Climbing Branch

[knox]

I decided to make my own climbing "branches".

I purchased a couple of 2 inch x 4 feet Hardwood Dowels from Home Depot @ $7 each. Measured and cut to go from one lower end corner to one upper end corner.

Now the fun part. I took a hatchet and hacked away, covering the dowel with splits and divots - nothing deep, just surface - for the snake to grip.

Next, I took a torch and gently burned some coloring into the dowel, making it look much more natural. It almost has a bamboo look to it, though that is not necessarily what I was going for.

Last step, cut a groove in a smaller Dowel, glue and nail as cross members for more stability for the snake.

I think she approves:







The area right under the light on the branch is around 100 degrees, with the floor under the light being 85. Cool side is around 76. She ate yesterday, so she was soaking up some heat for about 10 minutes before she slithered to the floor. Her options for thermoregulating just opened up a bit.

I have one in my 40 Gallon Cal King tank as well.

[millertime89]

good idea, love the way it looks. I'm a form<function guy, but when you get both its the best.

[infernalis]

turned out nice.

[knox]

Thanks! I thought about adding some plastic vines, but I like the look of the bare wood.

[shaunyboy]

it looks very nice,i especially like the burnt effect

not trying to be cheeky,but did you make sure the type of wood you used is NOT toxic to that species of snake ?

cheers shaun

[knox]

Originally Posted by shaunyboy

it looks very nice,i especially like the burnt effect

not trying to be cheeky,but did you make sure the type of wood you used is NOT toxic to that species of snake ?

cheers shaun

Excellent question. Not offended at all.

Yes, it is a hard wood. Not sure if it is Beech, Ash, or Aspen, but it is definitely not coniferous. No aromatic oils to inhale.

[bladeblaster]

nice work, I usually chop a few branches from the tree in my front garden for climbing branches

[knox]

Originally Posted by bladeblaster

nice work, I usually chop a few branches from the tree in my front garden for climbing branches

Living in an apartment, that is frowned upon

Natural does look much better, though.

[Sapphyr]

Oh wow~ c: Nice job~ It looks amazing I'm really glad she likes it, too~ c:

[bladeblaster]

here is one of mine

[bbb13]

Originally Posted by knox

I decided to make my own climbing "branches".

I purchased a couple of 2 inch x 4 feet Hardwood Dowels from Home Depot @ $7 each. Measured and cut to go from one lower end corner to one upper end corner.

Now the fun part. I took a hatchet and hacked away, covering the dowel with splits and divots - nothing deep, just surface - for the snake to grip.

Next, I took a torch and gently burned some coloring into the dowel, making it look much more natural. It almost has a bamboo look to it, though that is not necessarily what I was going for.

Last step, cut a groove in a smaller Dowel, glue and nail as cross members for more stability for the snake.

I think she approves:







The area right under the light on the branch is around 100 degrees, with the floor under the light being 85. Cool side is around 76. She ate yesterday, so she was soaking up some heat for about 10 minutes before she slithered to the floor. Her options for thermoregulating just opened up a bit.

I have one in my 40 Gallon Cal King tank as well.

I was wondering if you treated the dowels with anything or if it’s necessary? I mist twice a day so I'm just concerned about moisture issues.

[knox]

No, I didn't do anything at all to them. I doubt misting would be much of a problem.

But I am not as sterile with my snakes as some are, nor do I try to keep everything "perfect". They encounter so much in the wild, including temperature fluctuations as much as 15 to 20 degrees every day during the summer. They aren't as fragile as people seem to believe.

But back to the dowel. It is pretty dense, so water simply rolls off when I mist.

[knox]

Blade, that looks great!

[Jay]

Originally Posted by knox

No, I didn't do anything at all to them. I doubt misting would be much of a problem.

But I am not as sterile with my snakes as some are, nor do I try to keep everything "perfect". They encounter so much in the wild, including temperature fluctuations as much as 15 to 20 degrees every day during the summer. They aren't as fragile as people seem to believe.

But back to the dowel. It is pretty dense, so water simply rolls off when I mist.

Have you noticed that your snake is not in the wild.
Very poor keeping, and irisponsible. Please do some more research.

[Lankyrob]

They may experience things in the wild but they are captive. They die much younger in the wild because of the inadequate and inconsistent environment that they HAVE to deal with, THEY have no choice but YOU do.