Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Last year, I bought a 2' section of grapevine from a pet store for my Black Pine to hide/rub on, I've never had any problems with it until now. I just started noticing little beetles that are boring into the wood. Any one ever heard of this? Is it safe? I talked to the pet store and they said to soak it in a bleach water solution and let it completely dry and it would be ok. Any thoughts?

A thing I do with large pieces of wood is spray the item thoroughly with .50% permethrin (Provent-a-Mite or Equate Bedding Spray, same formula), put the item in a strong plastic trash bag and let it sit overnight, then take it out and air it out for a day before putting it into service.

Lots of little bugs like dead wood. Not too likely to hurt the snake, though. The permethtrin treatment kills anything that could possibly harm the snakes.

Dont use chemicals if you dont have to just put the log in tyour oven for 20 min. or boil water and soak it.

Baking and soaking work good on things that will fit in the oven or tub, but I sometimes get some very large driftwood pieces that after getting hosed off good have to go in the trash bag with the permethrin as the last step, as there is no other way I can kill any troublesome pests they may be harboring. Once the permethrin is dry it poses no hazard to the snakes. You can't use this method on "furniture" for lizards, though, as the permethrin will kill their crickets. For my lizards I have to use smaller pieces that could be done in the oven.

What temperature would I put the oven at?

350 Fahrenheit for 30 to 40 minutes.