Reptile & Amphibian Forums

whats the differance in chlorhexidine products? IE: diacetate, VS. gluconate(sp?),also does the S(scented) product effect cage cleaning? vapors?, i am treating it like bleach cleaning and rinsing bowls,cages,very good with clean water after cleaning and before housing the snake, but ive heard the mixture of 1oz.to 1gallon of water is safe to spray into water bowls and just wipe-out? same with cages? are residue or vapors harmfull? how about sprayed on wooden racks? any tips on using chlorhexidine diacetate or Nolvasan S? there are lots of warnings about vapors on the packaging.
thanks,,,,,,,,,thomas davis

>>whats the differance in chlorhexidine products? IE: diacetate, VS. gluconate(sp?),also does the S(scented) product effect cage cleaning? vapors?, i am treating it like bleach cleaning and rinsing bowls,cages,very good with clean water after cleaning and before housing the snake, but ive heard the mixture of 1oz.to 1gallon of water is safe to spray into water bowls and just wipe-out? same with cages? are residue or vapors harmfull? how about sprayed on wooden racks? any tips on using chlorhexidine diacetate or Nolvasan S? there are lots of warnings about vapors on the packaging.

Chlorhexidine diacetate IS Novalsan... one is the generic name the other the trade name. the gluconate is often sold in pharmacies as "Hibiclens". The diacetate and gluconate are essentially the same thing. The diacetate is the animal grade formula (blue) and the gluconate is the human grade formula (red/pink). Getting the scented stuff is worthless..don't need to pay extra for scented. Though I think some people feel the need to have scented so to make it seem like they are having a physical effect on what it is they are cleaning... smell to them equals effective though it's just a mental thing lol.

Chlorhexidine is very safe when diluted... don't have to be too careful about rinsing things like you do with the bleach... animals can safely ingest small amounts. I often soak box turtles or snakes for about 10 minutes in a diluted solution when I get an injured one in (after first soaking in plain water to allow them time to drink if they need to hydrate first). Our vet often recommends cleaning wounds with it instead of betadine. There is even a dental version for cleaning the mouth cavity.
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PHWyvern

I agree with the previous post. To add a bit, the acetate usually comes slightly more concentrated than the gluconate. Also, when used for foot bathes and other standing solutions, the gluconate allows bacteria growth sooner than the acetate, although both will fail sooner or later (probably not relevant for your uses I guess).

Follow the instructions on the bottle for dilutions. It's been a while since I've read them but I do recal that there are several different dilutions/uses instructed. (one for general microbial, mopping floors, cleaning instruments ect.) For day to day usage, use the most dilute version. For cage deep down cage cleaning, you can make it more concentrate, but then rinsing becomes doubly important. With perhaps exception to the scented versions, unlike bleach, ventilation doesn't seem to be of much importance.

Ian