# General Topics > Vivarium, Terrarium & Enclosure Discussion >  Lucky bamboo

## MatthewM1

I have read that this stuff is poisonous to small animals but I see it in lots of vivs, so is this stuff safe to use or does it come with risks? 

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## Brian

Lucky Bamboo, _Dracaena sanderiana,_ is on lists of plants you and your pets shouldn't eat (_Dracaenas_ are usually all lumped together for this). People, myself included, have been using lucky bamboo and other _Dracaenas_ for years with frogs with no problems at all. The frogs don't eat the plants, so no worries there. 

There's always the fear that crickets will eat the plants and then the frogs eat the crickets, but I've never actually seen or heard of this causing a real problem for anyone outside of their own nightmares.

For what it's worth, I've also had a dog completely mow down the foliage of a good sized _Dracaena_ with no ill effects (the plant also recovered), and have had a few abused by cats with no problems. I don't believe it's high on the list of nasty even to mammals.

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## MatthewM1

Awesome thank you =) love the look of it but wasn't sure

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## HerpDerp

I have been meaning to post about lucky bamboo in a vivarium for a while. Good to know that it's safe. I knew it wasn't actually bamboo but I didn't know that it was a type of dracaena. My lucky bamboo has always been a favorite for my cat to munch on (much to my dismay) and I've never seen any ill effects from it.

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## arielgasca420

are the Draceanas not safe because of high content of oxalate crystals? if so then I could only assume it to be moderately toxic to animals and not cause contact dermatitis.

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## Brian

Some sort of saponin seems to be the problem, but I don't know much about plant biology and it seems details are sketchy or just not totally known:

//Dracaena spp. - Textbook of Veterinary Internal Medicine: Expert Consult

http://www.aspca.org/Pet-care/poison-control/Plants/dracaena

Dracaena - Pet Poison Helpline

It may also depend on which species of _Dracaena_ ​you have, but the general agreement is to not eat them and I've never seen any sort of rash or skin warning about them :Smile: .

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## heyjude2200

A funny note about (real)bamboo--I change the plants a lot in my FBT tank--they like trashing plants. Last summer I put a couple of pieces of rooted bamboo in the water right next to a hide that they like to sit on top off. It's pretty common to see a couple of them chilling out there.  After I put the bamboo in & went back a little while later, I couldn't see any of them, but I didn't think much of it as it is a large tank with a lot of hiding places.  But then I became alarmed when I didn't see any of them for over 24 hours.  Trying to figure out what was going on & thinking about it in conjunction with the timing of adding the bamboo, then it hit me....OMG! they think the bamboo is a snake!   I removed it from the tank, and sure enough, in a short while it was business as usual....

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