Adding real leaves/branches

[dalese]

I'm wanting to ad some branches, leaves etc to my diamonds enclosure but was wondering if there is any plants I should avoid? Or do I have to do anything special to disinfect/dry them??

 

[Pythoninfinite]

You can pretty much add whatever you like from the bush. The best are eucalyptus branches and other classic Aussie bush tree bits. Some of the exotics such as Oleander are very poisonous, and must be avoided at all costs. Also anything with white, sticky sap is probably either toxic or will stick to your animal (native fig species often have sticky white sap which dries into a sort of rubbery latex.

You don't need to disinfect anything.

Jamie

 

[Kelly86]

i thought you had to bleach branches?? to kill possible mites and other bugs living in there??

 

[Waterrat]

Mites? What mites and what bugs and who said so? There are several threads here on this subject - look them up.

 

[Schnecke]

Not sure if it's wrong or right, but we got branches, stripped the bark (they were pretty smooth to start with and were up out of any moisture, so we cut them up to size and once they were in the enclosure I sprayed the HECK out of the whole thing, including fake plants, with a reptile enclosure cleaner/disinfectant. Left it to dry out.

 

[Pythoninfinite]

Just put the branches in there... all this nonsense about spraying for mites etc... there won't be any mites that will harm your snake, and anyway, how do you think they get on in the wild? I'm sure that they'll prefer the smell of fresh branches to the smell of some chemical spray!

Jamie

 

[Chris1]

i used to think soaking in hot water was the go,...

i submerged some branches in the bath tub for over a week (it started out hot), pulled them out, put them in enclosures,...all seemed fine,...

till i found all these weird beetles in my snake room,....borer beetles,...

so strip the bark if u can and look for holes,....

 

[mike_k]

Branch + Bug bomb in a plastic bag overnight to kill any critters, then airing for a day worked for me.

 

[Pythoninfinite]

Branch + Bug bomb in a plastic bag overnight to kill any critters, then airing for a day worked for me.

Would have worked for you even if you hadn't done that. It's just not necessary!

J

 

[Snowman]

Would have worked for you even if you hadn't done that. It's just not necessary!

J

People get a certain confidence from lacing their branches with poison before putting them in their enclosures. It's what the snakes do in the wild after all

 

[Waterrat]

My outdoor cages are occasionally occupied by house geckos ants, spiders and other invertebrates that are small enough to crawl through the mesh. It's been like that for 6 years and my snakes are healthy as.

 

[mike_k]

People get a certain confidence from lacing their branches with poison before putting them in their enclosures. It's what the snakes do in the wild after all

Haha nah more comes down to the fact I don't want to be cleaning up bugs later down the track. This was recommend to me from a breeder who'd had to deal with this problem before.

 

[mysnakesau]

I lost faith in pesticides when I lost my ackie from poisioning from it. It was really sad seeing my hyperactive little monitor just drop over like he did. I tried to get him to the vet but was dead before any test results could have even returned.

I collect branches all the time from the bush and have never had a problem. The rough surfaces on the branches are good to help give your snakes a bit of grip when moving around.

IF you were to buy branches etc from pet shops, what makes you think their's are any safer? Because it has a label on it?

 

[milk-bar]

I have no experience with this whatsoever but i will be collecting native banches and other flora for my enclosure when i have it, i figured i'd just keep them in a cupboard for a couple of days to see if i spot any bugs but otherwise wasn't concerned.

 

[alrightknight]

I guess as long as you arnet collecting from an area where pesticides are used shouldn't be a problem. I dont like the Idea of gathering branches just to strip it clean of its bark and disinfecting it takes away from the authenticity.

 

[mysnakesau]

I like the idea of live plants too but my diamonds let me know what they thought. They loved them that they spent all day curled up on the branches of my monsterio and put permanent bends in the branches. So if I am lucky to get a clutch this year, I am going to buy them a fake one

 

[Jackrabbit]

I guess as long as you arnet collecting from an area where pesticides are used shouldn't be a problem. I dont like the Idea of gathering branches just to strip it clean of its bark and disinfecting it takes away from the authenticity.

Also as long as it isn't from a protected or national park, cause that would be illegal, not to mention changing the natural habitat of other animals.

 

[Reptile_Maniac]

No need to disinfect any branches ect, the do not have this luxury in the wild!