Pet Turtle : Driftwood

While it can make the habitat much more natural and interesting untreated driftwood (this is what is usually available) is an extremely high maintenance decoration. Driftwood is NOT easily available at most Indian pet shops, and therefore you might end up getting it from a roadside vendor or collecting it yourself from the beach. In either case it can be fatal to introduce into the turtle tank without sterilization.

Never introduce any driftwood that has been treated with chemicals, paints, varnish etc. Most roadside vendors sell pieces of root/trunk as driftwood that more often than not has polish or varnish coatings - so avoid these.

While driftwood does drift in water bodies - don't ever try and drift it in your tank! It will provide a haven for all sort of harmful parasites. Any driftwood that you want to keep should be placed in the land area as far away from the waterside as possible - the core objective being to avoid getting it wet.

An easy & safe way of darkening the driftwood color is to boil it in water along with some tea!

It is preferable to put them right next to the basking stone, so that the heat from the lamp dries out any water quickly. Also it would provide the turtles an alternative basking texture.

Maintenance

Driftwood needs to be cleaned every 4-5 days. It should NEVER be subjected to strong detergents, acids or other cleaning ingredients, as it would absorb these and could pollute the tank later.

The best way to clean driftwood is to dry-scrub it thoroughly with an old toothbrush, especially along the rough surfaces, beneath the curved edges, troughs, fissures etc. as this where most waste can collect. Follow this with a 'heat-treatment' in your oven at 150oC for 30 minutes.

If you notice any green growth or the driftwood surface is slimy to touch, throw it away!