Terra Cotta decor, safe?

[Charles8088]

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?

[Bogertophis]

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).