Climbing materials

[daziladi]

What is the best material for blue dumpy tree frogs to climb on? I have a 10 wide by 20 high tank... if I add something FAT enough to hold Chester's weight for climbing I'll end up sacrificing his free space at the bottom. Which is more important, free space at the bottom or sturdy things to climb on? Can I use tree branches if I sand them down well enough?

[Kurt]

You can use branches, just bake them in the oven to kill any nasty stuff that might be on them. Bake them at 200F for an hour. Avoid coniferous woods like pine as when baked they ooze sap which might be toxic.

[daziladi]

Thanks Kurt I'll try that then

[Kurt]

You're welcome.

[Tropicok]

Very proud of myself....simple minds like simple things. A friend gave me about 20 bamboo poles he cut from his backyard. I finally got around to cutting them into smaller pieces. I washed the dirt off and lay them atop the pan of slate rock from my backyard (smashed finger with hammer breaking it up) and baked it all for 1 hr. at 200 deg. Wow, the bamboo came out very golden and nice and I saved myself money I might have spent otherwise. Easiest thing to do ever. I can't say the same thing for the D*MN tank I'm working on. Spent an hour trying to silicone rocks, spent another hr. letting silicone dry on my hands, and a fun hr. picking the stuff off. Almost better than peeling a sunburn.

[Kurt]

Yeah, with a sunburn you don't get that nice vinegary odor.

[SludgeMunkey]

Here is some more in depth on wood for vivaria. While written with caudates in mind, this information is perfectly suitable for anura too.

Caudata Culture Articles - Wood in Vivaria

[Tropicok]

I didn't notice any vinegary smell. I did four pieces from 12" to 18" and can't recall any odor at all. I keep five tortoises in the house for winter and maybe I'm used to strange smells. I put one piece in with my White's, thinking he would love to grasp it but he pushed it aside and latched onto his favorite spot of glass next to it.

[Kurt]

Last time I used silicone, I remember a vinegary smell.