Does Cork Bark expand?????

[Jakob]

Today I was replacing the substrate in my geniculatas and albopilosums cages and I nuked (microwaved) the cork bark piece the geniculata had in it. I nuked it or 5 whole minutes and when I put it back in the enclosure, it seemed considerably larger and barely fit in the cage ( I had to break off a small section). Has this happened to anyone else before??? What also amazed me is that when the cork was done nuking, quite a few little flies were still alive and flying about in the microwave...WTF?!?! Thanks in advance for all replies.

PS: I also took some pics of the recently molted geniculata...5" in legspan now , one beautiful male I'm tellin ya! And while I was at it I took some pics of one of my C. brachycephalus...very cute! Now I just need to get them developed and scanned...still waiting for the other film to get developed as well...

 

[MrT]

Sounds like a Ballpark frank, it plumps when you cook it.


Ernie

 

[RugbyDave]

haha

didn't yours start smoking a little bit, after 5 mins? I left mine in there for about 3 mins and it was smoking like hell..

it was also a brand new micro thats mighty powerful, so i dunno.

peace
dave

 

[Jakob]

The microwave I used isn't too old...3 years maybe, but it didn't smoke at all, it was pretty hot though hehe.

 

[MrT]

I damn near caught my kitchen on fire once cooking a snake hide in the microwave. It was seconds away from combustion. The sap in the wood was bubbling and the dry parts were smoking.:8o
I now cook em on the BBQ..

Ernie

 

[conipto]

Hmm... I just use soap and water...

Bill

 

[RugbyDave]

man, that smell of burnt wood in a microwave is horrible, huh? Doesn't smell like a minnesotan fall, i'll tell you that much

peace
dave

 

[MrDeranged]

Never heard of cork bark expanding before, but I guess it's possible.l

Microwaves do not heat evenly. There may be many large pockets that do not get heated at all. If you're using the microwave to sterilize items, your best bet is to put a bowl of water in there with the item. The steam that is created will be superheated and will kill of most pests.

Scott

 

[Lycanthrope]

man, that smell of burnt wood in a microwave is horrible, huh? Doesn't smell like a minnesotan fall, i'll tell you that much

you think the wood is bad, try one of those little half-coconut hides. burnt one of those up a few months back, our apartment stunk for a month, the microwave still stinks.