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Thread: Wood safety - Fatsia Japonica?

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    Default Wood safety - Fatsia Japonica?

    I'm setting up an enclosure for tree frogs and was looking for potential woods and plants to use as climbing items. I noticed an already-dead branch on a fatsia japonica in my garden and broke it off. If I scrub the bark off and sterilize it (probably by baking?), will this be safe to use in the enclosure? It's quite sturdy and already aged (bark falling away), and most of it would be elevated away from the water and substrate.

    I've read that fatsia japonica is safe for tortoises to eat in moderation, but could find nothing conclusive about it as a vivarium plant/frog compatibility? Of course it won't have any foliage but I want to be careful. Is there any chance of irritants or anything in the wood?

    Also, if the dead branch is safe - would it be safe to trim off some living branches and bake them?

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    100+ Post Member Larry Wardog's Avatar
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    Default Re: Wood safety - Fatsia Japonica?

    I think your safest bet would be looking for treated wood at Pet Smart and Petco. If you are still sure about the wild wood it's an at your own risk situation but I think that type of wood will work for you. What type of Tree Frogs?

    Sent from my BLN-L24 using Tapatalk

  4. #3

    Default Re: Wood safety - Fatsia Japonica?

    I can definitely completely sterilize it (soak + bleach + bake/boil, in that order? removing all bleach residue of course)

    I guess I'm trying to ascertain if it's the wood itself that's the problem (because of resin or toxins they could absorb, etc) or if the main problem is the level of treatment it's given, ie avoiding outside pathogens and making sure it won't rot in a damp environment. I'm mostly looking at what I can gather myself because I've had a really hard time finding 'climbable' wood for them commercially; all the driftwood I've seen is more of a 'clump' form for aquariums (so it wouldn't use the height of the tank, which is what I'm looking for) or is spiderwood with thin, tangly branches that wouldn't work well.

    As far as wild woods go, do you think oak wood would work, if I can 100% sterilize it and am sure the location means it won't have pesticides on it? They've had oak leaves in their viv for while.

    And they're green and gold bell frogs.

  5. #4

    Default Re: Wood safety - Fatsia Japonica?

    I would consider soaking, baking, and possibly repeating with the f.japonica, because the saps can be a bit burny. That is, they can cause "contact dermatitis" in humans with sensitive skin and frogs tend to have more sensitive skin than humans.

    I hope this is helpful!

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