Today I went outside with my friend and we were looking around for a good log for an adult Beardie that would also fit well in a 40g enclosure. We came upon a branch from a tree that was perfect. So, we tore off this branch, which took quite a bit of time, and finally starting to tear apart the pieces and other branches on it that were not needed. We got to my friend's house and his dad helped us cut the branch (it was pretty damn long that's for sure) and now it is of perfect size. All I have to do is disinfect it, but that's a big problem. The stick is huge, and I have no clue how to disinfect it. I can upload some pictures if you want to know the size.
Here is what I was thinking of doing:
Boiling some water on the stove (water would be 300F) and putting the water in a bathtub, put the stick in the bathtub, and put a cup or so of bleach in the tub, and wait about an hour and a half. Not too sure if that would work, but I really need some suggestions.
I have small pieces of wood in mine and the insects poop on it, so i usually spray tones of disinfecting spray on it, wash ot with a pressure washer so nothing is left on and leave it in a garage or shed to dry.
works everytime for me!
Hope this is off some help
Yeh bake it but im not sure what temp or how long, a friend of mine used the boiled water method and it didn't work at all it still had parasites living in it but that may of been just his error I don't know.
You can bake it at 250* for 30 minutes or soak it in a weak bleach solution for 30 minutes. You don't have to do both.
If you use bleach, make sure you rinse it very well and let it dry completely before using it. If its warm where you are, a day in the sun will also help get rid of any left over bleach.
I don't think I have any bleach around the house, and the log doesn't fit in my oven. I put it in my freezer last night and kept it in there over night, but that didn't work because I found a bug in it today.
My first thought was regarding your bathtub and 300 degree water. What is your bathtub made of? If it is a newer tub (non metal) make sure it can handle that hot of water.
Whenever i get something outside, i soak it in a weak bleach solution for about 30 minutes then i bake it in the oven to dry, the heat also makes sure that any left over bleach gets evaporated out of the wood. I would be hesitant about just soaking it and letting it air dry, bleach will still be present in the wood and if the beardie licks it, it could get sick.