Wood For my Beardie

So I’m going to have my beardie delivered this coming Tuesday.

I went out and collected some wood and rocks from my local forest. I took them home, sanded them, gave them a bleach and water bath, then baked them at 250° for an hour.

I was just reading about certain woods to avoid, due to their toxicity. One of them was pine. I live in Flagstaff, AZ where most of our trees are pine. How can I tell if the wood I have is pine, and if it is, is it still safe to use since I soaked it and baked it? I’m really trying to make my own setup without having to buy the $20-$50 sticks from Petco, and have my setup look like every other setup out there.

To the best of my knowledge, pine and cedar are the two to avoid (but to be safe I'd probably avoid any evergreens/conifers). If you don't know how to identify pine & cedar by sight, I'd ask someone who can--firsthand--or just find something else.

AFAIK, hardwoods are safe. They can be found in AZ (I've been there and have seen them) but you may have to travel a bit to the high desert.

So another follow up question. I read it’s the resin or sap that is toxic to the animals. The wood I got was very old and dead. Only one piece leaked sap when I had it in the oven. The other stuff didn’t leak anything. Do y’all think it would be okay for me to test out with my beardie, closely monitor him, and see how he does?

I don’t want to put my dragon in harm, but I also want to create the most natural looking terrarium as possible.

JohnVLillywhite":y51am2sg said:

So another follow up question. I read it’s the resin or sap that is toxic to the animals. The wood I got was very old and dead. Only one piece leaked sap when I had it in the oven. The other stuff didn’t leak anything. Do y’all think it would be okay for me to test out with my beardie, closely monitor him, and see how he does?

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Personally, I wouldn't risk it.

I've seen some absolutely beautiful large Java wood branches at some local shows. The biggest were about $30, but would have filled half of my 5x2x2 enclosure, looking like a real tree. I didn't buy one because the vendor was... well, you decide.

I did buy a large cork round at a show; some vendors were pricing them as low as $9/lb. (and cork is light).

I don’t want to put my dragon in harm, but I also want to create the most natural looking terrarium as possible.

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I get that, but short of importing beardie-safe wood from Australia, you may have to compromise.
I just took a quick google search and was surprised to learn you have vineyards in AZ. You might check into getting some culled grapevine.

Other than that, I'd be (and likely will be) happy with the right branch(es) of hardwood.
Try though I might, simulating the Outback just wasn't practical for me. I'm still happy with what I came up with. There's a lot of beautiful work/inspiration on google--just forget about particulate substrates--tile is better/smarter.

Another possible solution occurred to me. You may be able to use the branches you have if you seal them well so any toxic leftovers can't get out. I would use more coats than the product recommends just to be safe/sure.

Safe paints and finishes for reptile enclosures