Cleaning Question

[Noah H.]

Hello everyone! I would like to use some rocks/wood I found outdoors in my terrarium. What's your advice on cleaning/sterilizing such objects?

[jdheff1982]

Bleach bath for the rocks and maybe low temp oven bake for wood(?). Rinse rocks thoroughly with water afterwards and let air dry.

[Roarschak11]

In the aquariums I have I usually don't use bleach because it can still harm the animals even if you leave them out and the wood can still retain bleach. With terrariums it might be a little less aggressive because it won't be submerged, and is a common way of sterilization. Just make sure there isn't any bleach left on your decor. another way of sterilizing would be to boil them in water to cook off any bacteria, this is what I do for my aquariums at least.

[Noah H.]

Thanks!

[Sebastian]

Heads up some woods can be dangerous to reptiles. Do you know what species it is? Rocks are pretty straight forward, I bleach and boil. But you want to be very cautious with wood found outdoors.

[Noah H.]

It's hard to say for sure, but it is definitely a hardwood. The rocks I scrubbed with hot soap and water and bleach soaked, then air dried. I rinsed the wood log and cleaned with a wire brush, then baked in the oven for 1 hour on low.

[Sebastian]

If you aren't sure what it is, I would personally highly recommend against putting it in the enclosure, but that's just me. Maybe one of the more experienced keeper's on this site has more input on the subject, but since i've seen stories of critters still crawling out of previously baked wood (ants) and the fact that you can't safely bleach it, or do anything (inexpensively) for that matter to ensure there are no stowaways in it, on top of the fact that it may be toxic, It may be better to just order or buy some safe, identified, wood.

[Noah H.]

Ok. Thanks for the input!

[Mimo]

no experience myself but on dutch forums i see people advising also boiling water or freezing things in for a while. That should kill bacterias