There is some lichen on my bark.
It's a large piece of cork bark sold by Zoo Med.
Is it safe for the terrarium? Should I remove it from the bark first before
using it in a terrarium?
Thoughts?
View attachment 22590
thank you,
Steve
It's fine. It won't grow in the tank and will probably simply mold and decompose rapidly but it is fine.
Unless your cork bark is being stored outside there isn't any need to boil or bake it as it was fumigated before being allowed in the US to prevent insects from being imported.
As an aside, boiling or baking or both are not adequate methods of dealing of disinfecting or sterilizing wood or bark. You have to be able to get the core temperature of the material hot enough to guarantee that all pockets and crevices are heated sufficiently and this is very difficult using the above methods.