Cleaning Branches and Decor

[CommanderSil]

Hey!
So a few weeks back I picked up a nice Eucalyptus branch for my frogs. I've removed all the bark, cut it in half and sanded it so there were no sharp edges. I'm currently boiling it in plain hot water and then I'll dry it in the oven. Will it need more than this, such as bleach to be used?

The water is yellow due to sap or whatever. Should I keep boiling it with clean water until it's clear or is that unnecessary?

As a side note I picked up a terrarium 2nd hand off eBay. It has a background in it but I don't know if I can bleach styrofoam and how well it will clean, especially with the tank glass behind it not able to be cleaned. Should I just remove it? I know I should bleach it several times.

For the Exo Terra waterfall can I just clean it with hot water? Or does everything need bleach? Being severely asthmatic and having eczema I'm not a fan of the stuff and I'd rather skip chemicals altogether.

Thanks.
PS I blame all typos and grammatical errors on my Windows Phone as it makes posting on vBulletin forums difficult...

[Bombina Bob]

You can use bleach for branches but you have to use a small amount and scrub
it off very well or else the residue could kill the frogs. the exo terra waterfall could
be cleaned by hot water to get the gunk and stuff out. Im not too sure how to sa-
nitize the foam backround though

[deranged chipmunk]

boiling water will be sufficient for the styro and the waterfall. you already have the branches covered. personally, i just bought a new exoterra, and the first thing i did after unboxing it, is pull the background out and tossed it in the trash.....lol

[CommanderSil]

Hahah, I'm thinking of tossing the background (the person on ebay listed the dimensions in the wrong order so I'm putting it on it's side to add vertical height), but It's glued in. I might try to just rip it out. For the terrarium, being second hand I''m definitely using chemicals.

It's a relief to know that boiling water is good enough for new stuff. I usually just rinse things a few times and put it in the terrarium.

The Exo Terra backgrounds look fairly bad. I'm going to make my own.

I accidentally burnt the branches in the oven. Woops. I'm acting on the assumption that slightly singed wood is fine for them.

Thanks heaps guys!

[deranged chipmunk]

Burnt wood is ok. Remember, in the wild, frogs do encounter areas ravaged by fires. Think of it as home made, frog safe charcoal lol

[CommanderSil]

That's what I was thinking.... A natural touch XD. Though I know eucalyptus leaves are toxic. They love the branches. In fact, I would like to somehow clean a larger branch....

[deranged chipmunk]

The eucalyptus leaves are only toxic if ingested, but better to be safe than sorry.