Now what do i do with the wood?

[slip_phreak]

Hey guys,

I know this has been asked a bizzillion times but i cant find the threads when i search for them.... Anyway i have got a branch that i am going to be putting into my Viv for my Bredli, i've stripped off all the bark so its down to bare wood and i've left it sitting in my granny flat for around 2 weeks or so to dry out. Now what do i have to do? I remember reading about putting them into the oven and then coating them in varnish?
Any info would be appreciated by me and the snake who's been rather bored with what she had at the moment. Lol

[slim6y]

I wouldn't varnish them! But the oven or direct sunlight or boiling water won't do you or the stick or your bredli any harm - so long they're not together when adding boiling water or the oven...

I think some people choose to go overboard as tho snakes have never seen wood before! Personally, boiling water or oven at 70-100'C for 5 mins is more than enough!

Recall snakes in the wild always enounter trees with branches! And most them have never had boiling water or an oven on them!

[Earthling]

I soak in water and bleach for a few hours and then rinse let it dry out and then pop it in the viv. You can oven/nuke it instead if its small enough. Just let it get hot enough to kill everything without catching on fire.

However

My vet highly recomends to varnish all branches and rocks as of potential for parasites to hide/cling to branch. Also makes it easier to clean these items.

many members here have been keeping reptiles and breeding reptiles for many years and most have never varnished their branches.

varnishing does make them slippery.

if i get a new reptile and the vet says they have parasite 'x', i prefer varnished branches and rocks as they are easier to clean whilst treating said reptile. As some reps need more then one course of worm treatment etc in the longterm varnish is cleaner.

its up to you.

[alumba]

well said slim6y

[Ramsayi]

If its not a branch from a poisonous tree just cut it to suit and stick it in the cage.

[Magpie]

If you use untreated branches and have an outbreak of something, you merely need to bin the branches and get new ones once the outbreak is over.
I've never seen much point in bleaching branches, the bleach is rendered inactive by the cellulose anyway.
Cooking them? You'd have to leave them in a very hot oven for at least an hour to have any effect, wood is a great insulator against heat.
Personally, I'd just use it as is where is. What is it that you are treating it for?

[slip_phreak]

im not trying to treat it for anything specific but i was just trying to minimise introducing anything like mites etc into my viv.
I might just pour boiling water over it then spray it with top of descent. I tried the oven thing and there is no way this branch is gonna fit in my oven.