT to say re; the euc oils - that's more relevant to fresh leaves etc than brances, the oils are concentrated in the leaves. It's great sensory stimulation for pythons, but I'd keep it to a small area of the tank to allow the oils to dissipate - I hope that makes sense! I use fresh branches that have fallen during storms (from the neighbours place onto my roof and more recently my car!!!) and have been well washed with rain - the pythons love them
Pine can be a bit tricky as the sap and oils in it could be a problem, but if it's cured (I note you said untreated) white and smooth looking, sap free etc. should be fine - a good rule of thumb would be how strong it smells, the smell being an indicator of volatile oils. Incidentally, most strong smelling oils and saps are a survival tool for plants against predator animals and insects. Hence they can be strong smelling, strong tasting and toxic. Some also have strong oils which when leaves fall to the ground, inhibit the growth of competition plants around the base of the tree.
Ok I've rambled on enough! Sounds like your wood protocol is working for you and your snakes, and that's what counts
Cheers
Cat

[Carvid]

Yeah thanks for that it makes sense. But is it important to change the branches every so often or are the same ones fine?