DE-funk a branch?

sattva · 08-29-16, 09:57 AM

When I got Fred, My wife and I arrived 20 minutes early and we caught them trying clean the tank out... It was pretty bad! Me! I keep mine spotless... I use two layers of white paper towels so when one of them goes my job is easy. and I am old and retired... I have nothing to do all day but make over my guys...

But that is not what this thread is about! Fred came with a gorgeous branch of wood... It's about 3 feet long and has a solid three points of contact so it real steady... That from my best guess would cost you $150.oo in your friendly neighborhood reptile store. But the smell coming off the thing is stinking up the whole room... I have soaked it in the bathtub with Dawn soap and that didn't work... So does anyone here know how to de-funk a branch?
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**Tsubaki** · 08-29-16, 10:52 AM

Try soaking it in diluted vinegar, dry it out in the oven or in the sun. If it still reeks then you could consider sealing it..

trailblazer295 · 08-29-16, 10:56 AM

I agree with Tsubaki, vinegar and heat. Need to kill the bacteria making the smell.

Albert Clark · 08-29-16, 10:59 AM

I would just toss it. Just my opinion bc its easier to replace it with something more terrarium friendly made of plastic or ceramic. Also something that will be much easier to clean and less of a attractant to mites. Wood mites and snake mites.

macandchz · 08-29-16, 12:17 PM

i agree with Al. i'd toss it. i wouldn't put anything in with mac that I wasn't sure about. you are just getting over mites, why push your luck? to me, it looks like an ordinary piece of drift wood that you can buy cheap at a snake show.

trailblazer295 · 08-29-16, 12:37 PM

It looks like mopani wood sold at most aquarium stores like big als for a couple bucks a pound.

**Minkness** · 08-29-16, 01:20 PM

Both options are fine. If you like and want to keep it, soak then bake and then you can also seal it with waterbroof wood sealer.

If that's too much, just chuck it and get a new one!

sattva · 08-29-16, 02:35 PM

I like Tsubaki Idea... Maybe you can get these cheap at a reptile show, but the stores out here are asking over a 100 bucks for something with 1/4 the girth as this branch... As far as the mites go he's cage is the only one I didn't find any bugs in... Thanks guys I'll try the vinegar...

chairman · 08-30-16, 07:20 AM

If that doesn't work then you could try an enzyme based cleaner like Nature's Miracle.

Albert Clark · 08-30-16, 10:11 AM

Good choice Chairman! I didn't relate the Nature's Miracle with use on wooden branches mainly bc I don't use them. Sattva could certainly soak that branch in a bucket with Nature's Miracle and hot water. Duh!!!!! Lol.

sirtalis · 08-30-16, 12:49 PM

@Albert Clark, yeah, it would probably be smart to just toss, in a traditional reptile enclosure wood is usually a bad choice, however if you go bioactive it would be very good to use