# Is pine driftwoodwood safe for vivariums?



## vivariman (Sep 26, 2007)

I have alot of driftwood that I picked up at a nearby lake. There are some very cool pieces that I would love to use in a vivarium but they smell very strongly of pine (or some other acidic wood). Would these be safe? If they aren't, is there a way to make them safe?


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## costaricalvr12 (Oct 5, 2006)

Sure is! Check this out:

http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/pa...-method-sterilizing-rocks-collected-wood.html


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## ab1502 (Jun 27, 2007)

pine and and any conifer is not frog safe.. the chemicals contain turpine which is toxic to the frogs. There is really no way to make pine wood safe for vivs.


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## costaricalvr12 (Oct 5, 2006)

Aw man, I had no idea. Thankfully this is a forum and other people can give their input. Now, I do have a question. Is any kind of conifer wood toxic to ALL frogs? Wouldn't a species like the Pine Barrens Tree Frog then die? Or is that a special instance?

Thanks.


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## Tony (Oct 13, 2008)

costaricalvr12 said:


> Aw man, I had no idea. Thankfully this is a forum and other people can give their input. Now, I do have a question. Is any kind of conifer wood toxic to ALL frogs? Wouldn't a species like the Pine Barrens Tree Frog then die? Or is that a special instance?
> 
> Thanks.


They are exposed to far lower concentrations in a wild pine forest, consider the ratio of air to wood, as well as ventilation, in a forest versus in a vivarium.


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## vivariman (Sep 26, 2007)

That's what I was thinking.

Now I am worried about my other pieces of wood that don't smell too much like pine, more like plain wood, but could possibly be coniferous. If they are but only smell slightly stronger than normal wood, would they be safe?


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## ab1502 (Jun 27, 2007)

drill a small portion of the wood out, if it is red and has a strong conifer smell it is most likely unsafe. If it ends up being fine you can fill that hole with wax or silicone to prevent too much water from seeping in.


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## vivariman (Sep 26, 2007)

If it isn't red and doesn't smell like pine, is there still a chance that it is some sort of conifer and therefore unsafe?


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## ab1502 (Jun 27, 2007)

If you have doubts I recommend removing it.. better safe than sorry.


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## mellowvision (Feb 6, 2009)

btw, pine isn't just toxic to frogs, it's toxic to most things aquatic as well.


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## fleshfrombone (Jun 15, 2008)

I wouldn't chance it personally. You're gambling the lives of your animals and vivarium microcosm as well for a piece of cool looking wood. There are plenty of safe woods to use in vivs that look awesome. Ultimately though it's your choice of course.


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## R1ch13 (Apr 16, 2008)

Scrap it and go in search of some safe woods.

Some of the more easily identified safe woods would be the likes of beech and oak.

Just the other day, my mate and I carried home a small beech trees worth of freshly cut wood, leaves and all.

The council had chopped all of the branches that were growing over the wall and onto the road and just left them sitting there.

I was all to happy to aid the clean up process although we did get some very strange looks from folk driving by 

Richie


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## JimO (May 14, 2010)

The part of the pine tree that doesn't break down in a relatively short time is full of resin. We call it light wood, because if you crack it open, you can light it with a match. Some call it fat lighter. People use it to start fires because it burns easily and it burns hot. That is probably what any pine driftwood is composed of and I wouldn't use it in wet/humid environment. I had a cool driftwoo stump that I left in the backyard for a while. When I pulled it up to use it, it was full of carpenter ants, so I tossed it in a fire pit. It turned out to be a light-wood stump and it burned for hours, sending flames 6 feet up and black smoke everywhere. It was more impressive than burning our old Christmas trees.

Pine resin from light-wood stumps was used for years at a plant in Brunswick, GA to produce a now-banned pesticide called toxophene. It was produced by chlorinating compounds in the pine resin. So, pine resin has a lot of naturally occuring toxic compounds. That's why pine stumps can be preserved in the ground for even 100s of years. Termites can't even tolerate it.

So, I'd stay away from any pine products. I don't even use pine bark. As a previous poster suggested, if you drill a hole and it smells like a Christmas tree. I'd get rid of it.

Good luck.


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