Posted by:
MaxPeterson
at Thu Oct 11 14:49:48 2007 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by MaxPeterson ]
Actually, my main focus on this post was just in relation to the posts which were removed that had what I thought were pertinent information - Lifespan of chlorhexidine once diluted with water.
I mainly use it as a cleanser on cages which are "dirty", not those with dirt/soil in them.
You bring up an interesting point though... You've had your animals set up for years without having to clean, or replace the dirt.
In nature there are beneficial bugs, microbes, worms, sun, etc. which "clean" the soil. In captivity, I have noticed that under the right conditions similar events can & do occur. I primarily work with snakes, but I'm thinking your monitor enclosures are probably working similarly to nature. With the snakes, I have noticed beetles & moths that have infested a cage where I'm using cypress mulch as a substrate - they will "clean" up fecal material, shed skins, & the occasional rodent that doesn't get eaten, but ends up buried in the substrate.
The odor goes away & the cage is still livable.
I've also noticed this "natural cleansing" going on in rodent cages that have gone too long without cleaning - at several weeks a mouse or rat cage can get almost unbearable - nasty looking & wreaks of ammonia; give it another week or so, & a change occurs - the ammonia smell goes away & the fecal material & urine start to break down more rapidly - I'm hypothesizing that there are now enough beneficial microbes & bacteria to break them down into, essentially, compost. In a less confined environment than a rodent cage, this could work indefinitely. Personally, rodent cages should be cleaned at least once per week (that's my disclaimer).
The Europeans have long been ahead of us in setting up naturalistic vivariums for their animals, vs. we who put them in sterile boxes.
One of these days, I'd like to drop by & visit with you, & check out your set-up. Last time I was in Tucson, the highway was a mess & had no exits 
Cheers,
Max
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RE:chlorhexidine diacetate as a cleanser - MaxPeterson, Thu Oct 11 14:49:48 2007
