Redwood bark

[kibakiba]

My mom put a piece of bark in the "boys" tank. It's drift wood that comes from a red wood tree. Is is safe to keep in there? They seem to enjoy having it, but I'm concerned for their safety. My mom said it's about 20 years old, too. My great grandma gave it to her before she died.

[guidofatherof5]

I believe Redwood is a member of the pine family.

[kibakiba]

Alright, I'll take it out as a safe measure. It's a shame, the snakes were all huddled under it ;)

[guidofatherof5]

Throw in a couple paper towel rolls, they'll never know the difference.:D

[kibakiba]

Haha, Snap and Ember hate toilet paper rolls. I don't know why. Ember, whose a fraidy cat, would much rather sit out in the open than go in a roll. Snakey loves them though! I'm glad they don't go to "waste" in there :D

[ConcinusMan]

I believe Redwood is a member of the pine family.

From wiki : "The name sequoia sometimes refers to the subfamily Sequoioideae (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sequoioideae), which includes S. sempervirens along with Sequoiadendron (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sequoiadendron) (giant sequoia) and Metasequoia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metasequoia) (dawn redwood). On its own, the term redwood usually refers to the coast redwood"

We have a "redwood" native to the Northwest, and it's a cedar. We do have planted coast redwoods and giant sequoia too.

In any case, I wouldn't use any of those species, especially the redwood cedar. All of them have irritating oils with varying toxicity. If it has a cone, or a berry like cedar and juniper, don't use it. The only exception to the cone rule is Fir. (reptibark is douglas fir bark) Fir does have a smooth and rather soft cone.

[kibakiba]

I just wasn't sure since it was driftwood at one point, and it's over 20 years old. I took it out quite some time ago. My mom had a fit about it, but yeah.