Pine/Cedar wood

Does anyone know for sure if Pine Wood is actually toxic to BP's?? I am wondering because my husband has made a rack, and after he finished we realized that all plywood that Homedepot sales is Pine. At one time, someone told us that pine is equally as toxic as cedar. If so, since this is just a rack for the tubs and they will not be actually directly on it, would it still bother them? (Keeping in mind that we drilled holes for them in the sides of their tubs.) We just dont want to trust the opinions of the people we got our first snakes from, so any help is appreciated. Thanks.:confused:

The only kind of pine that is remotely acceptable is kiln dried pine.

I would go through with some wood sealant and apply a few coats for that.

I personally would just not use the rack, but if you sealed it very well it might be fine.

Its not the actual wood thats toxic, it is the phenols it emmits.

Melamine is a good alternative.

I am still in doubt because as I looked up online racks for reptiles, I found hundres of breeders that use plywood, which asccording to homedepot is made from pine, to build their racks. I even found a ton of breeders who are breeding BP's that have how to build your own racks on their web sights, and they actually say that they just bought pine 1 x's to build their racks. So I dont know for sure. I mean there are holes in the tubs for air, but the racks is primered with 3 coats and then, just to be sure, my hubby put Hi-Temp paint that is used on outdoor grills and engine blocks on it. Of course, we will wait a whole week for it to dry and air out before putting them in it, but do you guys think with the primer and paint the pine will still hurt them?

I doubt it would be harmful if it is sealed. Its really cedar that you have to worry about. Pine isn't as bad as cedar inthe phenol department.

I might get some thumbs down for this but one of my balls has been on pine for about 3 months now with not one problem at all. I ran out of aspen when I was cleaning so I put some pine in there. It was also from the top of the bag and wasn't dusty at all so that I'm sure helped.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Animals As Leaders

I might get some thumbs down for this but one of my balls has been on pine for about 3 months now with not one problem at all. I ran out of aspen when I was cleaning so I put some pine in there. It was also from the top of the bag and wasn't dusty at all so that I'm sure helped.

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It's the oils not the dust.
Phenols, bad for your snake, bad for rats.
Yep, thumbs down, :P

Quote:

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Originally Posted by snakesRkewl

It's the oils not the dust.
Phenols, bad for your snake, bad for rats.
Yep, thumbs down, :P

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Or, you may talk to people who have been using both pine substrate and racks for years with no problems at all.

Yes, phenols are not good, but how are you measuring them?

I don't measure it since I don't use it.
Makes no sense to me to "test" my snakes on pine when it is known to be an issue in many small animals.

When I can google "is pine safe for my snake",
and find reputable websites touting the use of pine, I'll gladly try it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by snakesRkewl

I don't measure it since I don't use it.
Makes no sense to me to "test" my snakes on pine when it is known to be an issue in many small animals.

When I can google "is pine safe for my snake",
and find reputable websites touting the use of pine, I'll gladly try it.

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So, anything you can google is true?

Do you have any of these "reputable" websites you could link me to?