Hi How Do I Bleach Wood Safefully for a Lizards Tank?
Hi I cannot get down to the beach and get some sandblasted wood. I was told I could go to the park find any log or branch good enough for them to climb on, take home and bleach and rinse in the bath. Then boil the wood and it would be ok for the lizards. How do I do this properly and does it really work this bleach thing. If not do u know where I could get some sandbalsted wood
June 5th, 2010 at 6:13 am
Most reptile stores will also sell the branches for reptiles.
I think what I did before was soak the wood in bleach and water in the bathtub over night. Then the next day I let it dry out all the way.
I think I have heard about putting them in the oven after they soak to dry it up too, but I dont remember the temp or time.
June 5th, 2010 at 6:50 am
I used to often pick up interesting stones or bits of wood for my snail and cockroach tanks. I think the best thing you use to clean it is sterilising fluid such as Milton (the stuff they use on a baby’s feeding bottle). Just leave it to soak for a few hours in hot tub in a solution for a couple of hours and scrub if necessary. That should get rid of any nasties that might infect your pets. Oh, and give it a good rinse afterwards.
June 5th, 2010 at 7:23 am
dont use bleach, because if every lit drop of it isnt cleaned it can be fatal to the lizard and a cause of death. Use somehting called “Healthy Habitat” it is a kind of spray that is natural and so safe that it can be used with the animal in the habitat (Tank). it may be able to be used on the wood.
make sure the wood isnt rotten or infested with bugs like turmites.
June 5th, 2010 at 7:46 am
why did they tell you to bleach it? that doesn’t make sense to me. if anything i would just boil it if you are concerned, but honestly i have had many lizards of all types and i always have just found my choice piece of wood, made sure it wasn’t infested with bugs, and put it in my tank or terrarium. mabe your specific breed needs different care, but i have had all varieties of lizards that my boys and i caught outside, and we had an iguana for years. hope that helped some. blessed be
June 5th, 2010 at 8:10 am
the bleach thing does work my sister did it for her gekos 🙂
June 5th, 2010 at 8:47 am
never heard of the bleaching, you could dilute disenfectant and spray the wood and leave to dry then give it a soak in boiling water,but the wood and branches you buy from a pet shop is drift wood, thats been soaked in fresh water and left to dry.
so you could soak your wood in a bucket of salt water which will kill the nasties then rinse well and soak in fresh water over night.
then leave it to dry somwhere warm.
June 5th, 2010 at 9:47 am
BLEACH is GOOD mix four ounces of bleach per gallon of water soak item for 1 hour this allows the bleach to kill microbes in the wood. in an oven you have to reach a temp of 485 degrees to destroy the microscopic pest in wood. What happens to wood at 485 well it scorches and becomes unusable. after bleaching allow to dry in the sun for 5 days this will ensure all bleach has disipated. any one know what chlorine is. test your water at home you know the same water most people put in their herp tanks. it contains chlorine bleach to sterilize the water. in low amounts of course. pools the ones kids drink out of at the YMCA yup chlorine bleach. here is a website for you to check out treating driftwood etc. never heard of sand blasting wood other than to remove the bark but microbes go much further than that. you should also treat the items you purchase from the pet store it does not come directly from manufacture sterile and go into your tank. it sits on a shelf collecting dust and microbes. your lizards body has an immune system also. but we want him as healthy as possible petco recommends and so do I wiping your herp tanks out after cleaning with a light solution of bleach and water.
June 5th, 2010 at 9:59 am
Buy ready bleached wood !!!
June 5th, 2010 at 10:06 am
It is not a good idea to use bleach as it can leave a slight residue which if it becomes wet again will burn the reptile.
The safest thing to use is Milton, which is a baby bottle sterilizing fluid, also available in tablet form.
But even then use this sparingly, and make sure that it is waashed off thoughly