How to preserve a peice of wood for my lizards cage?

Question

I found the perfect branch can someone tell me how to preserve it? Also is it possible to presurve the leaves too because it makes it nice and my lizard would like them.

Answer 1

I'm not aware of any procedure to preserve leaves to safe-proof them for a lizard.  They will be brittle when dried, and degrade/crumble.

Using any wood from outdoors is a risk.  It could have mold spores, bacteria from birds, squirrels, etc., as well as introduce parasites into your lizard's habitat.

It's much safer to purchase a branch/ornamental plant from a pet store.

If you are determined to keep the branch, I would recommend soaking it (minus the leaves) in a solution of 1 part bleach to 6 parts water for at least an hour.  Rinse thoroughly.  Scrub with iodine free salt (there should be no bleach odor remaining) and allow to dry completely.  Bake at 325-350 F. for 40-60 min.  Check to be sure the limb is not leeching sticky sap which can endanger your pet.  Allow to cool completely before using in the reptile's habitat.

There's no guarantee the wood will be safe, but that's as good as you will be able to clean it before use.

Good luck, and I hope this has been helpful.

Answer 2

no u cant with leaves but what i did which worked was put my branches i found outside in the oven on 300 for 30 minutes kills everything on/in it.

Answer 3

the above comment is j ust about right. There's no way to save the leaves that I know of b/c they're going to dry out very quickly. The above directions are what you would need to do to clean the wood before putting it in  your animals cage. Try some pet or craft stores that may have fake branches w/ leaves on them.