Bringing items from the wild into the tank

Couldnt figure a forum to post this in.
Really its out of curiousity on all me critters
I always find some killer lookin drift wood out at the lakes creeks and hills
Ive brought some home but havent done anythin with it
It seems the same as the drift wood sold in pet shops
But can I boil the wood in hot water and it be safe for scorpions and snakes?
I dont want outside parasites buggin me critters, just wanna know if
theres a way to clean the natural items properly

I've boiled wood before and it didn't kill any of my critters so far

Also know that putting stuff in the freezer might help. Like moss. That way you can take it out when you need it. Haven't tried it myself though. I have boiled wood before and seems to be ok. It took forever to dry.

Freezing doesn't sterilize; if there's harmful microbes they can just go dormant (so can some "critters" if they're from a temperate enough climate).

I wouldn't suggest boiling because of the problem of it taking forever to dry and you may risk structural damage to whatever it is you're sterilizing -- and boiling can only hit 212 degrees.

I would suggest thoroughly washing whatever it is you've found (just to remove dirt or rocks or largish bugs you haven't noticed) and then bake it at 300+ degrees for half an hour or so. It hits temps that boiling can't and it ensures you have a nice dry piece of decor.

Bakin eh? Doesn catch fire or anythin? Stupid question but bad things happen to me
Ill give her a try tonight
maybe the ol lady will think im cookin up a big dinner but find out its just wood
itl be great either way

It might get a little charred, but stuff has to get pretty dang hot before it'll spontaneously combust.

And she won't mistake it for food -- your kitchen will just smell like, well, tree. That's another reason it's important to wash it first, so that nothing stinky will be in it and smell bad if it chars.

Either 15 minutes at 121C wet heat, or

45 minutes at 160C dry heat, ie an oven.

Ensure the centre of anything you're sterilising reaches the time/temps too, and that should make them sterile.

yeah just give it a good old bake

I just bought a baby Red claw today and forgot to get it .... well anything except a hollowed out log from the pet store and a water dish so I went ouside and broke a dead branch off of a tree and put it in his tank. Was that a good idea? or should I take it out?

Take it out, bake it, and then put it back in.,

It was only in there for a couple hours. I took it out as soon as I saw this post. I havent done any harm have I?

No.