Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i was at home depo getting some playdand for a beardie tank and i saw some orchid bark, it looks an awfull lot like the zoomed bark i have....

is this type of bark safe for reptiles? do/have you used it?

if it is safe and i get some dont worry, id boil or bake it, i dont even trust pet store stuff. i want to keep my pets parasite free

Woodchips are unsafe for herps, especially curious ones that like to eat things, and overzealous eaters that are likely to accidentally ingest a chunk.

I've seen quite a few deaths and/or expensive vet bills caused by woodchips.

Personally, I only use them if they're part of a forest floor mix (where soil makes up the bulk of the substrate, not woodchips).

Christina Miller
Herptiles.net

alright, but that wasnt what i meant.. i mean is the wood toxic like ceadar. i have used wood chips for soem of my pets for years, it isnt a problem.... i either feed them in a seperate box or i use a food dish. that should be done with most other bedding.
so the question is about if the wood itself is toxic to reptiles or safe to use.

The "orchid bark" sold at Home Depot is actually fir bark that is sold in graded sizes. It is also the same bark that is marketed for reptiles. Fir is in the pine family, but isn't as aromatic as most species of pines.

My personal opinion would be to avoid it-if possible or have a very small percentage mixed with a more inert substrate media.

Hopefully, others can add their knowledgeable opinions to this.

I don't believe orchid bark releases dangerous fumes, but others should confirm this.

I agree that if you are feeding in a separate enclosure then you eliminate the possibility of animals ingesting the woodcips accidentally, but I've personally seen curious bearded dragons and iguanas intentionally eat woodchips, and impactions were the result. As long as your animals are well-fed and don't have the bad habit of pica, then the risk is quite low.

ahah alright! the one one with bark at the moment is my ball python, and no he doesnt eat it luckily! i have a seperate food box for him but i have ocasionally fed him in his tank, but i always watch him when he eats to make sure everything is ok. pluss he will only take live mice so i watch to make sure they dont injure him.

ive had bark with my box turtle wich seems to do well because he is so picky with normal food alone he wouldnt eat his bedding. i was thinking of either keeping it the coconut fiber he has now or changing to bark, the bark didnt get in his eyes like the coconut stuff ocasionally does.

what about the coconut husk bark ive seen lately, has anyone tried that? i woudl think it would hold water/humidity better.

i have been using orchid bark for a while now, and i havent had any negative side effects. i actually prefer the orchid bark to the bedding bark sold in petshops because the pieces of bark in the orchid bark are larger(and cosnt 1/5 the price). i do recomend however that you sift it out with some fine mesh chicken wire to remove any particles. i also recomend verifying that the bark doesnt have any wood splinters, or aded fillers like percolite vermiculite or fertilizers.
i bought a bag a while ago with wood splinters, and had to toss the whole thing.
the most important factor i would say is how big are the animals you are using the bark for, and how are you feeding them. snakes tend to swallow whatever gets in their mouth, but geckos tend to be more careful. i use orchid bark with my geckos, baby corn snake and my bullsnake, but opt for carpet for my bps.

toxic fumes come from the wood itself, not the bark.

ah thanks! i was thinking i would have to sift it, i do that with petstore bark occasionally cus sometimes its a bit dusty. i feed my boxie on paper plates that i cut into 4 peices, he has that bed-a-beats stuff at the moment and i was thinking about changing back to bark. i used to have him in bark, it worked pretty well.
i watch the ball very closely! usually put him in a seperate feeding box.
next time im at home depo ill look the bag over to make sure they didnt add anything else, my boxie likes to dig obviously and i dont want him getting any splinters! what do you gusy think about the bed-a-beast VS bark? keeping in mind my boxie doesnt either of those beddings.

it is the exact same type of bark, western fir, or douglas fir. the orchid bark also has pieces of volcanic rock.
you have to be careful what type you buy, some come with perlite and fertilizers.
honestly, you want the cheapest orchid bark, it will haveless added to it.
i find some of the orchid bark needs to be sifted, as there can be some fine pieces in with the bark.
ps sorry it took so long to respond