Found my own branches...cleaning?

I found some awesome snake branches (the little king likes to climb the side of his enclosure, so I figured I'd give him something to actually hold onto so he doesn't thud quite so often.)

It is aspen, so we're good there. It is green wood (freshly cut, still "alive") I have it in the tub (hot water & salt mixture) pinned down so it isn't floating... I plan on leaving it there all night, although once the water gets cold I will drain it and refill it once...

Is there anything else I should do to make sure there are no nasty bugs/ etc on them?

After everything is good and dry, pop them into the oven at 200-250 for awhile. That will take care of anything the salt bath didn't. Just keep them away from the heating elements in your oven and keep a close watch... you don't want a wood fire in your kitchen! :)

J

i did this with some branches i found outside, put the branches in a water and bleach mix with a ratio of 2:1 2 parts water and 1 part bleach works good. then after soaking for 24 hours place it in the oven and watch all the little bugs burn!!!!!:twisted::twisted::twisted::twisted::twisted::twisted: lol sorry i got a little carried away there:D

LMFAO its all good.. it was funny ;)

Cool thanks :)

Good point about watching the heating elements LMFAO

I'd just go with baking it. Bleach can soak into the pores of the wood and stay there and then off-gas in the tank. That's something I would not risk, baking it is, IMO, the safest way to kill the little nasties that might be in there.

Cool thanks :-)
I only soaked it in salt water & then baked it :D

Sounds perfect, you should be all set!

There's a sandblaster at work so I blasted the branch I put in the boa's new home. Stripped it of all the bark then stuck it in the machine. Now I know there are no bugs in there :D I used compressed air and a heavy water rinse to rid it of any dust or particles after I was done.

I know most people don't have access to a sandblaster, but it's another way of doing it :gj:

So i put them in the little king's cage.. and he hasn't left his hide.. darn feeding day on Saturday LMFAO.... i wanna watch him climb all over that stuff.. :D