Reptile & Amphibian Forums

What do I need to do to steralize drift wood and branches for reptile cage use?

Thanks,
Tony

You can either bake it in the oven at around 350 for a half hour or so, or soak it in 20:1 bleach/water solution.
I like to soak and then bake it just to make sure there are no nasties around, and it's tricky to soak something that floats without weighing it down in the tub

hope this helps!
-----

4.5 Leopard Geckos
1.0 Marbled Gecko
1.1 Red Eared Sliders
0.2 Siamese Mice

I soaked mine in 20:1 bleach multiple times for at least 48 hours. I use mine in an aquarium for a basking site for a painted turtle. Even after the soaking, I get mushrooms growing out of the log on a regular basis, but then its mostly submerged in water too. Eventually I noticed springtails on and around the wood. Its my understanding that they only eat the fungus and are not harmful to the turtle. Dont know if they came with the wood and survived the bleach or found their way in some other way.

-----

another good thing to do is freeze it,i have a deep freezer in my basement when i come across driftwood at fairs and put it in there for 2 days and so far so good

Oh your set up looks so nice reminds me of a lake.Do you have pics of the whole thing?
Bianca

Here are some views of my setup:

http://www.iturnrocks.com/images/hometank/120/pic03.JPG shows a top of the water view thru the open canopy hood, with the basking area and filter siphon on the left and temporary return line to the right. You can also see the aquaric plants floating in the water.

http://www.iturnrocks.com/images/hometank/120/pic02.JPG shows a from left shot of the front of the 120 gal. You can see the painted turtle near the top just starting to dive. There is also quite a few fish visible in this photo. The larger fish remain untouched by the turtle, unless they get sick or injured.

http://www.iturnrocks.com/images/hometank/120/pic01.JPG shows a from right shot of the 120 gal.

The picture below shows the whole setup. The 120 gal at right, the 20 gal to left and the filter under the 20 gal.

-----

thanks alot loved the links great pics.That some nice size tank.
Bianca