Question for you 'natural' looking set up guys.

[Sauzo]

So I've been thinking of spicing up the little boa cages in a test for the big boas and Caesar. I want to put in some silk vines again and would like to put in a nice piece of driftwood. My question is last time i did driftwood years and years ago on a coco substrate, the driftwood started molding all around where it contacted the coco. How do you guys keep your driftwood from molding short of suspending it like perches?

[MissterDog]

Mind you I don’t use my driftwood as perches but I use Minwax polycrylic sealant(water based and non toxic/low voc) on mine. So far going 8 months strong with no sign of mold of any sort. It’s water resistant but not waterproof so I wouldn’t submerge it in water.

Another sealant I’ve used, though not on my wood pieces yet but on my custom decor, I’ve used this sealant, which is water proof. Both have been working great for me so far!
https://www.amazon.com/AgraLife-TriC.../dp/B00GG0B3X6

[SDA]

Depends on the wood. In a fully bioacoustics rice setup, your micro fauna should help control the mold but you also need to bake the wood even if driftwood to kill all spores. I recommend getting from pet shops or online that autoclave and season the wood to help li
it decay and bringing in fungal and mold spores. You need to sterilize everything you bring in especially love plants as they harbor mold as well. Bleach soak the plants and strip soil before planting to limit exposure.

[Sauzo]

Well it would be pet shop driftwood. Last time i used a piece of the pet shop driftwood, like i said, it molded right at where it sat on the Eco Earth.

So i would basically need to seal it?

[zina10]

What you can do is pick a piece that is JUST right. Meaning one that has less points of contact with the bottom. You can also mount the driftwood on a good sized piece of flat stone slate. Looks really nice and keeps it off of the substrate. Also keeps it from falling over and keeps it in the position you want it in.

Aside from that, unless you have a species such as a Rainbow Boa, your humidity shouldn't stay so high as to make it mold. Just try to keep it off the substrate by choosing the right pieces or mounting them on slate.

[zina10]

[SDA]

Well the problem is wood + moisture + low ventilation + any outside contamination will always = mold.

Your choice is sterilize everything that goes in, including washing your hands every time you are going in or use synthetic simulated wood. All wood will mold if coming in contact with moisture and spores get into the cage.

If you are not going bioactive then keep the substrate dry and use other means to keep humidity up. I have no mold in any of my cages and I live in a dense forest in west Tennessee which has insane decaying organisms and we have mold everywhere.

[Sauzo]

See thats the problem. I can do wood perches which wouldnt mold as i have those in Pat's cage and they are fine and he has a constant 50-70% humidity. The thing is, his perches never touch any wet or damp things as i dont mist the cage.

The big pieces of wood would touch the substrate in the boa's cages. I might just go with a single perch for them. Maybe i'll order some from Specialty Enclosures and then order green PVC pipe and wrap and zip tie a silk vine on it to give grip.

And there is no way you can sterilize everything. Snakes will poop and piss, spores are carried on the air, feding FT food will get dragged through the substrate. Guess I'll probably just skip the wood logs and like i said, just rig up a perch for them or just go with a bunch of silk vines to give a nice jungle feel lol since they do already have their shelves which they use.

[zina10]

Did you see the above pictures ??

You can mount the big pieces on rock slate! You can be really creative and fasten the wood so it will stay up in the position you like. The little bit of substrate that may get dragged onto the slate won't be enough to cause any issue as it wouldn't be thick and dry quickly. You can even fasten the wood in more then one spot on the slate to keep it off the ground. Plus it looks wicked awesome

[zina10]

For example, if you found a piece such as that you could easily make it work. You can get 2 beautiful pieces of slate and drill through it. On the left you have only one attachment point, the part that touches the ground. On the right you would need a larger piece of slate and drill 2 holes and attach it to the 2 legs of the wood.

That would make a custom piece that would be quite very beautiful for a snake. It would be long and sturdy, too! Plus the slate adds to the natural look and helps the snake shed as well






This piece (shown in a fish tank) you could also attach to 2 pieces of slate. On the left you would need a larger piece and drill 3 holes to attach to the 3 legs and on the right you would need just one hole in a piece of slate. Between the 2 flat rocks it would be stable and look absolutely amazing in a snake cage! So much "more" then just perches, I think.