Will live conifers cause a problem?

[-MARWOLAETH-]

I'm toying with the idea of putting Juniper shrubs (most likely an adult so it doesn't have spiky needles) in my with my marcianus to give her something to climb on and to fit in with the vivs semi arid grassland theme.

Before I add some -Do live conifer trees effect animals the same way as chopped Coniferous wood does?

[guidofatherof5]

Good question.

[Stefan-A]

What sort of juniper?

[Selkielass]

Plenty of junipers, pines and cedars in my area- snakes don't seem to mind them at all.
In a restricted space tho... who knows?

[-MARWOLAETH-]

What sort of juniper?

Probably Chinese juniper (J.chinensis) it seems the most readily available.

[Stefan-A]

I see. I figured it couldn't be J. communis, because that one stays spiky. It probably wouldn't do well in enclosures, either.

[ConcinusMan]

I'm pretty sure that I read somewhere that it's gasses in an enclosed space, and direct contact with oils coming from the shavings that cause the problems. I would think that would be less of a problem with a live juniper in an enclosure. It's not like they're going to be wallowing in the oils and a live tree is going to emit mainly oxygen I would think. If you don't cut into the tree and/or grind it up I don't think it's likely to cause problems.

[-MARWOLAETH-]

[ConcinusMan]

Probably starved for water and half dead. Very difficult to burn a live juniper around here. When they're dead or starved for water that's another matter. Yes, the sap/resin in just about any tree is highly flammable but the water content usually gets in the way.

[Spankenstyne]

http://www.mfc.ms.gov/pdf/Firewise/S...all%202007.pdf

I would say to avoid it for apparant flammability reasons, especially in an enclosed space with a heat source (snake enclosure). I honestly didn't realize that certain shrubs could be so much more flammable than others while still living, unless they were very dry. I also assumed like Richard stated that the water content would prevent most of that but apparently not.