Looking for branches for cage setup

[Shauna_T]

Hi I am new to the forum and haven't got my boy yet. I will be getting an Ambilobe male Panther who will be 6-7 months old when i get him. I am converting my armoire into a cage for him. I live in Jefferson/Albany area of Oregon and was wondering if anyone lives in this area and can tell me a good place to go find or purchase branches for my enclosure the inside dimensions are 41.5" x 35.5" x 2.25" any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Tkrd69]

Any branch that's not aromatic and sap producing. Oak works great. @MissSkittles might have a list. I use oak but I have access to a lot of land around my house. Not sure what's in your area

 

[IanGlo]

If you're interested in harvesting your own look for sticks and branches that have lost their bark or have easy to remove bark and vary the branch thickness so your guy has some perch options that fit his feets.

My boy eats the bark and I heard that can be risky on this forum. I ended up using a pressure washer on his new replacement branches that had bark on them and that was a big chore. I would have been much faster if i spent a little more time looking for some bark free branches.

I saw a few posts saying you can put the branches in the oven at a low heat to sanitize them. I can't remember what temps and how long though. Maybe someone can chime in on that.

 

[Ronald7232]

If you're interested in harvesting your own look for sticks and branches that have lost their bark or have easy to remove bark and vary the branch thickness so your guy has some perch options that fit his feets.

My boy eats the bark and I heard that can be risky on this forum. I ended up using a pressure washer on his new replacement branches that had bark on them and that was a big chore. I would have been much faster if i spent a little more time looking for some bark free branches.

I saw a few posts saying you can put the branches in the oven at a low heat to sanitize them. I can't remember what temps and how long though. Maybe someone can chime in on that.

350F- for 15 minutes is best

 

[Beman]

Hi I am new to the forum and haven't got my boy yet. I will be getting an Ambilobe male Panther who will be 6-7 months old when i get him. I am converting my armoire into a cage for him. I live in Jefferson/Albany area of Oregon and was wondering if anyone lives in this area and can tell me a good place to go find or purchase branches for my enclosure the inside dimensions are 41.5" x 35.5" x 2.25" any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hi there welcome to the forum. No sap producers. So no pine, cedar, and eucalyptus. Any hard wood would be good. Birch is a nice strong tree. You can cut them off the tree and let them dry out or pull from the ground if they are fresh fallen. I do not like to gather from the ground if they have been there long, you can bring with them other little bugs. Also if you have a local tree trimming business call them. A lot of times they will let you take what they trim from a job site. Also they typically know the tree type.

I do not strip my branches... The bark lets them last longer. My last group I got was from a fresh cut off my neighbors tree. I just gave them all a wash to get bird poop etc off and then let them dry out for 2 weeks. Cut to size as I was building out the framework of the cage.

 

[Shauna_T]

Ok so drying only takes 2 weeks even if they are 3 feet long? And do I need to clean with a reptile safe disinfectant or just a dish soap and water?

Hi there welcome to the forum. No sap producers. So no pine, cedar, and eucalyptus. Any hard wood would be good. Birch is a nice strong tree. You can cut them off the tree and let them dry out or pull from the ground if they are fresh fallen. I do not like to gather from the ground if they have been there long, you can bring with them other little bugs. Also if you have a local tree trimming business call them. A lot of times they will let you take what they trim from a job site. Also they typically know the tree type.

I do not strip my branches... The bark lets them last longer. My last group I got was from a fresh cut off my neighbors tree. I just gave them all a wash to get bird poop etc off and then let them dry out for 2 weeks. Cut to size as I was building out the framework of the cage.

 

[Shauna_T]

Hi there welcome to the forum. No sap producers. So no pine, cedar, and eucalyptus. Any hard wood would be good. Birch is a nice strong tree. You can cut them off the tree and let them dry out or pull from the ground if they are fresh fallen. I do not like to gather from the ground if they have been there long, you can bring with them other little bugs. Also if you have a local tree trimming business call them. A lot of times they will let you take what they trim from a job site. Also they typically know the tree type.

I do not strip my branches... The bark lets them last longer. My last group I got was from a fresh cut off my neighbors tree. I just gave them all a wash to get bird poop etc off and then let them dry out for 2 weeks. Cut to size as I was building out the framework of the cage.

I have a maple tree in my yard would it be ok to harvest from that?

 

[Tkrd69]

Maple trees produces sap, so I would say no but I'm no expert

 

[Shauna_T]

Maple trees produces sap, so I would say no but I'm no expert

It is a red maple if that matters

 

[Tkrd69]

@DeremensisBlue or @Sonny13 might know more since it does produce syrup

 

[Shauna_T]

What about cotton wood? My daughter has cotton wood trees apple trees a plum tree and a pear tree will any of these work?

 

[MissSkittles]

I’ve no idea if the trees you’ve mentioned would work, but as long as they don’t have a sticky sap or anything but a ‘normal’ wood odor, they should be fine. I use primarily oak and my last scavenging I found a downed sycamore in a wild brush area. I usually ‘stock up’ when one of my neighbors has their massive oak tree trimmed as I know they don’t use any chemicals. I just give a little scrub with Dawn dish soap to remove bird poo, bugs and whatever else. Then I rinse very well and rinse again and let dry in the (Florida) sun. I don’t remove bark or anything else that doesn’t come off from my little scrub.

 

[Shauna_T]

Ok thank you

 

[suprdude]

I think large bushes are better than tree branches, unless it's a small tree. Also, I lot of people don't disinfect branches, including chameleon guru Bill Strand.

 

[Sonny13]

I’m using twigs and branches from a maple tree from my garden as well as from olive tree (which I really like). Just curt them directly from the tree and you’re all good. No sap and bark stays on it for already a year.

 

[SteveH]

Hard wood branches like oak work great. Apple and maple would also be good if already dried out.

 

[Shauna_T]

I’m using twigs and branches from a maple tree from my garden as well as from olive tree (which I really like). Just curt them directly from the tree and you’re all good. No sap and bark stays on it for already a year.

Awesome thank you

 

[Beman]

They will not completely dry out in two weeks when fresh cut but IMO its not a concern if your using a non sap producer. I know people who have used branches off fruit trees as well.

The big ones that you avoid is Pine, Cedar, and Eucalyptus.

 

[Shauna_T]

Thank you everyone so much I greatly appreciate all the responses

 

[Multivitamins]

What about cotton wood? My daughter has cotton wood trees apple trees a plum tree and a pear tree will any of these work?

I had good luck getting some variety branches at Michaels craft store they had some that were easy to cut to length and offered different diameter so the cham can climb on it and use its grippers. I also got some wood from a local reptile shop. Fish stores will also sell wood for hardscapes that can 1000% be used for chameleons. And often time look beautiful.

On the subject of cleaning the branches it does go along way to know where they were collected as Beatles and pest could have burrowed in. Some people will soak and wash and bake the branches (which I've done) and some people will just let them cook in the sun for a while to and brush off any debris. It doesn't hurt to go the extra step to clean them especially if you are unsure if it was fresh cut or had been sitting and things could Burrow into it. Like I mentioned on the plant post. There are always hitch hikers.