Cleaning Real Wood?

How do y'all sanitize real wood that's already in your enclosure during deep cleans? I have some grape vine branches but not sure how to clean it without encouraging mold.

There's nothing wrong with a little (as in tiny bit) of soap & water to scrub off debris. I also usually spray them down with my cage-cleaning solution (diluted chlorhexidine in my case, or F10 if you prefer), then dry them.

If they're small enough to fit easily without touching, you can bake them in your oven for a while under supervision (!) for about an hour at 150*-200*. If they're already damp from cleaning, even better, as the oven will dry them out safely without them catching fire. (never try to speed this up with higher temperatures & please don't get distracted)

You can also put them out in the sun to dry if you're blessed with some warm temperatures...I did this a lot when I lived in the desert*, otherwise you'll need to wait for summer. *I used to have an old multi-rope clothes line- I can only imagine what neighbors thought about my driftwood drying in the wind? :rofl:

If you can't do either of those drying methods, there's always the blow-dryer that you use on your hair & for warming your BP's rodents. ;)

And to make future cleanings easier, you might also want to seal the wood with a pet safe (!) no-VOC water-proofing product (it's clear, you'll hardly know it's there). It's been a while since I've used it, can't recall the exact product name but by now there's bound to be other brands available anyway. Read carefully to make sure you've got the right ones that are fully safe & NO VOC*.

(*VOC = volatile organic compounds...in other words, they don't off-gas toxic fumes of any kind & won't hurt you or your pets once dry)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

There's nothing wrong with a little (as in tiny bit) of soap & water to scrub off debris. I also usually spray them down with my cage-cleaning solution (diluted chlorhexidine in my case, or F10 if you prefer), then dry them.

If they're small enough to fit easily without touching, you can bake them in your oven for a while under supervision (!) for about an hour at 150*-200*. If they're already damp from cleaning, even better, as the oven will dry them out safely without them catching fire. (never try to speed this up with higher temperatures & please don't get distracted)

You can also put them out in the sun to dry if you're blessed with some warm temperatures...I did this a lot when I lived in the desert, otherwise you'll need to wait for summer.

If you can't do either of those drying methods, there's always the blow-dryer that you use on your hair & for warming your BP's rodents. ;)

And to make future cleanings easier, you might also want to seal the wood with a pet safe (!) non-VOC water-proofing product (it's clear, you'll hardly know it's there). It's been a while since I've used it, can't recall the exact product name but by now there's bound to be other brands available anyway. Read carefully to make sure you've got the right ones that are fully safe & NO VOC*.
(*VOC = volatile organic compounds...in other words, they don't off-gas toxic fumes of any kind & won't hurt you or your pets)

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Awesome! Thanks for the tips!