Natural Wood

[listen2justin]

I'm upgrading to a bigger, hardier cage in about a month and would like some advise from anyone who's had experience with long term use of natural wood. My current cage has natural grape wood and manzanita and i've learned some things about them in the 2 months i've had them, but hardly enough for keeping them in enclosures for a long time. In my new cage, i was planning on making some natural wood pieces permanent by screwing it into the back wall. Can anyone share their experience on having permanent fixtures in their habitats, good and bad? I wanna see if I would need to reconsider the permanent idea, because i plan on using my upcoming cage for my male panther for the next few years if not the rest of his lifetime. Also, does anyone suggest certain types of wood? I'm learning right now that grape wood is not such a good idea because they're so absorbent, so i think i'm gonna skip out on them next time... i'm leaning towards more manzanita and ghost wood, and maybe driftwood.

 

[jpowell86]

I'm upgrading to a bigger, hardier cage in about a month and would like some advise from anyone who's had experience with long term use of natural wood. My current cage has natural grape wood and manzanita and i've learned some things about them in the 2 months i've had them, but hardly enough for keeping them in enclosures for a long time. In my new cage, i was planning on making some natural wood pieces permanent by screwing it into the back wall. Can anyone share their experience on having permanent fixtures in their habitats, good and bad? I wanna see if I would need to reconsider the permanent idea, because i plan on using my upcoming cage for my male panther for the next few years if not the rest of his lifetime. Also, does anyone suggest certain types of wood? I'm learning right now that grape wood is not such a good idea because they're so absorbent, so i think i'm gonna skip out on them next time... i'm leaning towards more manzanita and ghost wood, and maybe driftwood.

I think it is great that you want to incorporate natural pieces in your next viv. In all reality, collecting branches from outside will hold up considerably well for a very long time. I have branches that I have used for years and years. So, are you talking about branches or are you wanting to have a wooden feature in the viv? More like a large piece for mounting plants? If so, I would go with ghost wood as well. I love that stuff. I have also used cypress and actually think it is as good if not better than the others. But, if you are wanting to get moss on the wood, I would stick with ghost wood. Just IMO.

 

[listen2justin]

I think it is great that you want to incorporate natural pieces in your next viv. In all reality, collecting branches from outside will hold up considerably well for a very long time. I have branches that I have used for years and years. So, are you talking about branches or are you wanting to have a wooden feature in the viv? More like a large piece for mounting plants? If so, I would go with ghost wood as well. I love that stuff. I have also used cypress and actually think it is as good if not better than the others. But, if you are wanting to get moss on the wood, I would stick with ghost wood. Just IMO.

A little bit of both, but the ones i would like to mount permanently into the viv would be the larger pieces. Thanks for the tip about the Cypress... i never looked into them, but i'll see if my wood guy can get those too. I was gonna post a future thread regarding moss use, but thank for bringing it up! lol. was thinking of using some moss to cover up the pots of the plants i'm gonna have in the cage to blend it in. do/did you like having moss? is there any issues with cleaning, etc.? any tips?

 

[jpowell86]

A little bit of both, but the ones i would like to mount permanently into the viv would be the larger pieces. Thanks for the tip about the Cypress... i never looked into them, but i'll see if my wood guy can get those too. I was gonna post a future thread regarding moss use, but thank for bringing it up! lol. was thinking of using some moss to cover up the pots of the plants i'm gonna have in the cage to blend it in. do/did you like having moss? is there any issues with cleaning, etc.? any tips?

I love moss. I use it in a ton of enclosures I have. Now I am talking live moss not dried moss like what ZooMed sells. I get mine from NEHerps. Their sheet moss and pillow moss does well for me. Now, keep in mind, I have mainly montane species that require really humid wet environments. So I can get moss to grow and establish on pieces of wood relatively easy. In a panther enclosure...not sure what moss would work. You can always use sheet moss or sphagnum moss with twine and wrap around what you are wanting to cover. The sphagnum moss actually will color up with enough water....but then again I am not so sure about that in a panther enclosure. You will just have to play with it and see what you can get to work. I have never had any issues with moss. Cleaning is very easy off moss. My enclosures are bioactive so I don't have to spot clean all that much.

 

[listen2justin]

I love moss. I use it in a ton of enclosures I have. Now I am talking live moss not dried moss like what ZooMed sells. I get mine from NEHerps. Their sheet moss and pillow moss does well for me. Now, keep in mind, I have mainly montane species that require really humid wet environments. So I can get moss to grow and establish on pieces of wood relatively easy. In a panther enclosure...not sure what moss would work. You can always use sheet moss or sphagnum moss with twine and wrap around what you are wanting to cover. The sphagnum moss actually will color up with enough water....but then again I am not so sure about that in a panther enclosure. You will just have to play with it and see what you can get to work. I have never had any issues with moss. Cleaning is very easy off moss. My enclosures are bioactive so I don't have to spot clean all that much.

Thanks for the info! I'll definitely look those up and see what would work.

 

[joshuadh2310]

I love moss. I use it in a ton of enclosures I have. Now I am talking live moss not dried moss like what ZooMed sells. I get mine from NEHerps. Their sheet moss and pillow moss does well for me. Now, keep in mind, I have mainly montane species that require really humid wet environments. So I can get moss to grow and establish on pieces of wood relatively easy. In a panther enclosure...not sure what moss would work. You can always use sheet moss or sphagnum moss with twine and wrap around what you are wanting to cover. The sphagnum moss actually will color up with enough water....but then again I am not so sure about that in a panther enclosure. You will just have to play with it and see what you can get to work. I have never had any issues with moss. Cleaning is very easy off moss. My enclosures are bioactive so I don't have to spot clean all that much.

What do you mean by bioactive? I'm am building a new enclosure soon and not spot cleaning so much sounds good to me lol

 

[tootyling]

hi guys, i notice there are some "pest" on my wood.. which seems like pushing the wood out and holes are visible. any idea what is that?
and how do we keep the wood pest free?

 

[mattmak_09]

I love moss. I use it in a ton of enclosures I have. Now I am talking live moss not dried moss like what ZooMed sells. I get mine from NEHerps. Their sheet moss and pillow moss does well for me. Now, keep in mind, I have mainly montane species that require really humid wet environments. So I can get moss to grow and establish on pieces of wood relatively easy. In a panther enclosure...not sure what moss would work. You can always use sheet moss or sphagnum moss with twine and wrap around what you are wanting to cover. The sphagnum moss actually will color up with enough water....but then again I am not so sure about that in a panther enclosure. You will just have to play with it and see what you can get to work. I have never had any issues with moss. Cleaning is very easy off moss. My enclosures are bioactive so I don't have to spot clean all that much.

Hey there, Im reading up on viv-style enclosures. When do you know your enclosure is bioactive ? Care to give me your lay down and experience please? Greatly appreciated.