beach rocks

[ilovemycoastal]

just went to the beach and found a couple of nice rocks for the enclosure, if i rinse them for a while to get the salt off they should be right yeh?

 

[Pythoninfinite]

Yes indeed.

J

 

[Laghairt]

Yes,

I use basalt collected from the beach as basking rocks and it's great. It's very dense so holds the heat remarkably well.

I haven't had any problems

 

[Pythoninfinite]

Just make sure that with anything heavy, they can't be moved or dislodged, and injure or kill the occupant. This is especially important with lizards which might dig underneath them.

J

 

[longqi]

On anything from outside it is better to hit it hard with a strong bleach solution first
Then sit it in the sun for a few hours
This destroys the chlorine
rinse it off
dry it
then put it inside the viv

 

[ShaunMorelia]

2nd what Pythoninfinite said.

On anything from outside it is better to hit it hard with a strong bleach solution first
Then sit it in the sun for a few hours
This destroys the chlorine
rinse it off
dry it
then put it inside the viv

Im curious, if you have already rinsed the bleach off the rock, where did the chlorine come from?

 

[saximus]

...

 

[longqi]

hit it with bleach
put it outside in the sun
THEN rinse it off
Sorry if I wasnt clear enough first time

 

[ilovemycoastal]

thanks guys, have rinsed in a little bit of bleach, left to dry and hosed off thoroughly, now they are placed nicely in a little formation giving him a natural hide/cave

 

[ShaunMorelia]

No worries, could have been just the way I read it?

thanks guys, have rinsed in a little bit of bleach, left to dry and hosed off thoroughly, now they are placed nicely in a little formation giving him a natural hide/cave

I'd be inclined to silicon or glue the rocks together in that formation, to me "placed nicely in a little formation giving him a natural hide/cave" sounds a little dangerous with loose rocks.

 

[Pythoninfinite]

On anything from outside it is better to hit it hard with a strong bleach solution first
Then sit it in the sun for a few hours
This destroys the chlorine
rinse it off
dry it
then put it inside the viv

Why add a dangerous chemical to a material that is totally harmless to the animal? A beach rock, rinsed in clean water and allowed to dry poses absolutely no risk to any animal - the notion that clean natural materials can harm animals is a nonsense.

What purpose does the bleach serve? What are you trying to kill that could harm a reptile?

Jamie

 

[Mace699]

i would clean them in boiling water if possible having said that Jamie is correct rocks from the beach if they had any bacteria would not survive in fresh water. in the past i have boiled just to make sure there is no bacteria but rinsing in clean fresh water would be sufficient.

 

[longqi]

We have exactly zero information about what that rock has been in contact with
Exactly how clean is it?
Only a total analysis by a lab could say for certain
It is better to be safe than sorry
I totally agree that in most cases there will be no problem with simply rinsing off a rock
But if you can just rinse off a rock can you also just rinse off a piece of wood etc etc?
Better to have a simple procedure that you use for every decoration that goes into your viv

Bleach is not a dangerous chemical after the chlorine has been dissipated by the sun

 

[ilovemycoastal]

they are two large rocks, with cracks on them that when put next to each other form a cave, they arent going to fall or move, they are that heavy they arent going anywhere, no need for silicone

 

[Bez84]

Maybe you should soak it in bleach and bake it like people do with branches....cause as we all know natural things are deadly to reptiles..
I once saw a coastal crawl over some rocks and it crawled 3 metres and dropped dead....true story

 

[longqi]

Be extremely careful if you decide to bake it
Rocks found near water usually have a higher water content than rocks from dry areas
The water can start to boil inside the rock and cause it to explode fragments off the surface

 

[Bez84]

lol i dont think anyone would be dumb enough to bake a rock..
I throw river rocks into the bomb fire they make a nice little pop lol.

 

[greeny1]

lol what is so dangerous about nature that can harm reptiles? They all came from the wild originally, I agree with pythoninfinite and just wash them in fresh water.

 

[pseudechis4740]

Anything I find at the beach as far as rocks or driftwood are concerned I just rinse. I have not seen any ill affects to date. What better natural sterilising agents are there than what occurs sea water?

 

[snakelady-viper]

I glued mine to make the cave so they didnt fall on the snake.After washing and rinsing. When you think about it the snake hatched in a sterile incubator then was placed in a container away from any contact with the outside world then sold to someone who placed it in a sterile vivarium. Better to be safe than sorry.