query on using wild branches
- Thread starter Louis17
- Start date
MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
Hi. You’ll want to avoid branches from trees that either have thick sap or have strong odor, like pine is a perfect example. Oak is always a great choice and is commonly found just about everywhere. Look for a variety of diameters, including ones that are thicker. To clean, I use a plastic scrub brush (like you’d use to clean veggies) and a bucket of dish soapy water. Give a bit of a scrub, rinse very well and then rinse very well again. Dry in the sun and they’re good to go. It’s ok if a bit lichen stays on. It won’t hurt your cham. You’re mainly just wanting to clean wild animal poop, dust/dirt and any pests off.
Steve A
Chameleon Enthusiast
I personally go for branches that are already on the ground, but larger and clearly strong. As @MissSkittles suggested, you want branches that won't be sappy. That's probably the biggest thing to look for, outside of obviously infested branches. I personally only use branches that don't have anything on them, except the lichen.
Play with the sticks while you're out there searching. Remember (length) is better, as you can always cut the stick down. Make sure the sticks you're taking are nice and strong and require some effort by you to break them.
You don't have to worry a whole lot. As long as you don't notice anything crazy, you wash them off well, and they're not sappy, they should be good.
One thing I did with mine, was I took a wet soapy hand towel, and used it to really hold the whole diameter of the branch and really scrub it to make sure I'm getting as much as the loose stuff off as possible.
Sometimes when you're picking off the side small branches, or some branches will have them anyway, you'll notice some of those sharp knobs on them. I took a pair of wire cutters and used the wire cutters to actually cut those knobs down so they weren't so sharp. You could use better tools but that worked fine.
Play with the sticks while you're out there searching. Remember (length) is better, as you can always cut the stick down. Make sure the sticks you're taking are nice and strong and require some effort by you to break them.
You don't have to worry a whole lot. As long as you don't notice anything crazy, you wash them off well, and they're not sappy, they should be good.
One thing I did with mine, was I took a wet soapy hand towel, and used it to really hold the whole diameter of the branch and really scrub it to make sure I'm getting as much as the loose stuff off as possible.
Sometimes when you're picking off the side small branches, or some branches will have them anyway, you'll notice some of those sharp knobs on them. I took a pair of wire cutters and used the wire cutters to actually cut those knobs down so they weren't so sharp. You could use better tools but that worked fine.
