Preparing wood to use in a T's enclosure

[6StringSamurai]

Im getting ready for the arrival of an arboreal tarantula. In the past I've used cork bark purchased at a pet shop to give them some climbing space, but my apartment building cut down some trees on the side of the building today and the branches have been chopped and stacked and some of them are PERFECT for a tree dwelling spider.

So, I took two that were just the right size and I boiled two huge pots of water. Once the water was at a good rolling boil I poured it slowly over both the logs, making sure that every single inch had a few seconds under the hot, hot water.

Since I've never done anything like this before, I want to run all that by some experts.

1.) Can I use wood obtained in this manner?

2.) Was my boiling water treatment good enough to kill all the parasites, fungus, mites, molds and God knows what else that could be lurking inside waiting to kill my poor defenseless tarantulas?

3.) What else can I do to make absolutely sure this is safe?

4.) It's not cedar, are there other kinds of wood I should avoid using?

The logs are drying now. The Ts will be slings when they arrive so it will be a while before they need the climbing logs, but it's never too early right?

 

[bonesmama]

To really sanitize something, you actually have to steam or boil it....I'm not certain of the time, but I think it's like 20 minutes. That should also get the wood hot enough all the way through to kill anything that may be lurking inside.

 

[Natco]

Arboriculture

Being a certified arborist, and a licensed applicator I would be wary of the wood or logs until they are completely dry which can take a while. Many trees contain chemical defenses in their vascular system as part of their natural chemical ecology. Many also contain chemicals like tannin, and juglan, and I really do not believe there are any studies on the effects these chemicals would have on our animals. If they are trees from any of the following genus I would be particularly careful; Prunus, Quercus, Juglans, Pinus, or Picea. Those are the ones that come to mind, but I am sure there are others, and I don't now where you are from. To compound this if you are talking about logs you can be certain they are going to have an (un)healthy dose of chainsaw bar oil, and the tacking agent which bar oil contains. As the wood dries the bar oil will be wicked further into it, and should be of no further consequence.

With all that said, I would like to mention that I think it would probably be fine, but if you want to be on the safe side I would wait until the wood is completely dry which can take anywhere from a few weeks, to a few months. Good luck.

 

[6StringSamurai]

good info

What is your opinion on the length of time it would take to sanitize the wood? Was my method ok or should I really boil it for some length of time?

The Ts will just be babies so the wood will have plenty of time to dry completely.

I'll look into the kind of tree it came from and make sure it's not one of the ones you mentioned. I live in Pennsylvania by the way, if that helps at all.

I really appreciate the help guys

 

[Natco]

Unfortunately I can not be of much help when it comes to exact numbers and sanitation, but I am sure others can. Sorry.

 

[6StringSamurai]

Unfortunately I can not be of much help when it comes to exact numbers and sanitation, but I am sure others can. Sorry.

No need to apologize, I appreciate all the help I can get.

If you don't mind me picking your brain a little bit more, how can I tell if the wood is completely dry?

 

[kimski]

How about bamboo?

Hi - I've just gotten my frist arboreal, an A. avic. My next door neighbor has a huge (50 ft+) tall bamboo grove and I've gotten some bamboo from his wood pile for my setup. I washed it throughly and let it dry (it drys fast) and my Pink toe loves it. One piece has a 'bowl' on top that she sits in and spins on... Several other pieces have dried branches that fan out which she climbs on and up... I could send you some if you want to pay shipping and handling. One thing - you need to be sure to inspect under and inside the hollows of the pieces because crickets could snuggle in there, die and get moldy... Let me know and good luck.
Kim Ski

 

[eman]

<<Was my boiling water treatment good enough to kill all the parasites, fungus, mites, molds and God knows what else that could be lurking inside waiting to kill my poor defenseless tarantulas?>>

What "parasites" are you referring to? Mold/Fungus occurs naturally in very humid environments - just keep the humidity/ventilation properly controlled. Mites are also normal... you will never be able to completely get rid of them. But more importantly, they don't usually harm your ts (provided they don't overpopulate).

I've used all sorts of different kinds of bark/wood and organic materials with great success. I never felt the need to "sterilize" any of it and have never once seen any ill effects on the ts. Same goes for the soil...

Cheers!

 

[6StringSamurai]

What "parasites" are you referring to? Mold/Fungus occurs naturally in very humid environments - just keep the humidity/ventilation properly controlled. Mites are also normal... you will never be able to completely get rid of them. But more importantly, they don't usually harm your ts (provided they don't overpopulate).
Cheers!

I don't know exactly, I guess I'm just paranoid about my “little buddies” as my wife calls them.

For some reason I imagine placing my tarantula into the terrarium and as soon as it's feet touch the substrate the surface of the wood opens like a portal to the gates of Hell, and an army of terrifying creatures emerge, the air fills with mocking laughter and the stench of brim stone as they tear his helpless eight legged body to pieces and drag them down back into the bowels of their horrible log.

 

[eman]

I don't know exactly, I guess I'm just paranoid about my “little buddies” as my wife calls them.

For some reason I imagine placing my tarantula into the terrarium and as soon as it's feet touch the substrate the surface of the wood opens like a portal to the gates of Hell, and an army of terrifying creatures emerge, the air fills with mocking laughter and the stench of brim stone as they tear his helpless eight legged body to pieces and drag them down back into the bowels of their horrible log.

Ha! I understand what you are saying. Unfortunately, this is a common misconception which seems to be a byproduct of our overly-sanitized society... It seems that we all tend to forget that ts spend their lives living on soil and organic matter which we then try to "sterilize". There are vast amounts of good or beneficial bacteria and micro-organisms therein that can be benefitial to the ts (or not harmfull at the vest least). This is part of a natural flaura. Just my opinion and experience over the years. Try it and see for yourself.

 

[6StringSamurai]

Ok, the trees the branches came from are Beech trees. It's not one of the genuses mentioned above so I guess Im ok.

Any other thoughts on this topic?

 

[Natco]

No need to apologize, I appreciate all the help I can get.

If you don't mind me picking your brain a little bit more, how can I tell if the wood is completely dry?

The genus Fagus (the beech trees and some others) is about the best one you could hope for. The only thing I would worry about is the bar oil/tacking agent I mentioned earlier. You should be able to tell when it is dry. It will split along the rays a bit, the bark will come off more easily, and if you whittle on it with a knife the wood underneath will not bleed of feel slippery at all.

 

[Cirith Ungol]

Just as another alternative for finding and using wood (so it doesn't touch your question 100% and is thus... almost off topic I'm sorry to say)

A pre requisit for this is a clean lake with a lot of wild trees arround the shoreline. In such places you can go fishing for driftwood that is completely submerged and has been for years on end.

That type of wood is entirely soaked in water and the only stuff living in or on it are water type bugs. So if you take it out and let it dry, without letting it touch the ground (because ground dwelling bugs can crawl up on it again) you get pretty safe wood. It also dries extremely quickly for some reason I'm not absolutely sure of.

 

[6StringSamurai]

Some very good advice in here.

Thanks guys! Much appreciated!

 

[Natco]

Just as another alternative for finding and using wood (so it doesn't touch your question 100% and is thus... almost off topic I'm sorry to say)

A pre requisit for this is a clean lake with a lot of wild trees arround the shoreline. In such places you can go fishing for driftwood that is completely submerged and has been for years on end.

That type of wood is entirely soaked in water and the only stuff living in or on it are water type bugs. So if you take it out and let it dry, without letting it touch the ground (because ground dwelling bugs can crawl up on it again) you get pretty safe wood. It also dries extremely quickly for some reason I'm not absolutely sure of.

That is a very good idea, I bet it looks great too. Bravo.:clap:

 

[meatbeef]

Since we're on this subject...
What is the opinion on driftwood from the ocean?

 

[EDED]

pour rubbing alcohol all over it real good and let it dry real well, that should do something. but you know you cant completely have it sterilized no matter what, but you can minimize alot of bad things, so if you do find certain wood and 'sanitize' it as much as you can, dont be surprised of fungus and mold after a few weeks in your T's cage, but it wont be that bad, it will look more natural. good ventilation and clean up will help too.

 

[Thoth]

For alcohol to sanitize it has to be in contact with the surface for at least 10 mins.

The best is to put things in a pressure cooker for 20 to 30 mins, the next is boiling for at least 20 mins more is better, following by baking in an oven at 250°F for an hour (you could go for as little as 30 mins or as long as overnight, I did accidentally). Soaking in a disinfectant is last you can soak in a 10% Bleach solution for an hour.

 

[Cirith Ungol]

Since we're on this subject...
What is the opinion on driftwood from the ocean?

If it has been submerged for a long time I guess it's good for use. But it's harder to tell if the ocean driftwood has any polutants on it and I don't know if the salt can play a role in a T's health, unless you clean it with drinking water first.

In regard to pollution, I'd make sure that I only take driftwood from areas where there are no major industries nearby, because they might well have underwater drainage systems where they just spew out all unwanted stuff.