# Types of pods / seeds / wood



## fishingguy12345 (Apr 7, 2019)

Hi everyone, I thought it might be good to have a discussion on the types of pods/seeds / wood that people use in their vivariums.

I'm going to discuss the types I use and my observations of them

Cork bark: the standard. Light, strong, resists rotting. I use it quite heavily in my builds. Great for a mosaic background.

Mopani wood: dense, hard wood. Resists rotting almost as well as cork bark in my experience. Quite heavy. Isopods and springtails LOVE it. Here's a picture of one of my pieces that I just turned over, all the white spots are springtails:










Manzanita wood: lighter than mopani, resists rotting fairly well. 


Bell cups: light weight, fairly rot resistant. Don't seem to be favored by springtails and isopods in my experience. 

Coconut huts/pieces: strong, very hard to break under normal circumstances. Rot resistant. Springtails seem to love using the undersides of the coco pieces as a hiding/food place. 

Seru pods: fairly rot resistant, small and narrow, can be a nice low hiding option for Ranitomeya species. Frogs use them as a perch:









Lotus pods: prone to rot much faster than the other items mentioned so far. Frogs will climb on them happily. 

Southern Palm bark: resists rot, flat pieces of bark, I add them in to my substrate for the Isopods to consume/hide under, they seem to enjoy it. Can also be laid on top of the substrate similar to leaf litter (make sure they're aren't hard sharp edges first)

Those are the ones I've tried in my vivariums so far.

I have some badam/jungle pods and buddha nuts that I bought today. I'll update this thread with my observations on these in a few months.

If there area other similar types of objects that you've used in your terrariums, please add them to the list (and provide your observations of them if possible)


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

Ghost wood has always been my favorite vivarium wood, with cork bark also high up on my list.
I like ghost wood because it's branching shapes don't take up much floor space, leaving more space for leaf litter. I like it because ferns and mosses can pop up on it, because it is a regular jungle gym for my thumbnails, and because the branching shapes don't block much light, allowing you to plant it with vines and epiphytes. I love how twisted and gnarled the shapes are. Ghost wood is also a very long lasting wood in moist vivarium conditions. 

I've heard it said more than a few times, that ghost wood is just sandblasted manzinita, but I don't believe that to be true. Most ghostwood has much more interesting shapes than Manzinita does. In addition, Frogparty had his botony professor identify it as Antelope Bitterbrush, many years ago.

I love combining cork bark and ghost wood, to build entire trees in my vivs. Here are a couple of examples of my cork and ghost wood trees.

https://www.dendroboard.com/forum/parts-construction/79295-frankentree.html

I think my Jungle Gym viv shows it best. https://www.dendroboard.com/forum/members-frogs-vivariums/334946-jungle-gym.html


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## Socratic Monologue (Apr 7, 2018)

Cork bark: agree with above, but would add that the tubes are especially useful for creating more usable space out of negative space.

Malaysian driftwood: similar to mopani, I imagine. Heavy, rot-resistant, and is more angular looking, typically, so is useful for simulating buttress root/tree trunk sort of elements.

Ghostwood: I like the look (early and grown-in pics attached), though it gets some surface fungus. I've only been using it a year or so; holding up well so far but I suspect it may not be the longest lasting in a frog viv. (Edit: just read @Pumilo's note on GW and am happy to hear it is long-lasting.)


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

I mostly use : 

Spiderwood
Malaysian driftwood
Trumpet nut 
Zeyheria pod 
Monkey pod 
Ourico pod (Brazilnut)
Bakuli Pod
Palm Pod (Sakai) 
Buddha nut 
Acacia bean
Lotus seedpod 
Cacao pod 
Bell Cup 
Sororoca Flowers 
Acacia Auriculiformis seed pods
Swietenia Macrophylla seed pods
Badam nutpod 
...


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## Gastrotheca (Sep 4, 2020)

Greetings,
What are some types/varieties/species of leaf litter that you use?

-------------
Crested Gecko 2.0


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## fishingguy12345 (Apr 7, 2019)

Gastrotheca said:


> Greetings,
> 
> What are some types/varieties/species of leaf litter that you use?
> 
> ...


My preferred leaf litter is magnolia. The leaves have a natural curl to them which makes great hiding places for the frogs. 

Other types I use: maple and oak. 

Other usable types I've seen used:
Jackfruit
Live oak
Guava
Mango


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## Gastrotheca (Sep 4, 2020)

Additionally, I think that Tijl has used bamboo leaves and dwarf magnolia leaves. 

Some botanicals I use:

Live Oak Leaves
Live Maple Leaves
Live Willow Leaves
Trumpet creeper pods
Honey Locust tree pods
Rose of Sharon Seed pods
Day lily bush pods
Yucca Seed pods
Coconut shell

Really wanting to add bell cups and bakuli pods to this list,
PM if you have a really good price/deal

-----------------------
Crested gecko 0.2


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## Gastrotheca (Sep 4, 2020)

Tijl, I have been wondering, where do you get all of the small spider wood twigs? A lot of your builds have little pieces of spider wood that you poot in to look like small branches/roots. All of the pieces around here are cut down to a large piece, and IMO aren't very natural-looking. 

Gastrotheca
---------------------------
Crested Gecko 0.2.0


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## Gastrotheca (Sep 4, 2020)

fishingguy12345 said:


> I have some badam/jungle pods and buddha nuts that I bought today. I'll update this thread with my observations on these in a few months.
> 
> If there area other similar types of objects that you've used in your terrariums, please add them to the list (and provide your observations of them if possible)


 Hey @fishingguy12345, just wanted to see if there was some resolution with these types of pods. Do they work well? Do they resist rot? Jus wondering because you said you would update in the future. U probably jus forgot. 

Thanks,
Gastrotheca
-----------------------------------
Crested Gecko 0.2.0


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## fishingguy12345 (Apr 7, 2019)

Gastrotheca said:


> Hey @fishingguy12345, just wanted to see if there was some resolution with these types of pods. Do they work well? Do they resist rot? Jus wondering because you said you would update in the future. U probably jus forgot.
> 
> Thanks,
> Gastrotheca
> ...


Sorry for not updating.

I've been using both types of pods for 5-6 months and there's no sign that they're breaking down that I can see.


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## FroggerFrog (Jan 11, 2021)

I would like to mention that Brazil-nut pods also work and are the primary breeding grounds for castis. (or the frog that can get your whole collection confiscated by the government.)

EDIT: just saw Tijis post and realized he also has used them.


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## Gastrotheca (Sep 4, 2020)

Thanks fishingguy! Jus wanted to check in.

Gastrotheca
--------------------------------
Crested Gecko 0.2.0


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