Wild wood

dociledragons

dociledragons

Second Instar
How do you sterilize wild wood? I was thinking 300 degrees in an oven but then I thought microwaving it. What do you guys think? I need to sterilize some wood for the Polymorphic Roach that's coming next week.

 
I freeze for a couple days in chest freezer. I can fit more and I can fall asleep without worrying about burning the house down. Or I don't sanitize or even clean a lot of cage decor.

But as far as baking I've heard all sorts of times and temps. Basicly if its thick wood it will take more time for the heat to penetrate all the way to the center.

300° will probably do it in 2-3 hours. For med sized branches and stick. Logs increase time. Bark or little chips decrease. Keep a sharp eye no burning the house

 
dociledragons said:
Thanks for the replies. I think I'll put the bark in the freezer for a couple of days.
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Just a thought: Many organisms experience temperatures below 32 F and are fine. For example, many multicellular organisms have the ability to increase their endocellular solute concentration. Their exocellular fluid will freeze but their endocellular fluids will not thereby allowing them to live through the low temperature. Freezing will probably be OK I just would not want one of these organisms to kill your beautiful roaches.

 
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MrCrackerpants said:
Just a thought: Many organisms experience temperatures below 32 F and are fine. For example, many multicellular organisms have the ability to increase their endocellular solute concentration. Their exocellular fluid will freeze but their endocellular fluids will not thereby allowing them to live through the low temperature. Freezing will probably be OK I just would not want one of these organisms to kill your beautiful roaches.
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Absolutly, though endospores are known to survive boiling for extended periods of time as well. Radiation doesn't always do the job ether. We could also go into beneficial microorganisms that would be destroyed not to mention that second the wood is pulled from the freezer or oven it is exposed to a plethora of organisms. It comes down to personal preference, no disrespect to you Cracker.

 
Speaking of surviving freezing temps. I once put a group of lobster roaches in a freezer overnight and a small percentage survived. Started running about after they thawed.

 
thesavageprojects said:
Speaking of surviving freezing temps. I once put a group of lobster roaches in a freezer overnight and a small percentage survived. Started running about after they thawed.
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Really that is interesting.. I know some eggs in the insect world need to freezen before they can hatch, such as silkworms eggs. Which, is why I was skeptical about freezing but, as savage said it's personal preference. Insect can survive in extreme heat and cold. One just hopes they are not on your piece of wood. :)

 
250 for 2-3 hours depending on thickness, if you're really trying to truly sanitize since the entire core has to heat to that temperature and that takes time. 250 for as long as it takes for the center of the wood to become hot enough to kill living things if you're only worried about bringing in critters.

Me? I thump it on the steps a few times to knock off anything that's clinging and use it as is. Nothing bad has happened yet, and I have two small trees worth of wood total in 19 of my enclosures. Obviously I'm not keeping sensitive species where a spider or other nasty could wipe out the next generation in one go - if I was, I might be a little more careful. ;)

 
thesavageprojects said:
Absolutly, though endospores are known to survive boiling for extended periods of time as well. Radiation doesn't always do the job ether. We could also go into beneficial microorganisms that would be destroyed not to mention that second the wood is pulled from the freezer or oven it is exposed to a plethora of organisms. It comes down to personal preference, no disrespect to you Cracker.
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Yes, these are also good points. It is often a tradeoff depending on the technique you use. Some do nothing to the "wild" wood and all is good while others have had bad results. I do the "black bag" in the sun because it is easy and has worked for me but I also live in a very warm dry climate with lots of sun throughout the year.

 
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Hi. I had like a miniature hissing roach here for almost a year know and I just put wild wood in for her just like that. And she's been fine for about a year with us know. Kind regards madagascar hisser lover

 
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