HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Does any one use cypress in thier tanks or know if it is a safe wood? I found where I can collect cypress driftwood but want to make sure that it is a "safe" wood before collecting enough for both my turtle and my hermies.

It's not on the safe wood list that I have, but I may not have to most current list.

Vicki from Hermit crab addiction lists cypress as a safe wood for crabitats.http://en.allexperts.com/q/Her...2008/1 ... ypressThis suggests that the cypress trees aren't poison to humans or animals.http://www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Wi...aces/E ... s.aspxThis link says cypress grows in the Florida everglades where hermit crabs are native.Side note: There are bushes called cypress which are toxic.

Cool! I'll be adding it to my safe list then!

Yep! They have it sold at PetsMart for lizards, so it should be good.

Cypress is a term that is applied to any plant that grows in a swampy or boggy area and true cypress is toxic to hermitcrabs unfortunately.True cypress is a actually a conifer(cone bearer) much like pine and spruce and while small amounts of pine have been determined to be safe any amount of true cypress has not.This is due in part because the phenols( chemical responsible for the smell) are several times more potent than that of pine and this particular class of conifer harbors a natural insecticide which makes it toxic to several species of insects and as such we don't yet know the true extent of the toxin on crustacean's and more specifically hermitcrabs.The safe cypress is a swamp dweller and is called taxodium cypress or more commonly know as Bald cypress it typically grows hollow and is a favorite because of it's durability in wet climates.Bald cypress is actually a fake cypress.

@Crabber85Someone should tell Vicki at hermit crab addiction about the distinction between other types of Cypress and "True Cypress" then. She has it on the safe wood list.******However:http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Cypress "cypress, in botany:cypress, common name for members of the Cupressaceae, a widely distributed family of coniferous shrubs and trees. The major genera are juniper, or any tree or shrub of the genus Juniperus, aromatic evergreens of the family Cupressaceae (cypress family), widely distributed over the north temperate zone. Thuja, aromatic evergreen tree of the genus Thuja of the family Cupressaceae (cypress family), with scalelike leaves borne on flattened branchlets of a fanlike appearance and with very small cones. and Cupressus (the true cypresses). Species of the latter, found in S Europe, East Asia, and W North America, are resinous evergreens with a fragrant, durable wood and scalelike leaves."*********I wonder if the driftwood in question is less likely to be "True Cypress" because of the location of Hughes Springs tx. On the map it looks a little east of the center of the US?So maybe the True Cypress would be hesitant to grow there.It's odd that the earlier link mentioned all sorts of nonpoisonous cypress trees but not "True cypress," which is poisonous.

I wouldnt even try cypress. Go for Maple or Oak.

Here's the type of cypress tree...i didn't know there were different types of cypress but that really does make sense...[IMG] [/IMG][IMG] [/IMG]

ignore the blue cooler in the second pic...i cropped out the guy fishing...lol. This is where I would be getting the cypress from though.

That looks like the bald cypress tree on this site. I'd have to vote that it's OK. http://www.ehow.com/list_64971...ld-cyp ... htmlHere's a picture of a poisonous "true cypress," which looks nothing like the one you pictured.http://be-eco-friendly.blogspo...saharan-cypress.html

Sooooo....I should be good then to get enough for both my hermits and my turtle?....Thanks Keg. Still waitin on others to weigh in on what they think. Theres no rush on me getting it as it's supposed to rain here for the next week and I am sorry but I am NOT going back off in those slews..When I went Wendsday I actually ended up having to get OUT of the flatbottom because the water was a LOT shallower than we thought and we ran aground in the MIDDLE of the channel. We have a week full of rain right now and even with that rain the pieces that I want won't be under water again for a while...lol.

I have to raise some concern over water quality as the tree will have retained any heavy metals or toxins which might have been in the water.If the area is highly trafficked by boat then the likelihood of contamination is higher so you may want to consider throughly washing the wood first maybe even rewashing before baking.The trees in the pics are of Bald cypresses so they the wood is safe. @Keg, Vicky actually has the right cypress listed as safe.I trust her because she's been crabbing for a while now and has a good knowledge base.

Crabber, Where my husband goes there are hardly any boats that can get back there. Which is where I found the drift wood. He found this fishing hole by a series of wrong turns and close calls of getting knocked out of the boat by low hanging branches. He can't run the boat motor because of how shallow the water is and wither has to paddle in or in the case of how he found it using the trolling motor. Most people in this area can't get back that far because their boats draw to much waterand if you can't float in about 18-24 inches of water then you are to shallow. But I was planning to wash the wood and bake it a couple of times before putting it in the crabitat or turtle tank. I'll post some pics of the pieces when I go to collect them so you can kind of see where I got them from and how unique they are.

I have used swamp cypress in the past and my crabs liked it; I bought it on eBay I believe. But it was expensive and the mopani wood sold in most petstores is similar (in shape and hardness) and they seem to like it as much if not more.