hi question here

[CoopersGrandma]

hi this may seem like a silly question but i was wondering if it would be okay to use a piece of oak for a basking log for cooper.he has outgrown his basking log and we have some fire wood for the fireplace and had a thought , my husband and me that maybe it could be put to use for a new log for cooper . but after a mistake that had part to do with loosing our plated lizard that we had gotten at the reptile expo in georgia just a little bit ago , i feel it was no matter what i been told by a few folks i don't want to take any chances with cooper , little sweet heart has been part of the zoo since july and well it would not be a happy place if i did anything to harm him in any way , he is sitting with me while i type this , spoil him even more rotten with his dad at school , i get to share for now still . the wood still has bark on it , and is dry , so any input would be greatly appreciated on this , thanks , cooper , coopersgrandma

 

[renich]

hmm..i'm not certain. i do know that you can have oak enclosures for your viv. but this is probably pretreated wood. you may be ok if you treat your firewood. just to make sure there aren't any bacteria or something from outdoors that would impact your beardie's health.

 

[npedersen]

You'll be fine as long as you "treat" the wood. You can do one of two things or both. Soak the log in a water and bleach solution, say 10% bleach, the only thing is that you have to soak it for quite a while to get penetration all the way through and then it has to dry out. Or you can bake the wood at around 200 F for about 20-30 minutes in the oven, if it fits.

I would also seal it with a poly spray for easy cleaning and prevent "beardie discharge" from soaking into the wood causing a parasite breeding ground which could casue another issue. But really mostly to make it easy to clean.

I use flat poly so that it doesn't shine and still look natural. And if does get to slick I sprinkle some sand on it while it's still tacky.

Nick

I'd bake it and seal it

 

[CoopersGrandma]

thanks , was thinking of soaking it before putting it in with cooper , once it is done and sealed and baked and even sprayed with some bleach water , not taking to many chances with this guy at all then he will have a nice new basking spot , just has to put up with his little one for a little longer , thanks again