Putting Outside Items Into The Tank

I want to introduce some stones and wood into my BP's tank from my backyard.. Aside from generally cleaning them, are there any steps I have to take before putting them in?

Youll have to look it up, but I think people bake things at a low temp (250 or so?) for 2 hours. Those are guesses, but something along those lines.

Well you shouldn't do it, but when i had a beardi i found a NICE piece of beached wood. what i did was use a Bleach mixture and soaked it over night to kill any bacteria once that was done, placed in the oven at a fairly hot temp and cooked it dry again killling any bacteria, after that stuck in freezer over night to kill any heat resistant bacteria and fiannly sprayed it with a safe reptile bacteria killer. let that dry out naturally (even use prevent a mite or something) then it should be sterile.

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Originally Posted by CORBIN911

Well you shouldn't do it, but when i had a beardi i found a NICE piece of beached wood. what i did was use a Bleach mixture and soaked it over night to kill any bacteria once that was done, placed in the oven at a fairly hot temp and cooked it dry again killling any bacteria, after that stuck in freezer over night to kill any heat resistant bacteria and fiannly sprayed it with a safe reptile bacteria killer. let that dry out naturally (even use prevent a mite or something) then it should be sterile.

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You say they shouldn't do it, then give a very detailed cleaning procedure... confusing!

I say go for it :) so long as the rocks or what have you aren't sharp. Even then some can be sanded down. Depending on the items will depend on the cleaning method. Woods should be baked, as previously mentioned. Stones and whatnot can be bleached.

It is the live plants and things that you really need to watch out for, as some can be dangerous to your snake's health. But again as mentioned, whatever items you introduce, make *sure* they are cleaned thorough as to not introduce harmful bacteria or whatnot.

All the best!

for stones you can bleach them or boil them on the stove, or if you are paranoid like me do both. I soak mine in a bleach water mixture for a hour or so then boil them. I don't use wood anymore because my lizards like to poo all over them, but when I did, I soaked them in a bleach and water mix then baked them in the over for 2 hours at 250 degrees like stated above. I also spray all decorations with PAM when they go in the cages.

Id be careful with putting outside items in your BPs cage (mites parasites etc.) but i mean if you clean them good enough go for it!:taz:

I'm not sure what common ectoparasite you find on a rock in a backyard.

All these recommendations and warnings, anyone with data or even firsthand knowledge of the risks involved in doing this? Or are we throwing out opinions here?

We keep our tortoises in outdoor enclosuress. During the summer, our beadeds have outdoor pens. Those pens have rocks and branches, plants and dirt in them................none of them are boiled or baked.

BTW Mr. L, I liked your old avatar - the one with the orangoutang in it................please don't make me start an online petition to bring it back.

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Originally Posted by Skiploder

I'm not sure what common ectoparasite you find on a rock in a backyard.

All these recommendations and warnings, anyone with data or even firsthand knowledge of the risks involved in doing this? Or are we throwing out opinions here?.

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I totally get what your saying skip, but me personally I feel much better when my enclosures are as simple and bare bones as can be. Probably more for my piece of mind than outside items in cage posing an actual threat. :)


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Yeah, sorry everyone, but I agree with skip. Other than a hose down to remove unwanted dirt or maybe an overnight soak in plain water to make sure I'm not bringing in anything like termites or something, I just put the rock or branch in the cage. Been doing this for many years, never had an issue, but thats just my experience. I'm more likely to wash/bleach items from the store, because you never know what they may have come in contact with while in transit.

I'm sure my methods are overkill, however like Rob said I do it more for my piece of mind. The rocks probably aren't that big of a deal and boiling them is way overkill for sure, but after having a mite outbreak with my blueys a while back I am paranoid about anything and everything that goes in my reptile room.