Terra Cotta decor, safe?

I'm planning on putting some terra cotta decor in some of my PVC enclosures... basically the chia pet stuff, just without the chia seeds. They have some cool stuff that I think would look nice. But, wondering if terra Cotta, with its very porous construction, would be hygienically safe in the long run. Actually, for moisture, I think it would be helpful to wet down occasionally, to help maintain humidity.

Any opinions?

I've used some terra cotta products in snake homes in the past- a few as hides, & also some large "strawberry pots" to provide climbing entertainment. (Caution: make sure heavy pots cannot be tipped over when your snake climbs or pulls on them- as snakes can be injured or killed if the pot falls on them! I attached mine to a base for safety.)

As you noted, they're absorbent- so to minimize that (they can be hard to remove urates or fecal material from) you could coat them with a non-toxic water-seal product (& dry thoroughly) before using them, but that would negate your chance to use them to add humidity, so unfortunately you'll have to choose one over the other. ;) I never tried coating mine- I just scrubbed any contamination that happened.

Pottery of all kinds (even dishes made for human use, which are normally also glazed & fired to prevent them from absorbing or leaching) can & have contained lead in their composition- so do NOT use pottery for water dishes if UN-glazed, OR if they're glazed but have any hairline cracks in the glaze (because lead & other things can leach into the water thru those tiny crack-lines- also called "crazing"- & they can also harbor & contaminate the water with bacteria).