Mopani wood - in my opinion, is one of the most debated accessories when it comes to enrichment. This idea stems from the well-known hamster hideout form on a post made a few years back, but let's look at these bold claims and how accurate are they really?
Let's start off with what Mopani Wood is:
Mopani Wood is a type of driftwood commonly used in the fish keeping and aquascaping community. It is recognized and known for its dark and rich brown coloring. It is also commonly used in the fish keeping hobby as it provides a large number of tannins when submerged for long periods of time making it a must-have in most betta tanks.
"But why is it considered unsafe?"
This "unsafe theory" originated from a post oh hamster hideout form in 2008 where multiple individuals mentioned possible molding an tannins. These claims are the more commonly mentioned when talking about thus wood but - let's talk about how accurate these claims actually are:
So what are these claims?
1. This wood molds and creates a white film around itself: as this wood is commonly use in fish keeping and is most commonly seen in an aquascaping scenario it is important to note that this situation should be looked at from an aquatic scenario - therefore this leaves the situation with 2 possible causes for this claim: 1: Biofilm; this "white film" people claim could commonly be what is called biofilm. This is a coat of bacteria that commonly grows on any object that is submerged in water for a long time. or 2: Algae; algae is commonly present in small amounts in planted fish tanks, algae can be caused due to excess nutrients in the water, leaving your plant lights on for too long, sunlight, etc. Due to its green and possible brown color it can easily be confused with mold to a non-fish keeper. "But what about in a hamster cage? Could it mold then?" Unless a large build up of humidity this should not be of concern.
2. It releases tannins which is bad: tannins are a sort of natural occurring colorant present in things like wood, leaves, flowers, etc. This can commonly be seen in tea making and drinking! Tannins are what creates that dark color in water when making tea, another example commonly known in the aquarium hobby would be indian almond leaves which create a very dark and creamy brown in fish tanks - but how about hamsters? Well elements causing of tannins are very common in hamster enclosures. These can be seen in foraging mixes as these flowers and leaves commonly observed as a way to provide natural enrichment are also used in tea making such as Chamomile, Dandelion and Raspberry Leaf which all release tannins. Here is a great example:
Notice that deep yellow? That is Chamomile tea, and those colors are naturally occurring tannins that were released in water. These like mentioned are natural occurring pigments meaning they do not pose a treat to your furry friend! And just like that we easily and quickly debunked these myths. Like I mentioned in the tittle this was going to be an informal discussion but even though there is a little lack of structure within this text I hope it helped some hammy out there! Thank you for reading and thank you to @liszazandfurc for the cover picture! Me and Latte hope you have a nice rest of your day
