Rocks in cages

[Jacob_Parsons15]

Are there any special things you have to do to rocks from outside before putting them in your geckos cage?
(besides washing them off of course)

 

[whkrazyk]

i would bake it to make sure you get all the parasites out of it

 

[SLY]

i would bake it to make sure you get all the parasites out of it

NO. Terrible, terrible advice.

Washing should be fine. Do not bake your rock(s)...they can explode if they're porous. If you know the rock you're using isn't porous, you'll be fine, otherwise...DO NOT take the adivce posted above.

 

[jakemyster44]

I reccomend using smooth rocks, or slate and the like. I wouldnt use lava rock or any other porous rocks, beacuse they are harder to clean and bacteria can build up easier. Smooth rocks are easily washed clean, since bugs cant get inside of a rock... another reason I dislike porous rock.

 

[Gregg M]

No need to bake rocks... There will not be any parasites hanging out in rocks that will harm your leo... All you need to do is give them a quick wash...

On a side note, with all of my snakes, none of the cage decore is ever baked, not even the substrate... Just quickly washed... Parasites do not just hang out in rocks or on branches... You can get substrate mites and stuff like that but they do not harm reptiles... They eat the rotting vegitation or wood in natural substrates... Infact my gaboon cages and monitor cages are filled with dirt from my yard, sand, and oak leaf compost... In the dirt there are tons of isopods and other insects... I even have spiders in the cages sometimes... This is actually a good thing...

The isopods and other insects are like the sanitation dept... They keep the cage floor clean and the cages smelling good and natural... No lizard or snake crap smell what so ever... In a few of the monitor cages, there are actually super worm colonies growing... For some reason, the monitors do not eat the beetles... It is like a tiny little eco system going on and it has worked like this for years...

 

[Haligren]

I use schmoos in my setup. These are porous but the pores are way too small for any insect to fit into (these are microscopic pores). Basically they're made of sand that has hardened and become impacted over thousands of years; the sand forms around a bone of an animal, supposedly, or a seashell or other rock. You can find them buried under the sediment in most rivers. And they look really cool!

I ran mine under very hot water for several minutes and scrubbed them with a bristle brush just to make sure I got rid of any bacteria or possible microscopic organisms. They absorb heat VERY well, and are extremely easy to clean.

 

[Jacob_Parsons15]

Thanks everyone for your advice