Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I bet a lot of you use the twisting fake vines by exo-terra,seems like a succesful product.The problem is that I do not know how to disinfect them,a member told me that their center consists of paper that would absorb any disinfectants so it can be dangerous.
Any ideas?
Thanks

I use antibacterial dish-soap. Just take a brush or rag and soak it in the soap water, use it to clean you vines, then rinse your vines underwater and let them soak in clean cold water for like an hour. If you are using enough plants and leaves in your cages, you shouldn't have to worry about the chams licking the vines, since they will have the leaves to lick for water instead. I've been using the jungle vine for about 6 years using the same cleaning method and no problems so far Good luck, cleaning is always a blast!!
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TFFF
(Tootie Freakin' Fruity Feenie)

How often would you clean the vines?
Also how can I tell if a dish soap is antibacterial?Or are they all of them?
Thanks

I only clean the vines about once a month, and you can find a mild dish soap that will say "anitbacterial" on it, or you can use SoftSoap hand wash..it's free of dye and is also Anitbacterial and it's only like 1.00 for a little pump container.
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TFFF
(Tootie Freakin' Fruity Feenie)

Thanks,you helped a lot

Any time
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TFFF
(Tootie Freakin' Fruity Feenie)

If it's true that the center of the vine might absorb a disifectant, then any antibacterial soap that you use might not completely rinse out. A better solution might be to use hydrogen peroxide (the disinfectant that you get at the drug store). Use it full strength straight out of the bottle and wipe the vine down with a rag or cotton ball soaked in the stuff. Then wipe it dry. The nice thing about hydrogen peroxide is that it is unstable and breaks down in a few hours into water and oxygen, so if you happen to miss drying a drop of it, or if any of it soaks into the vine, it doesn't leave behind any potentially-dangerous chemical residue. I have used it for years to periodically clean the natural-wood tree that I have in my boa cage. It works really well.
 

We use chlorhxedine. It is especially made for reptiles. When you mix a gallon it lasts for a long time. We use it on our chameleons and snakes. I clean the branches and inside the cage once a month. You can order it from any online reptile supplier.