Alex's new stick.

[BPSabelhaus]

It's a sea serpent hitthhh Grabbed it while beach combing.

 

[JohnLillywhite23]

This! It's, honestly, sad to see people spending upwards of $30-$40 on a stick at a reptile shop. I've always used sticks and rocks from the outside. If it's wood, I'll sand the loose bark off of it, give it a bleach bath, then in the oven. This ensures any and all parasites, bugs, etc are dead. 1 of 1. Free. Can't beat it!

Log looks awesome, man!

 

[xp29]

View attachment 90540

It's a sea serpent hitthhh Grabbed it while beach combing.

Oh she is gonna be a happy girl for sure

 

[BPSabelhaus]

This! It's, honestly, sad to see people spending upwards of $30-$40 on a stick at a reptile shop. I've always used sticks and rocks from the outside. If it's wood, I'll sand the loose bark off of it, give it a bleach bath, then in the oven. This ensures any and all parasites, bugs, etc are dead. 1 of 1. Free. Can't beat it!

Log looks awesome, man!

Agreed. People pay a lot online too, then the shipping lol it's crazy what a good stick costs.

 

[BPSabelhaus]

Oh she is gonna be a happy girl for sure

Maybe. Her digging box is going to be a pool again lol I want to do a better box for her. Not sure if I will alter the old box, or get a new one yet.

 

[BPSabelhaus]

Took awhile to get in / position and secure. But that's a stick lol

 

[ChileanTaco]

Very nice Very similar to the one Taco has.

I think your dragon will enjoy the different ways to sit on the "stick" (mine does!).

I bought his branch.... Was lucky to find one for what converts to $10 from a local store. But that's because here are no forests where I could get some, and larger pieces of driftwood are very rare - I found one after more than a year (that's his branch for outside of the enclosure), as an avid beach comber.
However, instead, I got all his stones and even the sand from the desert I think, in general, it should always be possible to get at least something from outdoors - I always found at least something for whatever pet I had (birds, hermit crabs, frogs, lizards, and now a beardie) outdoors at a place where it's allowed to take it (As I love the outdoors, I'm really strict with the "take only photos" at certain places.)

 

[BPSabelhaus]

Our beaches are basically logs, then wood, then rocks, them algae covered rocks then somewhere out at low tide might be some clam filled rocky sand lol

I grew up with leave only foot steps. Now I understand that we have managed the forests since time immemorial and only recently stopped. Taking wood, berries, moving plants, is all needed.

Take only that which is given as a gift, leave only gifts in reciprocation

 

[ChileanTaco]

The beaches here are covered in seashells (and shells from crab, and even finding sea lion and dolphin teeth isn't rare) - never saw a beach with so much seashells elsewhere! The ocean here is full of life (Humboldt current!). Driftwood larger than the size of a hand however is rarely found, and if, I always wonder about how long it has been underway.

Regarding taking something from the outdoors: Carefully, never taking everything that's there, and only what one can really use, is my approach (and never from where it isn't allowed - there are always other options, as nice as a given stone or piece of cholla from this or that national park might look, I don't depend on it and so I leave it and rather get me a stone that prevents my cacti from tipping over from somewhere else).
I grew up with berries and mushrooms from the forests, crafts materials also often from there, and my first terrarium had plants I got from a forest - things I would still get if I were at such a place. I think using them in small amounts also lets us value them and gets us more interested in them - I agree with "you can only protect what you know".

 

[BPSabelhaus]

I steal seeds from national parks, come at me lol Spreading them in the process, but they have a better chance of germination with me.

 

[ChileanTaco]

@BPSabelhaus

I don't see this as b/w
E.g.:
If somebody might take a few seeds from plants in a national park to let them grow in a similar environment, maybe in that way making insects plants available that aren't found anymore at that place: see no problem with that.
If somebody rips out some plants just because of "nice flowers", "looks interesting" to let them die off at home as having no idea on how to properly care for them: that's something I find really bad.

As a kid, I once saved a lizard and once a frog (years apart), both injured. Kept them in a tank. Technically I would not have been allowed to do so, because neither me nor my parents are a certified wildlife rehab person.
The other option would have been just letting them die (killing to end their suffering, I also would not have been allowed doing so), because there was no wildlife rescue to bring them to. I had chosen keeping them temporarily until they're doing better, and might have killed them if appearing to suffer without improvement (hate killing animals, but I'm a pragmatic person and it's rather me feeling bad than another being suffering).
Btw.: Frog and lizard survived, appeared healthy and I brought them back to from where I got them.
Would do so again. (Would prefer the wildlife rehab if possible, I know where one is here, but if not, I'd rather take that animal in.)