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Opinions Welcomed:Safety Question

Jimmysan00

Jimmysan00

Cornsnake-aholic
Aight as many of you know i just bought a new Normal Corn which has been great so far. I have my viv all setup and have all the essentials needed, but i want to add branches and vines, but do not have the cash for it right this second since i just paid for the viv and snake. I heard you can use outside branches and logs if you want, but you have to get rid of germs and bugs and mites. All the things bad for the snake from the wild. So as i was googling i saw a site that said you could soak the branches in a bleach and water mixture for a day and then soak them in water, and later sun dry them. Then they would be 100% safe for the snake. A cheaper and safe way to have things for your snake to climb on. As i said before i plan on getting the store bought asap, but for now is this a safe alternative? FYI have not put the climbing branches into the tank yet.
 
Taking the branches back outside to sun dry sort of defeats the purpose of bleaching to kill the bugs. ;) I like to bake items I've acquired (even if it's store bought dirt or driftwood) to kill insects.
 
How does sun drying defeat the purpose? I am not catching on. How else will i get the bleach out of the branches? It can't be safe for the viv to have bleach soaked into the aspen bedding. More information would be great since you seem to know how to make items tank friendly. BTW they are sun drying on top of a ladder off the ground, if that makes a difference.
 
Jimmysan00 said:
How does sun drying defeat the purpose? I am not catching on. How else will i get the bleach out of the branches? It can't be safe for the viv to have bleach soaked into the aspen bedding. More information would be great since you seem to know how to make items tank friendly. BTW they are sun drying on top of a ladder off the ground, if that makes a difference.
Click to expand...

Because you're taking it back outside where it can be exposed to insects again, which was the purpose of bleaching the wood, correct? :)

Again, I just wash mine off (branches) with water and bake in the oven to kill any insects. No bleach involved because 300 degree temps will kill any nasties that may be in the wood. If the wood is small enough, some use there microwaves.
 
I do 30-120 minutes depending on the size of the branch(s) in the oven. I don't do the microwave method for branches (but I have for dirt), so I would have no idea for that.
 
Aight thanks, i figure 300 degrees for 15 mins should be good cause the branch are small. One is maybe 15 inches and the other is barely 12
 
You need to be more worried about thickness then length of the branches. The thicker the branch, the longer it will take to heat up to a good temp on the inside to bake out any nasties.
 
Because then it's definitely not toxic to the snake.

I can't identify different trees at the best of times, but I know which ones are fruit trees and which aren't :)
 
I don't know about fruit trees, mostly because trees are different everywhere :D But if it's possible use hardwood instead of softwood around here due to the amount of pitch. It may not be toxic, but it sure is messy :D

Ive had great luck walking riverbanks and finding all sorts of good stuff for my tanks, and the wash off and oven works well for the larger items. Just avoid stuff that is soft, it's starting to rot.
 
Of course oak is fine too, silly me - sorry I posted in a rush, that'll teach me to multi-task.

I remember when I was looking for a suitable branch, I was completely stumped (no pun intended!) on what to use as I can't tell one tree from another, whereas a fruit tree is at least easy to recognise. Apologies again folks.
 
Tracee said:
Of course oak is fine too, silly me - sorry I posted in a rush, that'll teach me to multi-task.

I remember when I was looking for a suitable branch, I was completely stumped (no pun intended!) on what to use as I can't tell one tree from another, whereas a fruit tree is at least easy to recognise. Apologies again folks.
Click to expand...

You do make a good point, if you can't tell your trees apart usually a fruit bearing tree would be a safer bet :)
 
I just sucked it up and bought a new climbing/basketing setup from petco for $25, also picked up a coconut hide, and some fake silk plants to hang up.
 
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