Driftwood Use Tortoise Safe?

Beasty_Artemis · Dec 12, 2016

I live in Oregon, and my mom gave me some cool pieces of driftwood that she collected on the coast.
I want to use multiple pieces to make my cascading waterfall...
But is driftwood safe to use in my tortoise fountain ?
I know cork and mopani wood are recommended. But someone in a tutorial said any kind of driftwood is safe.
Any thoughts?

Big Ol Tortoise · Dec 12, 2016

Driftwood should be totally safe. I'd like to see what other members think or know

Tidgy's Dad · Dec 12, 2016

I would soak it for a day to remove the salt.
Also driftwood can contain all sorts of insects and other creepy crawlies, so watch out.
But otherwise should be fine I should think.

Beasty_Artemis · Dec 12, 2016

Tidgy's Dad said:
I would soak it for a day to remove the salt.
Also driftwood can contain all sorts of insects and other creepy crawlies, so watch out.
But otherwise should be fine I should think.

So, after some creative brainstorming on designs, I put my driftwood in the freezer overnight to kill anything that might inhabit them!

Beasty_Artemis · Dec 12, 2016

I had been told in the past about soaking then rinsing, then soaking and rinsing, then again, and again, etc, etc. For cleaning driftwood.
So, I was prepared for the process having to take a few cycles. I was more surprised that it could only take one soak to purify the wood

HI Tortoise Rescue · Dec 12, 2016

A lot depends on your setup. If the water in your fountain runs continuously, then salt is going to be leached out of the driftwood, & will be available for your tortoise, & that's not necessarily a good thing, long-term. But multiple soak/rinses will still leave some salt, so you might check to see how sensitive your tortoise is to sodium chloride.

Ken

Beasty_Artemis · Dec 12, 2016

HI Tortoise Rescue said:
A lot depends on your setup. If the water in your fountain runs continuously, then salt is going to be leached out of the driftwood, & will be available for your tortoise, & that's not necessarily a good thing, long-term. But multiple soak/rinses will still leave some salt, so you might check to see how sensitive your tortoise is to sodium chloride.

Ken

Even after soaking multiple times for a week or two continuously? I was hoping that would do the trick.
I'm planning on just letting it soak the whole time I'm doing my table build anyway, just to be safe. I'll be changing the water multiple times a day. A little obsessed with my project, what can I say?

JoesMum · Dec 12, 2016

Beasty_Artemis said:
Even after soaking multiple times for a week or two continuously? I was hoping that would do the trick.
I'm planning on just letting it soak the whole time I'm doing my table build anyway, just to be safe. I'll be changing the water multiple times a day. A little obsessed with my project, what can I say?

You do need to do regular water changes during the soaking. Otherwise the wood ends up soaking in brine which defeats the object. I'd soak and change the water daily over a fortnight - then check the pH of the water using an aquarium water test kit which will tell you whether you have got rid of most of the salt or not.

jinete · Dec 14, 2016

I usually boil anything from "outdoors" for 15-20 minutes before I will place it with my reptiles.

Driftwood Use Tortoise Safe?

Beasty_Artemis

Well-Known Member

Big Ol Tortoise

Well-Known Member

Tidgy's Dad

Well-Known Member

Beasty_Artemis

Well-Known Member

Beasty_Artemis

Well-Known Member

HI Tortoise Rescue

Active Member

Beasty_Artemis

Well-Known Member

JoesMum

Well-Known Member

jinete

New Member

Similar threads

New Posts