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I am building the 'second story' to my Savannah Monitor enclosure that is currently 8x3x2. The top part will extend the height to about 7 feet at its tallest. Living in a SoCal beach city, its will be hard to go out to the forest to find pieces of wood big enough to fit my cage and buying that large will be very expensive. I do, on the other hand, have 2 pine trees in the front yard, that are going to be removed eventually.

I was wondering if I could use pine trees as the branches in the monitor cage. Are they toxic or is the sap dangerous? Could I dry them out and then use them, removing the bark?

Thanks for your help.

I use pine bark mulch for my Albigularis, without any ill effects.
I wouldn't remove the bark from your trees, as they need something for their claws to dig into when climbing, esp' as they get bigger/heavier.

I'm pretty sure all the bark would be on the ground within 2 weeks of him climbing on it. THe bark is already pealing on the tree. What about the sap? Would the pine need to be dried somehow?

The bark is peeling? Are the pine trees already dead? If so, the sap will not be much of a problem. If alive it will be sort of a problem. I wish you would not cut down any live tree. The world needs all of it's trees.

A good way to make perfect custom made climbing and basking trees is by using spare parts. Oaks keep their bark a long time and there are lots of dead trees better than pines. Just get an old trunk and some nice limbs. Drill into the trunk where ever you want a branch. Cut the limb base off straight across and drill a hole into it also. Stick the two together with dowels. You can put nice branches where ever you need one.

>>I wish you would not cut down any live tree. The world needs
>>all of it's trees.

Going way off topic here, but in much of the west, and southern California especially (where the original poster is from), trees means fuel for wildfires. If you live in a dry area with seasonal gusting high winds, high temperatures, and occasional sources of high heat (lightning, cigarette butts, arsonists) you do not want lots of fuel near your house. While I love the majesty of a forest as much as anyone, and appreciate trees for their role as carbon sinks, personal safety comes first. Plus, misguided policies of trying to save all the trees led to our current problem of unnaturally dense undergrowth in the forests causing a huge fuel load, leading to wildfires of extreme intensity that kill all the trees, sterilize the ground, are next to impossible to extinguish, and threaten lives and personal property. Sometimes, trees just have to go.

Luke

Well OT here too, but perhaps folks should think twice buiding their houses in canyon fire "chimneys", as brushfires in these places have always been part of the ecology of the chaparell.

Buy the way, do you all have monitor lizard and pet evacuation system? each monitor or snake needs a pillow case or bag in case you have to haul donkey for any reason..

so lets all just live in small mass housing complexes made from steel and concrete.

" I wish you would not cut down any live tree. The world needs all of it's trees."

Oh My! The world has so much suffering! What do you live in a clay hut? You know if you stop defecating you wouldn't kill bacteria.
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"Relax, Don't Worry, Have a Homebrew!" Charlie Papazian

Wow what useful comments. Do you live under a rock?

Nope! I live in a house made of WOOD which is a RENEWABLE RESOURCE.
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"Relax, Don't Worry, Have a Homebrew!" Charlie Papazian

Oh. I thought you dwelled beneath a cowpie.

Renewable as in a forest where there is selective cutting. Not in urban so called forests where every chloroplast counts, eh?

>>I'm pretty sure all the bark would be on the ground within 2 weeks of him climbing on it. THe bark is already pealing on the tree. What about the sap? Would the pine need to be dried somehow?

Id be wary of using pine. I know pine chips hurt long term the respirtory systems of other reptiles and small mammals. If something ran through a chipper is an irritant, wouldnt a whole piece be?
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1.1.0 YBS
1.3.0 RES
1.0.0 red belly cooter
0.0.2 mud turtles
1.1.0 Savannah Monitor
0.1.0 Blackthroat monitor
0.1.0 Leopard Gecko
0.1.0 Mountain Horned dragon
2.1.0 Ball pythons
1.0.0 Bearded dragons
cats, dog, ferrets, rabbit, rats.

Thank you all for your replies. Looks like the 'pine as a danger to the health of the lizard' is still up in the air. From the sound of it, it isnt just the sap that could be the issue, but the wood in general. I would like to get more people's opinions on this. As for the tree as a living organism, right now it is in a spot that is being transformed as part of a construction effort by the owner of the house. THe trees are getting removed, its just depends if I can use them or they become firewood.

Pine is fine as long as it's dry. I'd prefer oak or cotton wood but I live in an area of Denver that is almost all pine.

That is good to hear. ANy idea how long it takes to dry the wood out (without using extra heat)?

Just be thankful nobody told you to "get a ackie" in this thread! I say go for it, if they don't like the pine you can always take it out.

Chopped down the one pine tree yesterday. I have about 3 nice pieces that I could use in the cage of various sizes. The biggest is about 12 inches in diameter. Sucks, because I only had a hand saw to cut it down with, so it took me a while and i am very sore today. Letting it dry out now. It was very sappy when it came down, could take a while.

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