Creosote

[Taylor T.]

How harmful is creosote to tortoises? This morning when we had our chimney swept the workers apparently weren't too careful about collecting it all to be transported away safely. Do I need to move his whole enclosure to another non infected area?

The enclosure is completely covered. I can't think of any way to remove it, maybe some of you do?

 

[Taylor T.]

Small clarification: when I say that the enclosure is completely covered, I mean that it is covered in creosote, not that the enclosure has a roof over it.

 

[vladimir]

Small clarification: when I say that the enclosure is completely covered, I mean that it is covered in creosote, not that the enclosure has a roof over it.

Ugh can you post pictures of how bad it is?

How much of a mess did they make? My chimney guys run a huge vacuum the whole time to try to capture the dust as it comes out

 

[Taylor T.]

Ugh can you post pictures of how bad it is?

How much of a mess did they make? My chimney guys run a huge vacuum the whole time to try to capture the dust as it comes out

They do run a vacuum when they are inside but this time they did it from the roof. I'm guessing he dropped the bucket full of the stuff when he was coming down the ladder.





It doesn't show up very well in the pictures, but the whole area now smells like railroad ties. All those little black things are chunks of creosote.

 

[vladimir]

They do run a vacuum when they are inside but this time they did it from the roof. I'm guessing he dropped the bucket full of the stuff when he was coming down the ladder.View attachment 236949
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It doesn't show up very well in the pictures, but the whole area now smells like railroad ties. All those little black things are chunks of creosote.

Ah got it now, at first I thought the mess was inside.

That stinks! Not sure the best way to clean it up... I'm going to make sure I mention something to my chimney guy this year to make sure none ends up in the yard. Last year there was a little out in the yard from when they took the connector pipe out to clean it.

How heavy are the pieces? Would a leaf blower do anything?

 

[NorCal tortoise guy]

I wonder if you could get them up with a shop vac?

 

[Taylor T.]

Ah got it now, at first I thought the mess was inside.

That stinks! Not sure the best way to clean it up... I'm going to make sure I mention something to my chimney guy this year to make sure none ends up in the yard. Last year there was a little out in the yard from when they took the connector pipe out to clean it.

How heavy are the pieces? Would a leaf blower do anything?

I tried using a shop vac hoping that it would pick them up but it didn't. They aren't that heavy, but they are kind of intertwined with the grass and stuck in the wet dirt. I don't think a leaf blower would do it either unfortunately.

I think I'm going to have to relocate his enclosure. It's certainly not a trivial amount of work, but I don't really see any better alternatives.

 

[vladimir]

I tried using a shop vac hoping that it would pick them up but it didn't. They aren't that heavy, but they are kind of intertwined with the grass and stuck in the wet dirt. I don't think a leaf blower would do it either unfortunately.

I think I'm going to have to relocate his enclosure. It's certainly not a trivial amount of work, but I don't really see any better alternatives.

Yeah that's tough - I think I'd probably do the same thing though, just to be safe. How large is the enclosure that you'll be relocating?

 

[Yvonne G]

I like the leaf blower idea.

 

[Taylor T.]

It's for my Russian BTW. The current enclosure is about 200Sqf, and I think I'll end up making a circular enclosure with a radius of 8'. That will give him 208Sqf of room so stomp around which I think is sufficient.

Since I won't be able to use the foundation of the house as one of the walls I will have to get more cinder blocks.

I also tried attaching the hose on the shop vac to the output end to see if I could blow it out like a leaf blower, but it didn't work. I guess they're just too heavy.

 

[vladimir]

Good luck! Thanks for posting this, I'm going to say something to my chimney guy before he starts this year. [emoji106]

 

[Tom]

And here I thought creosote was what we put on railroad ties, or it was just a type of bush…

I have a chimney. Don't use the fire place very often, but I had no idea creosote would collect up there...

 

[LoutheRussian]

And here I thought creosote was what we put on railroad ties, or it was just a type of bush…

I have a chimney. Don't use the fire place very often, but I had no idea creosote would collect up there...

It can become quite hazardous when the buildup gets to thick. The chimney won’t be able to vent correctly causing smoke to fill the house and to much buildup can become flammable causing chimney fires.

 

[Taylor T.]

And here I thought creosote was what we put on railroad ties, or it was just a type of bush…

I have a chimney. Don't use the fire place very often, but I had no idea creosote would collect up there...

It is what we treat railroad ties with. It can be tuned into a tar and pressure treated onto wood.

 

[Tom]

It can become quite hazardous when the buildup gets to thick. The chimney won’t be able to vent correctly causing smoke to fill the house and to much buildup can become flammable causing chimney fires.

This is a good demonstration about how someone on one end of the country can be totally ignorant about something that is common knowledge on the other side. We have fireplaces and chimneys over here more for nostalgia or novelty. We don't rely on them for warmth in the winter and for most homes here, they are seldom used. I never use mine because the chimney action actually seems to suck the warm air up and out of the house and makes the heater run more.

Anyhow, this is outside of my field of expertise regarding tortoises, but I thank you all for the knowledge.

 

[Taylor T.]

New enclosure in progress! 16' diameter or 208Sqf:

 

[ascott]

This is a good demonstration about how someone on one end of the country can be totally ignorant about something that is common knowledge on the other side. We have fireplaces and chimneys over here more for nostalgia or novelty. We don't rely on them for warmth in the winter and for most homes here, they are seldom used. I never use mine because the chimney action actually seems to suck the warm air up and out of the house and makes the heater run more.

Anyhow, this is outside of my field of expertise regarding tortoises, but I thank you all for the knowledge.

Creosote, aka, greasewood...we have them all over the place here in the desert....CDTs love to burrow under them, within their root system...the dog loves to tear off branches and eat those pieces...weirds me out, but does not "appear" to cause harm...and we have a fireplace that we have not used for awhile either...lol....

 

[Tom]

Creosote, aka, greasewood...we have them all over the place here in the desert....CDTs love to burrow under them, within their root system...the dog loves to tear off branches and eat those pieces...weirds me out, but does not "appear" to cause harm...and we have a fireplace that we have not used for awhile either...lol....

Are you trying to say you were just as ignorant about chimney creosote back east in the frozen north as I was???

 

[Yvonne G]

Well, I DO use my wood stove to heat the house, so I'm very familiar with creosote build up inside the chimney. My son-in-law does the chimney sweep thing twice a year for me.

I think you'll need to add another block to your new wall. Russian tortoises are great climbers! Look at LouTheRussian's avatar picture in post #13 in this thread.

 

[LoutheRussian]

I think you'll need to add another block to your new wall. Russian tortoises are great climbers! Look at LouTheRussian's avatar picture in post #13 in this thread.

It took him no time at all to realize he could go over. I’ve since added hight to the walls. That was just a temp outdoor enclosure I would put him in when I could be nearby watching.