# Are rocks from outside safe to bring in and use?



## ~Amanda~ (Mar 3, 2013)

Hi guys 
Setting up my Russian's enclosure and there are some really cool rocks in my backyard that I think would look nice in there. Any safety precautions I should take to clean them before bringing them in? Should I boil them or something? 

I mean, I assume they're fine as is but I always like to be sure. Thanks!


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## N2TORTS (Mar 3, 2013)

just hose them off for spiders..... you will be fine!


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## lisa127 (Mar 3, 2013)

I use rocks from outside. I rinse them off and then I actually boil them to sterilize them first. I don't know that it's really necessary, but I do it anyway.


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## Rover15 (Mar 3, 2013)

lisa127 said:


> I use rocks from outside. I rinse them off and then I actually boil them to sterilize them first. I don't know that it's really necessary, but I do it anyway.



I did the same my rocks just for piece of mind


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## lynnedit (Mar 3, 2013)

Use them! If there are from an area free of sprays or weed killers.
Rinse them off well, use boiling water if you want, then let them dry. The sun is a great sterilizer.
I just rinse them off and use them, like JD.


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## Kirin (Mar 3, 2013)

You can also use a LITTLE of bleach and water to sanitize them and then rinse them well and let them sit in the sun to dry. If you can do that for a baby then you can do the same for your tortoise. I have done this with a lot of different animals and have never had a problem. I do make sure that I rinse very well and let fully dry in the sun.


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## ~Amanda~ (Mar 3, 2013)

Thanks for the answers! Boiling isn't hard to do and it's worth the piece of mind so I'll go with that to be sure.


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## ~Amanda~ (Mar 8, 2013)

So I boiled the rocks and they're now clean and inside the enclosure 

This brings me to a related question, *can I do the same with sticks/logs?* The driftwood at the pet store is too large for I what I want so I figured I could find a bunch of different sized sticks/logs in the woods behind my house. I feel like it's easier for bugs and such to hide themselves in wood, so is it possible to clean?


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## Jacqui (Mar 8, 2013)

You could do the the washing in bleach, rinsing, and sun dry or you could bake them.


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## ~Amanda~ (Mar 8, 2013)

Jacqui said:


> You could do the the washing in bleach, rinsing, and sun dry or you could bake them.



I like the idea of baking them. How long and at what temperature? They aren't very big (all under a foot long, the largest being about the thickness of an arm and the smallest being a finger or two)
Just looking for a ballpark because I'm not sure if I should bake them for five minutes or two hours. 
Thanks again


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## Team Gomberg (Mar 8, 2013)

A member here bakes her substrate at 250 degrees for 2 hours veggie using it in the enclosure. I would imagine that would work for your sticks too.


"before" not "veggie"....man this Swype feature on my phone is killing me!


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## ascott (Mar 8, 2013)

Just don't leave the baking wood alone....it is wood and can ignite....also, if you hear popping and such, then you likely had bugs in the wood....


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## Team Gomberg (Mar 9, 2013)

ascott said:


> Just don't leave the baking wood alone....it is wood and can ignite../QUOTE]
> This right here would keep me from trying to bake the wood...


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## Edna (Mar 9, 2013)

Just curious here. What exactly are you all killing when you bake/boil/bleach? I use rocks directly from my garden without doing any of that. I brush off clinging dirt and in they go. I use bark from the yard with just a little rinse and inspection for spider egg sacs. In they go. Tortoises are not bubble children. They don't require or prefer sterile living environments.


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## jaizei (Mar 9, 2013)

Edna said:


> Just curious here. What exactly are you all killing when you bake/boil/bleach? I use rocks directly from my garden without doing any of that. I brush off clinging dirt and in they go. I use bark from the yard with just a little rinse and inspection for spider egg sacs. In they go. Tortoises are not bubble children. They don't require or prefer sterile living environments.



As far as logs are concerned, the idea was originally meant to prevent the introduction of mites to indoor enclosures.


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## Edna (Mar 9, 2013)

Wood mites? Chiggers? Having lived in the cold northern reaches of the country for so long, I'd forgotten about chiggers. Don't tell me the rocks have mites, too


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## FLINTUS (Mar 10, 2013)

In all honesty, I probably have a fair few bugs in my enclosure. The moss and leafliitter is from the garden and woods andd where possible I use dug up soil for my lot. Add to that, I take a fair few plants from both the garden and woods and rocks as well.I do briefly wash them. The only problem I've had was with one fern having greenfly eggs on it which I didn't get off when washed, but none hached and I got it out in time.


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## ~Amanda~ (Mar 22, 2013)

Taking items from outdoors turned out to be an excellent idea! I definitely recommend this to anyone who was weary about trying it.

It adds a very natural look to the habitat, is free, and is customizable. I was able to pick rocks that were just the right size and color that I was looking for, as well as sticks and logs. The driftwood at my petstore only comes in one size that is much too big. 

The rocks were a breeze to boil and dried almost instantly due to evaporation. When choosing sticks, I got ones that were dry and not soft or rotting and sawed the jagged edges straight to give them a more clean look. Baking seemed to do the trick and they've been in there for a while now with zero bugs.


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## SmileyKylie623 (Mar 22, 2013)

I live out in the middle of nowhere and we don't use any weed killer or anything but I too boiled the rocks that I use in my enclosures just to be safe. It sound weird to boil rocks but it will kill any germs or whatever that could be on the rocks. 





Rover15 said:


> lisa127 said:
> 
> 
> > I use rocks from outside. I rinse them off and then I actually boil them to sterilize them first. I don't know that it's really necessary, but I do it anyway.
> ...


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## BeeBee*BeeLeaves (Mar 22, 2013)

You can also use good ole white vinegar and then sun. I am not keen on bleach. It is effective but the chemistry of it scares me. I soak in white vinegar for an hour, rinse and sunshine dry.


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## IowaGuy28 (Mar 23, 2013)

Just my opinion...I think your being overly paranoid


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