Mildew issue

[HeatherEmerald]

I am seeking advice for my Emerald Boa enclosure.
Recently my boa started having respitory issues. I promptly took him to the vet while my husband scrubbed his tank top to bottom while. The vet started him on 9 rounds of antibiotics. They seemed to help but and he was back to normal till the last few doses where he started holding his mouth open again. His perch is a large stick with multiple branches for him to perch on that we had gotten at a reptile show years ago. It had worked great until recently. We noticed his perch was starting to discolor black like possible mildew. I have taken it out and sanded it and plan to bake it. Is there any safe way to seal his perch so mildew does not re-form? What else would you reccomend using as a perch that may be less resistant to mildew in high humidity. We had this branch in with him for 2 years, it only recently became an issue.

[chairman]

The wood can be sealed with polycrylic, just follow the manufacturer's recommendations on how long it needs to cure to become completely dry.

Certain woods, like mopani and cork, are naturally rather mildew resistant. You could try one of those.

Or, barring that, pvc pipe works well. You can paint it with krylon fusion spray paint, it has been demonstrated to be aquarium and reptile safe. Just make sure to cap off all ends of the pvc, removing a snake that is stuck in a pipe is an ordeal (that involved vegetable oil and a Dremel cutting tool in my case).