# How to clean branches for Vivarium?



## GemmaUk (Jan 25, 2014)

Hi,

I have some large branches for my vivarium but have had conflicting advice on cleaning of them.

They are too large to bake so was told to soak in bleach solution and clean them , and then dry for several days.

But then I am told this is wrong so thought I would ask here as I have seen alot of good advice here.

All help gratefully recieved. My viv is going to be for an iggy, and the branches are NOT cedar or Pine as was told not to get these.

Thanks all x


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## bigd_1 (May 31, 2011)

hot water and a good scrud will be fine :2thumb:


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## mitsi (Feb 1, 2012)

As bigd says, quick was down and put in viv, no need at all to bake or disinfect.


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## GemmaUk (Jan 25, 2014)

Thank you, I was worried as was told that if I didnt bake them, then the heat in vivarium would trigger mould spores and make my reptile sick, and if i soaked them that the bleach soaks into the tree and gives off fumes when in viv heat. So as you can imagine I was very concerned but thought this would be my best place to ask for advice.

Thank you both for your replies x


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## Arcadiajohn (Jan 30, 2011)

A spray down with F10 would be a good idea. It's magical stuff :2thumb:

John


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## Pogonaviti (Jan 21, 2014)

What I do is scrub them with warm water, then sand them with sand paper to remove any hard stuff, then scrub again but with reptile disinfectant, rinse them and then allow them to dry. But this I know is over the top. 
A lot of people give them a quick scrub and shove them in, and I see no problems with this either!


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## Luke (May 19, 2005)

Scalding water (be careful) and then a spray of F10


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## destinys_only_sin (Aug 9, 2010)

My method has always been, a decent dry scrub with a stiff bristled brush, and put in the viv. If the branch is freshly cut, I'll also leave it by a radiator for a week or two to dry out a little bit.


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## Iguanaquinn (Nov 13, 2010)

I paint them with iodine, kills eveything. Then soak them in the bath to clean then throw boiling water on them. 

Or create a bioactive substrate and dont wash them, just put them in.


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