Mopani and cholla wood prep questions

[OopsieDaisies008]

Hi! New crab parent here. I bought mopani and cholla wood and am currently boiling them in dechlorinated ocean salt water. My question is… how long do I boil each? Is ten minutes enough for the cholla wood? Is one hour enough for the mopani wood? And then how long should I air dry them for, or should I bake them to dry them? Can’t find a consensus on Google; in fact, a lot of the info I’m seeing on mopani is with regards to aquarium use, not terrarium use.

Thanks so much! So happy to have found a hermit crab community!

[curlysister]

You are going to find a lot of different info, because there really isn't one 'right' or 'proper' way.
Any Cholla wood I have bought, I literally just put it straight into my tank without any prep. I did scrub the drift wood with salt water, and then let it dry in the sun for about half a day.
The salt water is basically to help prevent it from molding. You don't have to dechlorinate the water, and you don't have to use your Instant Ocean - you can just use tap water and kitchen salt.

[OopsieDaisies008]

Thank you! I suspected I was being extra, lol. But now I know for future.