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I am finishing up on a new enclosure for my black roughneck monitor. I've been searching around for different climing materials, and have found the best is right in my back yard. My friend has property in here in N. California with tons of oak trees on it. One blew down recently in a storm, so there is an abundance of branches in any diameter i could possibly want. I went and harvested some from this tree as well as from another downed tree where the bark was stripped already. My question is, would it be safe to use this wood? I plan on spraying it thoroughly with Provent-a-Mite (kills ticks, mites, ants, etc) and warming it up in the cage first before introducting the rudi, but am worried about any possible problems? The spray is pet safe, the wood is not diseased or termite-infested, and is very sturdy. I just wonder if anyone has done this before and what was the result?

thanks in advance,

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Chris
1.0.0 Columbian Boa
1.0.0 Columbian x Hogg Island Boa
0.1.0 Argentine Rainbow Boa
2.0.0 Bearded Dragons
0.0.1 Black Throat Monitor
0.1.0 Black Rough-neck monitor

That's fine. I've been doing the same for all my monitors for years, except I like to do the opposite of what you are doing. I use slats of bark that have peeled off and disregard the inner tree. Don't bother spraying it. There is no need and it can do more harm than good. Keep in mind that slats of bark have much more surface area to use and can provide lots of hide areas when placed closely together is some areas and also hold and or trap humidity in areas, as well has provide 'cover'. Sticks and branched don't really provide anything usable for your monitor, but it may be a good start when your monitor is small. Look for large trees cut down that have weathered a few years in the elements such that the bark has started to peel then fill up your trunk. You'll get the equivalent of thousands of dollars of cork bark for free and the stuff will last forever.

Hi,

I've used wild wood for many years in snake, lizard and turtle cages. In fact, I prefer it to purchased wood because I trust the stuff nature puts on/in it far more than I trust the stuff that people put on/in it. I've never treated it for bugs, as I feel the treatments are far worse than most wild bugs (even PAM, which can be nasty stuff under the wrong conditions).

Here is my most recent wild wood addition, a tree stump that I found in the woods a couple of years ago. It looked very decorative and I figured that I'd find a use for it, so I plopped it in my yard landscape until it was needed.

Its current home is in my Kimberly raise up cage. It goes all the way down to the cage floor (about 15 inches). The enclosure has only been occupied for a few days, but they have already started exploring the stump intently every time they do a walkabout. Good luck.

Will