We just bought a bearded dragon for my little girl and she wants to put branches in the cage that she found outside. Do I need to do something to them first besides washing them? I would love for little Daisy to have some more things to climb on but I am cautious about using anything my daughter finds outside.
I am new to this, but the book I have, and info I found on this site suggest that for outside branches:
1. Wash with a bleach solution by either immersing the branch in the water or spraying it down, then rinse until no bleach smell (10% bleach solution) and let it dry.
2. After bleaching bake in the oven at 250 degrees Farenheit for 60 minutes
Sorry to steal off this thread but I have a branch that I really really like that I got from outside but it doesn't fit in my oven. So how should I do that then?
My branches were too big as well. I filled up the bath tub with hot water and diluted bleach, scrubbed them to get the bugs/crud/loose bits off and then let them soak. After that I rinsed them off outside with the hose really really well, and left them to dry in the sun for a couple days.
Its best not to use punky wood, or anything obviously infested with bugs.
Do not use pine or cedar cedar as the sap/resin/oil is unhealthy for reptiles.