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11-11-13, 04:21 PM
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#1
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Member
Join Date: Nov-2013
Posts: 790
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Thinking of using some harvested branches.
My corn snake's cage is sorely lacking in climbing accommodations and I would like to give him some vertical space to explore. Rather than spending a bunch of money on furniture from a pet store, I'd like to use some branches I pruned off of trees in my yard. I have two large hackberry limbs and several small oak branches that I think will do the job. As far as I know, neither posses toxic qualities. I'm just wondering how I should go about prepping them? I'd rather not remove the bark, because it's quite attractive. Should I just soak them in bleach water and then let them dry?
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11-11-13, 04:23 PM
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#2
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Member
Join Date: Jun-2013
Location: Palmyra, WI
Age: 26
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Re: Thinking of using some harvested branches.
I think you soak them in a bleach/water solution, then soak in water then let it dry then soak it in more water...not 100% though.
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11-11-13, 04:42 PM
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#3
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Member
Join Date: May-2013
Location: London UK
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Re: Thinking of using some harvested branches.
yep, soak in hot (65C) water-bleach solution, leave it soaking until the water has gone cold, then leave the branches to dry - once dry, all the chlorine will have evaporated, no need to re-rinse/soak in clean water, just make sure they are dry before putting them in
the oak is definitely safe to use, and no need to remove the bark - no idea what hackberry is, worth confirming either way before using it
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11-11-13, 04:43 PM
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#4
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Member
Join Date: Jun-2013
Posts: 115
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Re: Thinking of using some harvested branches.
You can either use a bleach solution then rinse them thoroughly, or you can take the branches and bake them for an extended time. I prefer to bake them as it help dry the sap out as well.
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11-11-13, 04:47 PM
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#5
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Member
Join Date: Nov-2013
Posts: 790
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Re: Thinking of using some harvested branches.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mmarchl23
You can either use a bleach solution then rinse them thoroughly, or you can take the branches and bake them for an extended time. I prefer to bake them as it help dry the sap out as well.
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How long is an extended period of time? Also, some are on the larger side and wouldn't fit in a normal oven, so I'll probably have to do the soak anyway.
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11-11-13, 05:01 PM
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#6
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Member
Join Date: May-2013
Location: London UK
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Re: Thinking of using some harvested branches.
depends on the thickness of the wood, best to work it out as if calculating a chicken roast, but lower temps - 65C, 45mins per kg, plus 25mins, will do the trick. tbh its a pain doing it that way tho...
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11-12-13, 09:12 PM
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#7
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Member
Join Date: Mar-2013
Location: Idaho
Posts: 66
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Re: Thinking of using some harvested branches.
Quote:
Originally Posted by formica
yep, soak in hot (65C) water-bleach solution, leave it soaking until the water has gone cold, then leave the branches to dry - once dry, all the chlorine will have evaporated, no need to re-rinse/soak in clean water, just make sure they are dry before putting them in
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Are you saying I've wasted countless hours obsessing over rinsing the damn bleach solution off??
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11-13-13, 03:02 AM
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#8
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Member
Join Date: May-2013
Location: London UK
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Re: Thinking of using some harvested branches.
Quote:
Originally Posted by HoldenC
Are you saying I've wasted countless hours obsessing over rinsing the damn bleach solution off??
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 chlorine evaporates very rapidly at room temperature, that one of the reasons its such a great product for cleaning our homes
...but there is no real harm in rinsing aswell, especially if you use water above 65C, not only will it dry of quicker, it will also deal with any final micro organisms which may have managed to get past the initial heat and bleach. but essentially, yeah, its not necessary, once the bleach has evaporated, the job is done
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11-13-13, 03:56 AM
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#9
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Moderator
Join Date: May-2008
Location: Central New York State
Age: 60
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Re: Thinking of using some harvested branches.
Wow... insane.
Use them AS IS.
Are you germophobes afraid of cooties???
What exactly do you think is going to happen?
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"Where would we be without the agitators of the world attaching the electrodes
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11-13-13, 04:55 AM
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#10
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Member
Join Date: May-2013
Location: London UK
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Re: Thinking of using some harvested branches.
Quote:
Originally Posted by infernalis
Wow... insane.
Use them AS IS.
Are you germophobes afraid of cooties???
What exactly do you think is going to happen?
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there are very good reasons for doing it, even if you disagree with them - this is particularly true when using items from areas which contain reptile populations, which will then be used for a reptile which is not native to that area.
so yes. cooties, if you want to call it that.
and no i do not subscribe to the belief that reptiles are some kind of invincible force of nature who cannot succumb to alien parasitic, viral or bacterial infections, simply by keeping their temps up.....nor do many other people, casual keepers, scientists and vets alike.
on top of the biological reasons - what else could be on the branches? petrol? pesticides? ...the list is endless...
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11-13-13, 05:33 AM
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#11
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Morelia Enjoyus Maximus
Join Date: Oct-2011
Location: Kitchener
Age: 54
Posts: 4,615
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Re: Thinking of using some harvested branches.
Quote:
Originally Posted by infernalis
Wow... insane.
Use them AS IS.
Are you germophobes afraid of cooties???
What exactly do you think is going to happen?
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I have to agree with this. I have not ever treated natural wood used in my enclosures. How can some want to sterilize their wood yet have bioactive enclosures. I do not see the point. I mean I would not use a log crawling with ants or anything but other than a good wipe.... I see no reason to risk bleeching an animal over exposing it to a bit of nature.
Not bashing anyone but I think this is even more of a waste of time than a seperate feeding tub. Again my opinion, take it as you will.
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11-13-13, 05:44 AM
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#12
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Moderator
Join Date: May-2008
Location: Central New York State
Age: 60
Posts: 16,536
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Re: Thinking of using some harvested branches.
Quote:
Originally Posted by formica
there are very good reasons for doing it, even if you disagree with them - this is particularly true when using items from areas which contain reptile populations, which will then be used for a reptile which is not native to that area.
so yes. cooties, if you want to call it that.
and no i do not subscribe to the belief that reptiles are some kind of invincible force of nature who cannot succumb to alien parasitic, viral or bacterial infections, simply by keeping their temps up.....nor do many other people, casual keepers, scientists and vets alike.
on top of the biological reasons - what else could be on the branches? petrol? pesticides? ...the list is endless...
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Parasites can NOT cross contaminate via a tree limb, they transfer from animal to animal... they require HOSTS to carry them.
And unless you are picking up limbs in downtown New York City, inside a factory smoke stack or hanging over a highway just exactly HOW are these mysterious pollutants going to get there?
Driftwood from the Thames would not be something I would even want touching my skin.. so London would not a place to gather it..
__________________
"Where would we be without the agitators of the world attaching the electrodes
of knowledge to the nipples of ignorance?"
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11-13-13, 06:01 AM
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#13
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Member
Join Date: Mar-2013
Location: Gainesville
Age: 34
Posts: 1,298
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Re: Thinking of using some harvested branches.
Though I agree with infernal is r.e. the 'cooties' bit, i will share this:
I found an AWESOME, GIANT tree branch outside, as a tree fell in my neighborhood and they were carting it off. It looked perfect for my hondurans cage so i grabbed it. I let it sit outside in the florida sun for a week or two (mostly just because i couldn't get around to bringing it inside). Then i brought it inside, where it sat in my spare room for a week or so. I finally got it in her cage and it looked awesome…
3 weeks later (about), i saw a beetle in her cage (i thought, whatever it must have snuck in because its nice and warm and humid…). then there were three. The entomologist in my finally kicked on and i removed the branch, and the beetles, and saw some very neat short faced longhorns into my collection… Though i left the log out in the room. Im mostly waiting to see when things stop emerging, because for me it was a very cool little experiment, but if you aren't into wood boring beetles then MAYBE soaking or bleaching might be beneficial.
I guess this would only be an issue if the log was freshly cut (if you find it dried out along a lake or in the woods my guess is you'd be fine).
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11-13-13, 06:04 AM
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#14
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Village Idiot
Join Date: Oct-2011
Age: 39
Posts: 7,360
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Re: Thinking of using some harvested branches.
yeah...... cut and use.
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11-13-13, 07:42 AM
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#15
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Member
Join Date: May-2013
Location: London UK
Posts: 1,481
Country:
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Re: Thinking of using some harvested branches.
Quote:
Originally Posted by infernalis
Parasites can NOT cross contaminate via a tree limb, they transfer from animal to animal... they require HOSTS to carry them.
And unless you are picking up limbs in downtown New York City, inside a factory smoke stack or hanging over a highway just exactly HOW are these mysterious pollutants going to get there?
Driftwood from the Thames would not be something I would even want touching my skin.. so London would not a place to gather it..
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not all parasites are internal, not all parasites require a host at every stage of their life, many parasites which require multiple hosts also require excretion at some point. fleas, mites and ticks, to name but a few, are several examples of parasites which are not necessarly picked up from direct contact with other animals.
Pesticides, herbicides, and many other harmful but frequently overlooked chemicals, find their way across our country side in amounts which can be dangerous.
Insects inside wood, can not only carry parasites, but a host of bacteria and viri which can be dangerous, not to mention the build up of dangerous chemicals which they absorb from their food.
then there are molds and fungi, many of which can be harmful, esp regarding Respiratory Infections, lungs are the perfect environment for fungal infections, they are warm and moist, and full of nutrients from an ever constant blood supply.
what about other insects, would you really want to introduce a termite or carpenter ant queen into your enclosure? you can be sure that if it surivives, it's workers will find somewhere nice to setup camp... and if its a wooden enclosure, then you really are in trouble.
the list of things that can be found on untreated wood is endless - it is perfectly acceptable for people to choose to ignore those risks, when they understand them, but imo its not acceptable to completely deny them, ESPECIALLY when discussing these topics with people who may be new to keeping reptiles and dealing with natural decor collected from the wild.
lastly, woodworm....and extremely common and massively damaging little grub which can litrally pull a house down.
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