Sterilizing a natural hide or branch

So I've used this method twice and my beardie loves it so much so I thought well why not share it with you brilliant people

So using a natural hide is awesome in my opinion please correct me if I'm wrong but I like using a natural item because it feels more real than the resin rock hide he has for basking,

So first I would find a great stick: one that's not rotting which would be ideal and one that fits your enclosure, I start off by picking off any loose bark or anything I think he could bit off on accident
Then I take a very course brush and I begin scraping all the dirt off in a tub of warm water, I wait until I don't see mud coming off and then I prepare my oven and preheat it to 270 degrees

When the oven is all good I use a tray which usually fits the branch and I place it on the tray, I then set a timer for 60 and 10 minutes, so every ten minutes check on the branch for charring. When the branch is done I give it thirty minutes then pick off any moss that survived the bake

I've found weird worms and centipedes on the floor of the tray when taking the branch out so baking is very important, then I give Rex his branch and he is happy

Excellent tip ! I do the same except I just brush everything off and pop it in the preheated oven. I've rarely found any dead insects but yes, this is a great method and I've found some beautiful pieces. I get nice large flat rocks [ or whatever size you want ] from outside as well. Those I just soak in hot soapy vinegar water, rinse well and dry. You get nice looking decor for free that way and save a good bit of money for important things like proper lighting.