Treating branches and wood for your terrarium help

[ontariosnakelover]

Hey guys. Just saying I've already Google up stuff but I want advice from our community. Bark and branches in stores are way too pricey for my likes so I wanna go the natural route and find stuff from outside that looks good. I just want to know what you guys do to treat and clean the wood for bugs bacteria and such before introducing it to your snakes or herps. I've had people tell me after cleaning to bake the wood at 200 to 250 for a bit to kill off buggers n such which might be what I do. I've heard people talk about soaking and bleaching logs but I don't want harsh chems near my babies. What's your take everyone? ?

[Russtix]

I bake at 250 for 30 min.
Im not a fan of soaking in bleach

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[richardhind1972]

As you say the branches are a shocking price
For my boas I use branches out the garden or park I’m in the U.K. but we don’t have mites as such that could infest my snakes I’ve never had any problems for well over 20yrs with doing this
I always soak with boiling water just in case there’s anything on them and give them a scrub down first
Please don’t use bleach as this soaks deep into the wood, some people deep freeze the wood and also bake them as you say



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[Craiga 01453]

I've always baked at 250 for an hour.

Give the branches a decent clean first, and choose branches free of parasite holes, mold, rotted out holes, etc...

It's always worked for me, and depending on the wood it'll even make the house smell nice