Question regarding Phenols & BP's

chase556 · 08-18-13, 07:33 PM

I made a thread awhile ago about my BP getting sick, happy to report he/she is better now, but going into shed. He/She really hates her enclosure despite it being the proper size, so I've decided to build him/her a larger one out of a table I'm not using.

I was using a large clay flower pot as one of his/her hides, but this BP seems to really appreciate his/her space, so that gave me the thought of using some large pieces of bark that would serve well as his/her hide, but I read up on phenol's but couldn't find anything relating to bark it's self.

In the FAQ it states that soft 'woods' contain phenol, does this only apply only to manufactured wood chips? or all types of soft wood in general? I mean we have some pretty huge fir's up here, and given her like her space, an extra large hide like that seems like it would work, any thoughts? I'm sure I can come up other large hides fairly easily, just wanted some input.

Much appreciated.

infernalis · 08-18-13, 07:41 PM

Manufactured lumber is kiln dried, the heat forces Phenols and Turpenes out.

This vapour is then collected and sold to the chemical industry for things like turpentine.

Chip bedding is shredded lumber, kiln dried.

The chemicals are burned off, AKA either gone or reduced to negligible levels.

chase556 · 08-18-13, 08:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by infernalis

Manufactured lumber is kiln dried, the heat forces Phenols and Turpenes out.

This vapour is then collected and sold to the chemical industry for things like turpentine.

Chip bedding is shredded lumber, kiln dried.

The chemicals are burned off, AKA either gone or reduced to negligible levels.

Then what's the fuss about cedar chips and the phenol toxicity then? My question was more related to lumber that HASEN'T been treated. Are you saying until treated Phenols exist in things like cedar/red/Douglas fir?

On a side note, my BP seems to be an odd one. One of the most docile animals I have ever had, extremely friendly doesn't mind being held. This is the strange part, she/he consistently tried to escape his/her original enclosure a LOT. This was at about 65% humidity 90-95~ temp. When I was cleaning his/her cage and letting it dry properly I had placed him/her a blanket, on the table I'm converting, out in the open.

he/she doesn't even attempt to escape, even though the surface area is huge, he/she seems really content there. I mean I took time to setup his/her hide there, along with folding the large blanket properly so there were a bunch of high and low points. The humidity sucks, once I get done building it I can control the humidity better.

Not really sure what's going on, maybe my BP just appreciates all the extra space.

KORBIN5895 · 08-18-13, 09:04 PM

Yours would be the one in a billion if it prefers large open space.

smy_749 · 08-18-13, 09:12 PM

Its probably too hot if the temp in the enclosure is 95 degrees. Dunno why your giving a 5 degree range, and I hope that its only the basking/hot spot and not the entire enclosure a that temp. Maybe hes trying to escape the oven. As korbin said, you'd have the one ball python since the beginning of time, who prefers open spaces :P

chase556 · 08-18-13, 09:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smy_749

Its probably too hot if the temp in the enclosure is 95 degrees. Dunno why your giving a 5 degree range, and I hope that its only the basking/hot spot and not the entire enclosure a that temp. Maybe hes trying to escape the oven. As korbin said, you'd have the one ball python since the beginning of time, who prefers open spaces :P

Yes, that's ONLY the basking spot, and it's a little higher up than the rest specifically set for basking. Honestly I've tried a bunch of different temp ranges 83-87, lower at night higher during the day, etc. Too many cooks in the kitchen giving me advice on his/her temp, so I had to mess around with it a bit, but my BP is completely happy with it now.

I'm weird-ed out by the open spaces thing too, but honestly the temps haven't been very different. Where he/she is now is a bit warmer constantly, but I can't see any reasons for what he/she is doing. Temp was in normal ranges in his/her enclosure, humidity @ about 65 degrees, yet he/she constantly wanted to escape.

Like I said, I put him/her on one of my big thick blankets on an open table, curved some spots for her to have a dark hide, and an open ended hide and he/she has loved it ever since, not even tried to move off of it.

Though he/she was loose in the house once, he/she actually tried to climb up a door frame, up to the top and it was completely open there too. Oddly enough, he/she could have tried to go behind the freezer (a common place because the motor is warm) but didn't. She escaped once or twice when he/she was in his/her old tank, but even then she didn't go for the nearest dark spot, he/she was exploring.

So far it's been a really challenging experience keeping him/her okay, especially going straight from getting over an RI then going straight into a shed, but honestly me and this snake have bonded. The only time my BP gets flinchy is if you go near the back of his/her head too quickly. Other than that docile and friendly as any animal I have ever had.