Sterilizing tree branches

[heterochromia]

Hi everyone!
Today I went out in the snow to chop off some cool branches for my enclosure I have been working on. I have read that the majority of people either bake their branches, clean them w/ a bleach mixture, or just put them in without doing anything. I read somewhere else bleach is very bad for chameleons, so I am a bit worried about doing that (If anyone has done this in the past, has it worked okay for you?). My branches are way too big to fit in the oven also, so I was wondering if some dish soap & hot water would be okay? Since it is winter, I'm not too worried about bugs or anything, but I do want to sterilize these branches somehow. Any advice or what you guys have done in the past would be wonderful!

 

[JGuinan007]

I clean my branches a bleach solution, remove the bark and then back them in the oven at 430 for a half hour. I have never had an issue. I also think this makes them harder, no splinters, and they don't soak up water from misting getting mold.

 

[heterochromia]

Okay thank you, I will try the bleach. Did you let it sit on before rinsing off or immediately rinse?

 

[JGuinan007]

I put on gloves and scrub them with solution 1st
then let them soak in tub for an half hour to an hour not really sure how long
then I take them out then I let them dry in the sun and remove bark
I keep them outside until they lose the bleach smell
then once they do not smell I bake them in the oven do not bake over 445 wood burns at about 451 (or maybe thats just books LOL) so bake at 430 or lower

 

[jajeanpierre]

Hi everyone!
Today I went out in the snow to chop off some cool branches for my enclosure I have been working on. I have read that the majority of people either bake their branches, clean them w/ a bleach mixture, or just put them in without doing anything. I read somewhere else bleach is very bad for chameleons, so I am a bit worried about doing that (If anyone has done this in the past, has it worked okay for you?). My branches are way too big to fit in the oven also, so I was wondering if some dish soap & hot water would be okay? Since it is winter, I'm not too worried about bugs or anything, but I do want to sterilize these branches somehow. Any advice or what you guys have done in the past would be wonderful!

If you are worried, wash them off with hot soap and water. I don't bother--I put fresh branches, with lichen attached straight into cages of hatchlings. I usually spray them off with the hose but sometimes not. I leave bark on. I am careful of where I get my branches from as far as what kind of animals have been around them. I won't use a branch that has bird droppings on it, but other than that, I don't worry.

 

[JGuinan007]

To each their own. I guess I worry too much about parasites, fungus, and bacteria. I like the look of the branches debarked and bleached. I also like Nakashima furniture. oh and long walks in the park

 

[mvad]

Don't remove the bark. That will make the branches unnecessarily slippery when wet. Use live cut branches. hot soap and water is fine.

 

[JGuinan007]

Don't remove the bark. That will make the branches unnecessarily slippery when wet. Use live cut branches. hot soap and water is fine.

I have never had an issue with my cham slipping even after heavy misting they have claws and a strong grip, even when she was sick and had a weaker grip she never slipped. If you prefer bark that is what you like and is ok but saying branches without bark make the branches unnecessarily slippery when wet is just absurd.

 

[jajeanpierre]

To each their own. I guess I worry too much about parasites, fungus, and bacteria. I like the look of the branches debarked and bleached. I also like Nakashima furniture. oh and long walks in the park

Bacteria and fungus are a part of a chameleon's natural environment. It is normal and you won't remove it from their environment no matter how hard you try. Studies on humans have shown that children raised in homes where everything is sanitized get sick much more often than farm children that run around in the muck. A healthy, robust immune system only gets that way if it is challenged.

Aside from (my opinion only) the futility of trying to disinfect something like a branch, I really want the animal to have footing that is natural. Slick branches with their bark removed as the only branches or the majority of the branches is not natural. Aesthetics are not the driving force for furnishing my cages.

To each his own, but bacteria, fungus and parasites are not something I worry much about when collecting branches from outdoors. That said, I won't collect branches from places where animals--especially reptiles and birds--congregate and defecate.

 

[jajeanpierre]

I have never had an issue with my cham slipping even after heavy misting they have claws and a strong grip, even when she was sick and had a weaker grip she never slipped. If you prefer bark that is what you like and is ok but saying branches without bark make the branches unnecessarily slippery when wet is just absurd.

How old is your chameleon and do you house in a screen cage?

Most chameleons housed in screen cages lose their toenails as they get older and heavier. It is the main reason I hate screen cages. You might find that in time, your chameleons will lose their toenails and have more and more difficulty gripping onto debarked branches because the toenails are critical for climbing and gripping.

Also, since you were able to pull the bark off, I would venture that the branches are actually larger than your chameleon would choose in the wild. They tend to prefer tiny branches that they can wrap their little hands and feet around. I suspect that the older they get and the less exercise they get which is inevitable for a chameleon in captivity, especially exercise of their feet on very thin twigs, the weaker the feet become so they will choose the branch that is wider because they don't have the strength to grip appropriate sized branches.

This is my hypothesis with no studies to back it up but I base it on almost two decades of working with perching birds. The #1 cause of falcon death in captivity is bumble foot, which are basically bed sores on the bottom of the feet allowing infection to work into the foot structure. Bumble foot is caused by inappropriate perches. I've noticed pressure points on one of my own chameleons, a wild caught my vet and I refer to as ":He Who Will Not Die." He has had a lot of health issues and has been given a lot of big branches so he can perch without having to grip. Even though the branches are covered in deeply grooved bark, he still has pressure points on his feet.

 

[JGuinan007]

How old is your chameleon and do you house in a screen cage?

Most chameleons housed in screen cages lose their toenails as they get older and heavier. It is the main reason I hate screen cages. You might find that in time, your chameleons will lose their toenails and have more and more difficulty gripping onto debarked branches because the toenails are critical for climbing and gripping.

Also, since you were able to pull the bark off, I would venture that the branches are actually larger than your chameleon would choose in the wild. They tend to prefer tiny branches that they can wrap their little hands and feet around. I suspect that the older they get and the less exercise they get which is inevitable for a chameleon in captivity, especially exercise of their feet on very thin twigs, the weaker the feet become so they will choose the branch that is wider because they don't have the strength to grip appropriate sized branches.

This is my hypothesis with no studies to back it up but I base it on almost two decades of working with perching birds. The #1 cause of falcon death in captivity is bumble foot, which are basically bed sores on the bottom of the feet allowing infection to work into the foot structure. Bumble foot is caused by inappropriate perches. I've noticed pressure points on one of my own chameleons, a wild caught my vet and I refer to as ":He Who Will Not Die." He has had a lot of health issues and has been given a lot of big branches so he can perch without having to grip. Even though the branches are covered in deeply grooved bark, he still has pressure points on his feet.

I agree I do not use house screen I think it is cruel, I use 8 mesh specificity so claws wont be ripped out besides my cham rarely climbs the screen she has a lot of branches for climbing. I also vary the size of the branches from big thick to med to twiggy and once they are dipped into the bleach solution and put in the sun to dry the bark is really easy to take off. As far as natural, people use reg wooden dows foam vines plastic vines it makes no difference except for the owners preference. The main thing is to vary the thickness to exercise their grip. If you prefer the look of bark just say that it's ok or if your just too lazy to take off the bark thats ok too.

 

[mvad]

I have never had an issue with my cham slipping even after heavy misting they have claws and a strong grip, even when she was sick and had a weaker grip she never slipped. If you prefer bark that is what you like and is ok but saying branches without bark make the branches unnecessarily slippery when wet is just absurd.

Almost as absurd as bleaching wood to make it "safer" for a chameleon enclosure?

 

[JaxyGirl]

I just scrub my branches with Dawn dishwashing liquid and let it sit for about 5-10 mins then wash it off.
Dawn is frequently used for cleaning oil off of birds after an oil spill.
I figure if it's ok for baby ducks it should be fine for my Cham.

 

[JGuinan007]

I like the bleach it makes the branches whiter

Almost as absurd as bleaching wood to make it "safer" for a chameleon enclosure?

No the bleach solution kills off any would be parasites, bacteria, well pretty much anything that may have been on the branch completely sterilizing it. In the drying process and baking process the bleach is broken down leaving the branch sterile and completely safe for your chameleon