Inorganic "bark"

[skinheaddave]

I've been searching for ideas on this subject so I thought I'd throw it out there. I am looking for something to replace bark in some of my arboreal scorpion setups. It doesn't have to look good, but it must be texturaly suitable for climbing scorps and must not harbour anything organic. Some type of plastic would be ideal, really, but it can't be smooth. Any thoughts?

Cheers,
Dave

 

[neveragain]

You can get a plastic half log in a few different sizes (there are some pretty damn big ones) at most petstores. I am not positive about the price, although I think they may be a little on the expensive size (depending on which size you get)

 

[atavuss]

Dave, check your local petstore's stock of resin branches, stumps, and roots in their aquarium section. I don't know if you have petsmart there but they usually have a large selection of the above. some of them even manage to look amazingly realistic.
"all living things" is one brand that they carry.
check my bearded dragon pictures I posted for a picture of a sample.
Ed

 

[nocturnalpulsem]

The previous posts gave the same advice I would give. The log I have in my scorp tank is basically the same. I think they took a real log and coated it in some sort of plastic. At least mine seems that way. It's very realistic.

N.

 

[skinheaddave]

Those logs are a possibility, I suppose. I was looking for something cheaper, though. Aesthetics really don't matter for this application, whereas cost does.

Cheers,
Dave

 

[Kugellager]

How about large synthetic sponges?...that is if they will not be getting wet as I know you want to avoid a surface where gunk can grow...I would think those large sponges once you gave them a goo rinsing would provide an excellent climbing surface and as long as they were kept relatively dry they would not be conducive to nastys...they also are dirt cheap.

John
];')

 

[biznacho]

maybe get some PVC pipe and rough up the surface with sandpaper or a file. you could cut it to length and in half depeding on the application. or craft foam, but that might have some chemicals. layering and spacing out thin(1/4 inch and thinner) strips and bits of composite board might work. a busted cork board tha thas been "reassembled" to look like bark would look a bit more natural. All of the above would definately be ugly but they could work.

biznacho

 

[Tim R.]

I've tried the composite cork and it molds quickly with the slightest bit of moisture present.

 

[Nikos]

If you can visit a beach you'll easily find pieces of wood there. You can paint them with non toxic wood lack and use them in your enclosures.

Last week i found some very nice pieces of wood and I'm gonna paint them sometime this week. I'll try to get some pics of them for you.

The best thing is that they are for free and also looking good!

 

[conipto]

All those beaches in the middle of canada, right ?

I don't know about it's molding and toxicity properties, but what about floral foam? You outta be able to find that stuff in huge amounts pretty cheap if you look around.

Bill

 

[Wade]

You might want to look at vinyl siding for houses, many types are textured like wood grain. I'm not sure if there's enough texture to give the scorpions sufficient footing, but it might be worth checking out the next time you're in a home improvement store. Theres also a type of vinyl siding that's made to be "soffit" (not sure if I'm spelling that right) which is the section under the eaves of a house. In many applications, the soffit must be ventilated, so the vinyl soffit is perforated with many small holes, which may help the scorpions get a foot hold. Both of these products are pretty cheap, 10 or 12 bucks gets you a 10 foot long piece that can be cut up into numerous smaller pieces. It cuts pretty easily with tin snips or even sturdy sissors.

Annother idea is to glue fiberglass screening to any sort smooth plastic. The screen should provide plenty of climbing texture.

Wade

 

[skinheaddave]

Wow. There are a tonne of ideas to check out here.

Vardoulas,

The wood suffers from the same problem that the bark I use now does. While it can be baked to remove anything organic, it still acts as a good host to future infestations. I have urethaned some wood for my reptiles in the past, but I suspect that it would smooth out the surface too much for inverts.

Bill,

We have beaches up here, they are merely trapped under the glaciers. Seriously, though, I do live not too far from a beach on Lake Ontario.

I have used floral foam to pre-create some T burrows and had no indication that it was toxic so this may warrent some investigation. I suspect, however, that if it got wet it would still act as a host to all sorts of things.

Wade,

I'll have to check out this siding. As for the fibreglass screening, I actualy have a scaled up version of this working right now. I have a few ramps in my savannah monitor enclosure and they are made of plexiglass with some 1" hole plastic mesh glued to them. Works well for him.

Cheers,
Dave

 

[chau0046]

All those beaches in the middle of canada, right ?

Great lakes have beaches, Big ones too, infact just about any body of water carries driftwood.;P lol

I have had this problem myself and usualy just resort to flat stones, for my higher humidity tanks anyways. I`ve found that most of the drier tanks dont have as much problems with these little stow-aways.

Mat

 

[Reitz]

What about styrofoam(spelling)? I was thinking about lining the back wall of my C. gracilis enclosure with heavy duty styrofoam from a local craft store. It shouldn't be prone to mold because it will not absorb water, plus it could be cut into any shape. I was going to "break" it instead of cutting so that it has a nice rough surface for climbing. I was also thinking of cuting some small recesses into the top to act as little water dishes. The C. gracilis should look great on a white background. But I'm still not sure if styrofoam is toxic. What do you guys think?

Chris

 

[skinheaddave]

I think styrofoam can off-gas if heated. Not 100% sure on this -- plus there is a large selection of types and I'm sure there is a degree of variation.

Cheers,
Dave

 

[Nikos]

Vardoulas,

The wood suffers from the same problem that the bark I use now does. While it can be baked to remove anything organic, it still acts as a good host to future infestations. I have urethaned some wood for my reptiles in the past, but I suspect that it would smooth out the surface too much for inverts.
[/B]

A solution to this problem would be to throw some fine sand on the drift wood while still wet from the paid.
This way it wont be too smooth so the scorps can climb it and also it would be very appealing!

In addition if you bake and urethane it good doupt you'll have infestation problems.

 

[chau0046]

well this is just an idea,Your all gonna think i`m some morbid-weirdo, But at work i can get my hands on lots of big Bones from beef , pork, etc... I`m gonna boil them for a day and then bake them. Maybey finish with some clearcoat er something. Plus i found small peices of smashed ,really oldgrave stones. Gonna make some Aestheticaly pleasing tanks for my Hots. A half buried skull will make a great burrowing cavity/scrape and tall femures or rack of ribs could add great climbing structures. But i will definately have to find away to make sure no mold can grow and that all small cracks and holes are covered. All this will definately take up enough room ,so i plan on using a 15-20 gal long and introduce four or five of the same spp. (of course).

Mat


I know, i`m weird .........