Safe branches for Helicopter Keepers(yes, YOU!)

[Brodybreaux25]

Credit: Petr Necas


How to treat natural branches before putting them into the cage?

As a part of naturalistic chameleon husbandry approach, natural branches are the only one interior of the cage recommended, suitable for climbing (next to living plants), in no way any artificial materials are to be used, no ropes, no fabrics, no plastics, no fake vines, no exposed wood, no bamboo, no ladders, swings etc.

To fulfill their natural function and be suitable for chameleons to climb on them, is essential to keep the branches as natural as possible, therfore:

NO THERMAL TREATMENT:
No cooking
No hot water
No microwave
No oven
No flame

NO CHEMICAL TREATMENT
No bleach
No chemicals
No pesticides

NO MECHANICAL TREATMENT
No peeling
No brushing
No sandpaper

There is NO reason for these procedures, plus, they can be either redundant or even

With thermal treatment, you destroy the structure of the wood and bark and kill the antibacterial properties of the wood.
USELESS

With chemical treatment
introduce the bleach and chemicals to the cage environment because you never ever get it evaporate fully. HARMFUL

With mechanical treatment you destroy the bark and remove or meaninglessly modify the natural surface of the branches, chameleons need to grasp and climb on.
UNCOMFORTABLE

WHY PEOPLE SUGGEST THE ABOVE?

AFRAID OF CHEMICAL POLITION
Pesticides
Lead
Exhalations
Pollutants

Solution: get the branches from safe sources

AFRAID OF PESTS
Insect larvae
Insects
Ants
Termites
Scorpions
Spiders

Solution: inspect the branches on ants, termites and scorpions and avoid infested pieces. With all the rest be happy, if additional critters appear in the cage, they will be readily eaten.

SO, WHAT TO DO WITH THE RIGHT SELECTED BRANCHES?

Take it easy:
1. Remove leaves and loose parts that would anyway fall off
2. Wash the natural branches with cold water and let them dry

 

[Thehippie]

Wow this is great!!

 

[snitz427]

Sorry but I dont see much harm in using dawn dish soap and hot water. I dont boil or bleach my branches, but I do rinse with soap. It will kill some pests, and also helps dislodge bird poop and buildup.

Mr. Necas must not deal with plants pests. We got scale insects in the cham cages and controlling that SUCKS. Nothing comes into the house with out being washed with Dawn now.

 

[snitz427]

That being said, Im sure my chams could care less. I am not afraid to put them on unclean branches outside. But I want to keep a semi controlled environment in their cages.

 

[Thehippie]

That being said, Im sure my chams could careless. I am not afraid to put them on unclean branches outside. But I want to keep a semi controlled environment in their cages.

Lol! I am too, but I debark everything to make sure there are no parasites in the branches which in turn removes all the dirty bark which seems perfectly fine after I Sun dry them for a week lol

 

[cyberlocc]

Solution: inspect the branches on ants, termites and scorpions and avoid infested pieces. With all the rest be happy, if additional critters appear in the cage, they will be readily eaten.

SO, WHAT TO DO WITH THE RIGHT SELECTED BRANCHES?

Take it easy:
1. Remove leaves and loose parts that would anyway fall off
2. Wash the natural branches with cold water and let them dry

Ya while I agree drop the unnatural branches and such, I disagree with dont treat it.

I chose that area specifically in my quote as to point out.

Lots of those critters, can and DO hide under bark, and some even burrow into the wood. After that ya, "they will be readily eaten" except for what happens when that is not a good thing?

So you get some sugar ants, cool no problem, cham can lick them on up. What happens when the ants you brought in are Fire Ants? That pose way more danger to the Cham than he does them.

What happens when that flat body centipede is lurking in those branches? The black widow eggs stashed in a small recess that you didn't see? I live in AZ, that gives me a risk most of you wont have, The Arizona Bark scorpion, one of 3 Scorpions in the world, that can actually KILL a human being.


What about Fungus? What about poisonous fungus, you got this branch outside sitting? So what about the black mold underneath that bark that you dont see? What about the Black Rot on that Apple tree branch that you dont notice, until it rots the branch inside out and snaps it in half when your cham is basking on it?

Every single branch you add to your chams cage untreated, you are playing Russian Roulette. With more or less rounds in the chamber depending your states/countries environment, and from where the branch was sourced.


Instead of saying let the freedom fly with whatever is on the branch, why not suggest safer methods? Bleach, 100% will completely completely evaporate. When he says crazy stuff like this it makes me question everything he has to say. We better tell Vets about the bleach, they dont know about the Bleach! https://sheltermedicine.vetmed.ufl.edu/files/2011/10/Guidelines-for-Using-Bleach-updated.pdf.

Oh while we are at it, let's tell the fish guys. Not like fish are not more susceptible to and quicker to see exposure from non evaporated bleach. https://fishgeeks.com/driftwood-cleaning/

As to removing bark, I wouldn't do so on purpose because I don't like the look. However to pretend like there is no barkless wood, decaying trees ect where from Chameleons Hail is illogical. Of course this comes from a guy, that claims chameleons discriminate branches. They do not climb on Liana's in the wild, you know 80% of the branches in area where alot of chameleons hail, they don't use them though, not at all ever. There's not a ton of videos/Pictures of chameleons traveling on, or hanging out on Liana's in the wild at all....

I am not going to knock anyone who wants to play loose and fast with those dangers, thats on them. Telling everyone to do so, is not advised in my opinion however, especailly when in the same breath down playing the risks. We were talking about this in that Facebook thread the other day, where Petr was saying there is no parasites or disease that can affect chameleons outside of their home region, even in places where they have been introduced in large capacity. So next time you buy a Veilied or Jackson's that is WC no need to run fecals, coccidia doesn't exist in Florida or Hawaii .

Outside of the introduced pop, bringing those parasites and diseases, we also have mutations. So Humans can have the Coronavirus mutate from Bats to infect us after being eaten, but something cannot adapt to a Chameleon? What about the risks of Alfatoxins? Wild Caught feeders cant have that either ehh? That grasshopper you just Fed, couldnt be a lubber, there is no way. The list goes on.

 

[GoodKarma19]

I don't do anything to my branches or wood features beyond the occasional rinse with a hose and leaving them outside to bake in the sun prior in installment. The trick is choosing a good foraging area in the first place, and avoiding questionable pieces. At worst, I now have a couple flat back milipedes (beneficial) in one build and the occasional snail in the other. I do the same for my birds, and have never had problems.

 

[cyberlocc]

I don't do anything to my branches or wood features beyond the occasional rinse with a hose and leaving them outside to bake in the sun prior in installment. The trick is choosing a good foraging area in the first place, and avoiding questionable pieces. At worst, I now have a couple flat back milipedes (beneficial) in one build and the occasional snail in the other. I do the same for my birds, and have never had problems.

Well to be fair, "flat back millipedes (beneficial)" they are, until they meet your chameleon . Millipedes can do and will if given the chance and the fear, kill a chameleon or mess them up pretty badly (depending on type). They can spray acid and can be extremely toxic if eaten. They are helpful soil cleaners, as long as the cham doesn't interact with them.

I wanted to use a GAM until I found out they can spray acid up to 3ft! That was a little too close for my comfort. I thought, it would be safe as they are too big to eat, and that still holds true, but the acid is a completely different issue lol.

 

[The Wild One]

I just do a quick rinse with a hose, and let them dry in the sun. Small side question, (Not trying to derail the thread) but is there a way to make branches easier to grip? I love the look and sturdiness of Chinese blueberry trees, but they are super smooth and IMO hard to grip if I was a cham.

 

[nightanole]

Wut about drift wood, id say most of my collections dont have bark.

Still, i clean after getting a mite infestation from a non kosher stick...

And honestly my sticks are too long to bake. My cleaning is just super concentrated salt solution. If bugs are still in there, they are not happy.

 

[snitz427]

Wut about drift wood, id say most of my collections dont have bark.

Still, i clean after getting a mite infestation from a non kosher stick...

And honestly my sticks are too long to bake. My cleaning is just super concentrated salt solution. If bugs are still in there, they are not happy.

Personally, I'd do extra cleaning on drift wood. I can't speak for everyone, everywhere... but around here, anything on the shore is littered (literally) with trash and chemicals, most prominently - oil from boats/engines. So, again - personally, I would wash and soak driftwood in dawn soap, and probably bleach.... rinse, wash with soap again, rinse, and then let it soak in a bucket for a few days.

 

[Hashtag ChamLife]

Have to agree with the majority, especially given my location. Here in Florida we have all kinds of good and bad bugs living on pretty much any given dead or live branch. The chances of finding wood without a lifeform is pretty slim. The problem is you bring them into an IDEAL habitat for proliferation. So a seemingly "good" bug is removed from its ecosystem into a man made and controlled ecosystem without bringing in ANY of its predators is a receipe for infestation.

I have used many of the "wild" branches and still do. As many have said, a little rinse and a few days in direct sun will kill anything on the outside. There is also the issue of what lurks beneath. There are many types of wood boring critters, bug eggs that are water/sun proof, etc. There is definitely a risk vs reward. There is natural wood in all my enclosures, but to suggest that there should be regard for treating it is just grossly ignorant. Beyond that, to suggest your one cham, who I assume you feed, will keep in check all species of bugs is also a misrepresentation.

I'm no biologist, but common sense and a basic understanding of nature says otherwise.

 

[GoodKarma19]

Well to be fair, "flat back millipedes (beneficial)" they are, until they meet your chameleon . Millipedes can do and will if given the chance and the fear, kill a chameleon or mess them up pretty badly (depending on type). They can spray acid and can be extremely toxic if eaten. They are helpful soil cleaners, as long as the cham doesn't interact with them.

I wanted to use a GAM until I found out they can spray acid up to 3ft! That was a little too close for my comfort. I thought, it would be safe as they are too big to eat, and that still holds true, but the acid is a completely different issue lol.

It's a small native species of some variety, and the very largest one I have is 3/4 of an inch. Lily doesn't fuss about the bottom of her cage, and she has about 0 prey drive unless I'm holding a feeder for her or it's flying. The only time I've ever seen them was when I was digging around in the substrate, and only for long enough to pick it up and confirm that it's relatively safe. Or at least, safer than a centipede. I continue to be unconcerned.

 

[Brodybreaux25]

they are not happy

lol