Wood?

well i noticed lots of people on here have wood in there cages i got a little bit that i got from the reptile store for the snakes to hide in. but the wood there is so expensive its like £15 just for a log measuring about 20cm long and about 7cm thick. i was wondering if there was any other kind of wood i could use for my snakes bare in mind i live in the UK. i no theres some woods you cannot use because of the effects it can have on the snakes. but anyway can anyone recommend any other types of wood that are available cheaply or free? I'm on a bit of a digit at moment wile i save up for a new digital camera.

if there is no other wood can anyone else recommend any other items i can put in the tanks to keep the snakes happy?

thanks for reading here is a picture of the current tank (sorry about the quality it was done with a webcam.)

You can use wood from outside, just make sure it's not an unhealthy type for the snake (cedar for example) and sterilize it. I guess either in boiling water or in the oven.

Yeah, ceder and pine are a no no. Stay away from wood with 'oil". But like stated, just clean wirh mild water and bleach and bake ,low temp, 120 degrees?? should do it. I get all mine free from the woods!

Good Luck

grape vine

cheers thanks saves me some cash that

good luck

I got mine from a tree at the side of the house. Luckily mother wanted it chopping down, and I had the pick of the logs before they went to the incinerator. Another way to sterilize wood would be to freeze it for 24 hrs, if you have a large enough freezer.

so let me see if i got this right. ii go out find a nice dry log in the woods take all the bark of it because the bugs and stuff that could be under the bark? then i boil it in a load of water containing bleach. After that i then wash the log so the bleach is off the log and put it in the over to bake?

just checking in case oh and also make sure the woods not like pine or anything harfull to the snake?

If its got flakey pieces coming off it then remove them, I left all the bark on mine, but removed the thorns. If you know anyone who does sandblasting as a job, like I used to, then you could get them to sandblast it. IMO bleaching it, then rinsing, then oven for an hour or two is enough. I don't use boiling water when I bleach things, but it wouldn't hurt would it.
About the harmfull woods, I think any wood that has an 'aromatic' smell to it is a no-no.

ok cool cheers im gonna go out tree chopping tonight then lol.