Alright, so I am moving Rupert into a larger cage (75 gallon) and have a collection of rocks from the store already, but I want to bring in some rocks from the outside because the store is expensive for [whatever] some reason.
I was wondering if there are any types of rocks that aren't suggested? I really only have huge chunks (and I mean HUGE) of granite, slate, sandstone and quartz(!! using for decoration). I'll clean them in bleach-water solution with a toothbrush since they'll be covered in dirt.
His 30 gallon tank at the moment just seems so bland with tiles, a few rocks and a large climbing log (which he occupies about 80% of the time). I just want there to be so much more in the new tank and even some places for him to just wedge himself since I know they love to do that. Like I always do I'll make sure that anything I put into the tank can withstand some force on it because I don't want to crush him so it'll take a little while before I get it just how I want it and hopefully how he likes it.
I think anything that doesn't crumble is okay. Just make sure after you bleach it that you bake it in the oven at 250 or so for about 30-45 minutes to kill anything leftover.
Wow, I'm sorry. I was quite sure I clicked on enclosures when I made the topic. Unless I was tabbed with several different threads/forums and THOUGHT I was in the right one.
Thank you for moving it. Are you sure that it's okay to heat the rocks in an oven? I figured bleach-water solution would kill anything and being in the oven might cause the rock to fracture if there is water inside of it?
It's possible, but that's not TOO high of a temp. The bleach water will not kill everything, though. Some parasites and bacteria are not affected by bleach. In particular, coccidia cannot be killed with bleach, and it is a common, if not ubiquitous, parasite in bearded dragons.
No need to cook and bleach a rock, one or the other works just fine. Personally, I use soak in bleach water and scrub really well. I would be iffy about using sandstone, if its porous at all, liquid waste could soak in and get nasty.
Slate is fantastic, so is granite which is what I use.