Decor?

[velosus]

hey, just wondering what everyone uses in there viv! i know most of it will be artificial, but i saw a pic today of someones viv with some branches in that i believe were real, is this wise? healthy? poisonous? etc

some real branches can look really nice but unsure of the health issues.
what do people think?

Ian

 

[draco_0420]

The danger in using real branches from the wild are that they may comtain mites, or that the wood is something like cedar or pine. you CAN use them if you sanatize them well though, and not have any problems.

 

[Snake Dave]

Draco is correct. If you wash the branch in a bleach solution (1 part bleach to 5 parts water), and/or bake it in the oven at a low temperature (wrap it in foil), then you can kill anything living within the branch and therefore add a nice natural touch to your vivarium, without endangering your snake

All the best

David

 

[cyclone]

Depending where you live you can find it and place it in the viv right away. I live in Canada, Ottawa, Ontario and we don't have mites, or anything that can hurt our snakes. I bake all wood that I find regardless, just to be safe. I bake wood at 200 degrees for 20 minutes.

 

[Bram]

I would avoid the bleach method. It's difficult to get off again and I found that it doesn't penetrate the wood very deep at all. The oven method seems much more thorough.

 

[Snake Dave]

I would avoid the bleach method. It's difficult to get off again and I found that it doesn't penetrate the wood very deep at all. The oven method seems much more thorough.

I don't agree with that. A thorough wash using a hose at high pressure, then allowing to dry naturally, is usually sufficient and the bleach will have been removed. The depth to which the bleach penetrates depends on the type of wood used, and on whether you remove the bark first. Usually it's sufficient, unless you plan on using a tree trunk. :grin01:

The oven method isn't always feasible. Think about it, what if you want a bigger piece of wood? It wouldn't fit, would it? I've been collecting a few branches recently for my Carpet's future tank, and all of them are far too big to fit in my oven.

 

[patm1313]

Would you guys suggest leaving the bark on when using the oven method?

 

[Bram]

Would you guys suggest leaving the bark on when using the oven method?

I think it's mostly a personal preference. I would flake off any very loose bark just to avoid it coming off in the viv, but otherwise I usually like the look with it on.

I don't agree with that. A thorough wash using a hose at high pressure, then allowing to dry naturally, is usually sufficient and the bleach will have been removed. The depth to which the bleach penetrates depends on the type of wood used, and on whether you remove the bark first. Usually it's sufficient, unless you plan on using a tree trunk. :grin01:
The oven method isn't always feasible. Think about it, what if you want a bigger piece of wood? It wouldn't fit, would it? I've been collecting a few branches recently for my Carpet's future tank, and all of them are far too big to fit in my oven.

Yes, there are some obvious limits to the oven method.
About the bleach, I've personally been able to smell bleach on pieces that have been in rinse water for days. The bleach soaks in so the water would have to penetrate about as deep as the bleach did in the first place. Nobody has mentioned how long the bleach exposure should be, but to avoid chemicals leeching out again it should probably have nearly as long in the rinse water as it did in the bleach.
Of course this will depend on the piece in question and any other cleaning methods applied, but I would want to be as sure as possible.

 

[Hunter2011]

hmm, well I was out it the woods one day and found this piece of bark that looked like a cool hide for Star, so I picked it up, took it home, washed it off and baked it at 400 degrees for about 10-15 minutes lol, I didn't use bleech but I will next time I get something from the outdoors for Star's viv, but anyways I always use 1-2 cap fulls of bleech to one galon of water, and you just use the bleech mixture just for a good scrub and cleaning, then rinse it off a lot, and let it dry, coorect me if I am wrong??

 

[Ohana]

I use things from my yard and the woods for all my snake vivs. I find cool stones, pieces of wood, bamboo and various other items. Some items I bleach, Some a bake and some I freeze. The larger items, I sometimes do cut into smaller pieces and prepare them and then make a cool arrangement with them as too offer a different look then the original intent.

Have fun with the stuff outside.... just make sure to prep it to get rid of harmful parasites if they are in your area.

 

[Snake Dave]

Yes, there are some obvious limits to the oven method.
About the bleach, I've personally been able to smell bleach on pieces that have been in rinse water for days. The bleach soaks in so the water would have to penetrate about as deep as the bleach did in the first place. Nobody has mentioned how long the bleach exposure should be, but to avoid chemicals leeching out again it should probably have nearly as long in the rinse water as it did in the bleach.
Of course this will depend on the piece in question and any other cleaning methods applied, but I would want to be as sure as possible.

True. However, after I've put bleach onto a piece of wood, I jet wash it (jet setting on a variable hose is good enough) and allow it to dry naturally. If the smell remains after a few days, I give it another washing. Usually after about a week the smell will be totally gone. I usually leave a piece for about a month before placing it in a viv' (the four pieces that I have are going in my Carpet's future viv', which isn't going up for another few months :grin01: If you're especially worried, leave it longer and increase ventilation in the tank (won't be a problem for me, since I'm getting a Flexarium).

I don't leave it in a bleach solution for a huge period of time, because if you take a piece of living wood from a tree, the amount of parasites will be minimal, but this depends on where you live.

Just leaving it in water for a while isn't a really good idea. Because something resembling a dynamic equilibrium will be formed (not a true one because it'll eventually evaporate but for the purpose of this, I'd regard it as one). To use an analogy, it's like taking a bath after you've just got filthy and covered in mud. You'll remove it from your body, but it'll still be present in the water, and 'll just go back onto your skin. A quick, powerful rinse and dry that's repeated is more effective, in my opinion.