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Yesterday I cut a large manzanita branch from my brother's yard. I'm planning on drying it out and letting my chameleon use it in the future. How do I clean this branch? I'll probably use soapy water and rinse well. I'll also cut off the leaves. I'll let it dry for a few weeks. Anything else I should do?

Hi Ken,

Initially you can take off all branches form the main one that are not necessary; you can take sandpaper, size "0000" steel wool or something comparable to get of any outer bark and soften any nubs. I would let it dry in the sun until it is dead and dry all thru - depending on thickness this could take awhile. You will know it is dry when you cut it and the "pith"/heartwood is dry.

Then do what I suggested in the post below in response to Grapevine forums.kingsnake.com/view.php?id=299613,300549. You could do that first as it may SEEM that it is redundant to dry then soak then dry again but it is what I would do. I am sure that some folks may see this as unnecessary but personally I see no sense in taking chances with our chams

lele

>Yesterday I cut a large manzanita branch from my brother's yard. I'm planning on drying it out and letting my chameleon use it in the future. How do I clean this branch? I'll probably use soapy water and rinse well. I'll also cut off the leaves. I'll let it dry for a few weeks. Anything else I should do?

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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 green anoles Jaida & Jetta
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Hi-

First thing let me just say ONLY TAKE MANZANITA FROM YOUR OWN LAND, if you get caught taking it from STATE OR NATIONAL PARKS you will get a heavy fine.

The best way I can explain this is to use an apple to compare to the wood. An apple will store for some time as long as the skin (bark) is left on. If you remove the skin (bark) the apple will start to brown, mold and go bad. Same with wood, the bark protects the core wood from molding and rotting. If you remove the bark the core will go bad. In a dry setup that dose not need high humidity the wood will not rot when the bark is removed. In a wet humid environment the core wood will mold and rot with out the protection the bark provides. Manzanita has a very slick thin bark which may not be the best for chameleons. Manzanita works great with bird setups and in dry setups.

The way to remove the bark is to sandblast it. The grape vine and some manzanita is sold sandblasted. I have personally used sandblasted Manzanita and it molds in chameleon cages. If you want to try the Manzanita I would leave the red bark on, just rough it up a little with some large grit sandpaper. I have been using fresh cuts off the tree in my back yard and have had the best success with these braches. One they don't mold and to they are free. Hope this helps!
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John W. Lucas

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