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WC drift wood?

RosieReal

RosieReal

New member
Yes, Wild caught driftwood is the topic for today!
I live near a local beach, thats always got alot of really interesting driftwood. I want to use some in my vivs, for the snakes to climb on, but many of the pieces I've selected are not the right shape/size to bake in the oven. Would soaking them in a bleach solution disinfect and kill any 'hitch hikers' that may have tagged along? Would I need to allow the wood to dry, and then soak it in water to 'rinse' it?
I think these would make for some really nice looking tanks, but I dont want to do it (and go through the trouble of all that bleaching and rinsing :rolleyes: ) before knowing if its going to be clean enough for the snakes to poop on! (lol they poop on anything new in their tanks... :nyah: )
Thoughts? Opinions? What would you do, or what do you think of my plans? I wouldn't do something just for looks if it will hurt the snakes in anyway, but King Coil especially would like to have a jungle gym. :cool:
 
I use driftwood in some of my vivs that I collect from the beach. First I put the driftwood in the dishwasher and add a small amount of bleach. After the dishwasher, I put it in the oven at 250 for 45 minutes. Never had any problems after that.
 
eisoj5 said:
What kind of mineral oils do you mean, Mike?
Click to expand...
Ships and boats spew out bilge which has mineral oils in it... Oils float so does wood...
I just worry that chemicals could absorb into the wood...
I tend to cut down new wood during the winter... season it in my shed for a year and then take it into work and get it blasted with garnet......
 
The stuff that you buy in the stores has the same chance of having oils as what you would get off the beach.
IMO, it won't harm your snakes any more than a lot of store-bought decorations.

I would soak it for a few hours in a 10% bleach solution, then lay it out to dry thoroughly in the sun. Then, for good measure, you could freeze the wood overnight.
 
Caryl said:
I simply HAVE to ask....blasted with garnet?!? What kind of work do you do?
Click to expand...
I was trying to think up something right on and groovey to BS you with... LOL
But the truth is, I'm a welder and only gem quality garnet is worth something... The rest is crushed up and is used to blast steel....
Especially if it's in an environmentally sensitive area and only a fine profile is required....
It looks like a very pretty red sand....
1abr-garnet-lg.jpg

Here's a blast grit site with pics of garnet....
It's half way down the page.
Garnet grit
 
Thanks, Mike, for the reply. Yeah, I know that a lot of hard stones that aren't gem quality get used for stuff like that. (I used to teach Geology.) Maybe it's because I just re-read the later volumes of Harry Potter, but I had this mental image of something far less prosaic than red sand! :roflmao:
 
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