Wood from outside

[Olimpia]

I will not touch a branch either if it's from an area I know is pesticide free and such. My neighbor trimmed some branches the other day, I asked her for them, and just stuck them in the cage as they were. Chams don't need to be in a completely sterile environment, honestly, and they probably appreciate that the branches smell like outdoors and not like bleach.

 

[VeiledOwner87]

as i've stated, extreamly diluted bleach can do but isnt the best idea. yes i agree that chameleons have been taking from all over the world and have amazing immune systems, but i would still be skept about cb ones. also since you guys are saying this, are you guys saying quarentine isnt nessesary? i think i would still do a complete cleaning to leave out any neglegence that COULD potentionally harm my animal, so disagree all you want, its my opinion. better safe than sorry

 

[luevelvet]

We have oak branches from the tree in our yard in just about every Uroplatus enclosure (which amount to 11 now) and haven't treated any of them. Just make sure there are no rotting parts, ants or termites. All cuts should clean, and smooth. Smooth cuts won't rot as easily as "broken" edges.

Luis

 

[Olimpia]

Imune systems are as strong as you allow them to be. A child that is sheltered from everything will get sick more often than one that is always outside in the mud and around other kids. CB chams might not be as strong as WC's just because of how sterile people think everything needs to be. I agree that we need to be careful, but there is cautiousness and then there's paranoia, in my opinion.

 

[chams1]

I don't bake wash or bleach.
Just bring it home and stick it in the cage.
No problems.
I would love to hear if someone has ever had an issue with this practice that actually endangered their chameleon. I doubt it very much.

-Brad

Right on, Brad. This is what I do. But most of the time, I only use the "outdoor stuff" in the outdoor enclosures because I have other stuff I use inside. But I have never had issues with the branches from outside.

 

[Schmitt360]

I also have never had any issues with outdoor branches. I would avoid any branches that may have been subject to pesticides. I got all of mine from a near by forest. In my avatar pic you can see Papa Smurf laying on one.

 

[Goggles]

also since you guys are saying this, are you guys saying quarentine isnt nessesary? :

The quarentine is to protect your current animals from W/C animals until they are proven clean. This has nothing to do with sticks.

 

[pssh]

If you collect a branch from the ground in an area that a racoon could have been in, I'd be more inclined to wash the branch and your hands for YOUR safety. You never know... But then again, I'm not too sure how long some of the transferable parasites live outside the hosts.

Edit: ew, just did a quick search on google and it said that raccoon roundworms eggs/larva can be viable for up to 5-6 years outside the host racoon.

 

[jpw0006]

I usually walk aout my back door, cut some branches, scrape off any "loose articles" and stick it right in the cage. I have never had any problems. Just my experience...

 

[Texas Panther Man]

I just rinse any of mine off. Make sure no spiders or other nasty critters hitched a ride into the house mainly. Then slap em in there. Baking branches isnt necessary. Ive kept chams for years and never had an issue with a pesticiide free branch from the yard.

 

[draetish]

Another thing to keep in mind is you don't want dead branches that are decaying. We are talking about fresh cut limbs from a living tree.

 

[zwhitman]

as i've stated, extreamly diluted bleach can do but isnt the best idea. yes i agree that chameleons have been taking from all over the world and have amazing immune systems, but i would still be skept about cb ones. also since you guys are saying this, are you guys saying quarentine isnt nessesary? i think i would still do a complete cleaning to leave out any neglegence that COULD potentionally harm my animal, so disagree all you want, its my opinion. better safe than sorry

No. Quarantine is absolutely necessary. Not that most people even do that properly or completely... but that's another rant. In that circumstance you are talking about a living animal which has a significantly higher likelihood of carrying large populations of potentially pathogenic organisms on/in it. Last time I checked sticks don't get sick too often.

 

[Jackson1181]

I'm new to chameleons, but have had many reptiles over the years. I'd say if you want to be absolutely safe, rinse the branch off good for 5 minutes or so with clean water and nothing else, and then bake it any of the ways mentioned here. The rinse will remove any harmful loose particles, and the baking will get rid of anything that could possibly be alive. Bleach is worthless on wood, it doesn't soak in properly and therefore won't kill off anything that could be living just beneath the surface. Here's a little information about bleach and wood and why I wouldn't waste my time with it. http://www.spore-tech.com/viewCategory.asp?idCategory=78

 

[VeiledOwner87]

No. Quarantine is absolutely necessary. Not that most people even do that properly or completely... but that's another rant. In that circumstance you are talking about a living animal which has a significantly higher likelihood of carrying large populations of potentially pathogenic organisms on/in it. Last time I checked sticks don't get sick too often.

of course quarentine is necessary, i was being a little sarcastic. i think properly treating everything wild is a step worth taking, but thats jmo.

 

[gabzzy]

I just got really lucky and had my friend give me some birch branches, one fits in the bath tub for our showers, and several other very nice large birch branches that i whittled away the bark till it is clean wood and let it dry, works fabulous and my chamys luv their bfranches, got a fat one for o er the kitchen sing, just a nice varity of various length of birch, i feel it is one of the hardiest and cleanest wood branches i've had

 

[ericthornhill]

Well from all this advise, I've come to the conclusion, as I sorta guessed that it isnt necessary to clean a branch from a live tree...but if it makes me feel better about it, ill put in in the oven for 30 mins or so. I think im going to avoid the bleach....that stuff never sounds like a good idea.

Thanks

Eric