Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey everyone i know there is a negative thought around cedar with pdfs but i've been using cedar driftwood that i've pulled from swamps and cleaned for over a year now with no negative effects at all. Beyond that i have only read one article about someone using cedar bark glued as a background (also no negative effects).
so does anyone out there use cedar? like i said i've been using it for over a year and have been very happy with it. it holds up GREAT in water and the cooler thing is that the roots of broms, ant plants and pretty much all other epiphites have no problems, rooting in the wood.
i'm curious about what others think i would like feed back!

Hmm, Interesting. From what I've always heard with pretty much any pets, cedar is somehow toxic to the animals. I guess maybe if you get the wood clean enough its fine?

I suspect you are using White Cedar (Atlantic or Northern) as opposed to one of the red cedars. The red cedars contain higher levels of thujones and other aromatics which are toxic to insects and invertebrates.
Northern cedar is a type of Arborvitae and has been made into a tea in historical times and drunk to prevent scurvy (it is high in vitamin C).
There is a significant difference in the risk between the two, particuarly if you are using old stumps harvested from bogs as these may have been submerged for decades.

Ed

Hi there:

My dad says that he's never seen any reptiles or amphibians in the red cedar swamp. I hear that it destroys their livers.

DAVE

Red Cedar swamps are typically a west coast swamp...
I have pictures of leopard and carpenters frogs taken during a bioblitz for the TNC in a White Cedar Bog.

Ed

Actually i find most of the frogs around here in cedar/ pine swamps. Well i should say the most diverse selection of them rather than most. in the seasonal cedar swamp i found grey tree frogs, leopard frogs, tiny wood frogs,extra tiny spring peepers, bull frogs, and the tadpoles from most of these types of frogs not to mention toads, salamanders, snappingturtles, spotted turtles, stinkpot turtles, and painted turtles. strangely no snakes. But i guess they are just more illusive.

=D not that this is frog related but my snake eggs are hatching today!

Based on the species you listed you are on the east coast which would make these Atlantic or Northern White Cedars.

Snakes can be difficult to locate in a pine/cedar swamp as there is often very little dry ground that gets enough sun for basking.

Ed