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EWWWWW my red tails cage smellls!!! What

heffner2212 Nov 06, 2006 06:06 PM

What can I do? I just cleaned it out fully last week.....she just pooped 2 days ago I cl;eaned all that up but it still smells....I use cage carpet is that the problems? What about using pine bedding? will that eliminate the smell??? what does everyone else do I need to do something as you all know that is the most horrible smell!!!!

Replies (7)

rainbowsrus Nov 06, 2006 06:14 PM

I hear Pine is no good....oils and such. I use dimpled craft paper from uline.com It looks good but is not absorbent enough so I put a couple layers of newspaper down first with the dimpled craft paper on top. Works great!!

What kind of cage? materials? Yes the carpet liners can smell, been there, done that. Got tired of cleaning liners!!

If it's a wooden cage, and not sealed well........I think you get the picture. Or of it has a leak near the floor? Or some smeared on the wall....sometimes I have found it on the inside of the face frame where you can't see it well.

Also, she could be passing gas....

>>What can I do? I just cleaned it out fully last week.....she just pooped 2 days ago I cl;eaned all that up but it still smells....I use cage carpet is that the problems? What about using pine bedding? will that eliminate the smell??? what does everyone else do I need to do something as you all know that is the most horrible smell!!!!
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Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC)
0.2 kids (CBB, selectively bred from good stock)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
12.24 BRB
11.13 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

vcane Nov 06, 2006 07:29 PM

Cypree mulch or repti bark have worked good for me but there are alot of things to chose from these days I would say most work good here is a link were you can check some out but there are many other places to look also http://www.bigappleherp.com/bigappleherp.filereader?454fe0af00a258e4271d424d361a066b EN/catalogs/42
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Vince Pramuk

kimusubi Nov 06, 2006 07:37 PM

I've always been told that pine is very dangerous for snakes. I don't know how true that is, but I'd recommend cyprus...works great for me. If you want something that minimizes the smell, I would go with aspen, but the only problem is it won't stay as humid.

mavericksdad Nov 06, 2006 10:14 PM

...easy solution!...when you clean up make absolutly sure it all gone because not only does it smell awful but can also leave harmful bacteria in the inclosure...yeah its not the best looking stuff for your cages but it makes cleaning a snap!...we have two large boas in our living room and there is no smell...
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0.1 c.b.97' 9' 60 lb. common boa "scarlet"
1.0 c.b.02' 6' 15 lb. "hi pink" common boa "maverick"
0.1 c.b.06' 17" firebelly x pastel boa "betty boa"
1.0 c.b. 06' 15" ball python "bart"(i finally got one that eats lol)
?.? 2 savannah monitors:3'"ozzy" 2'"uggy"
1.0 everglades x yellow ratsnake c.b. 04' 4' "pooh"
1.0 c.b.06' redear slider "dweezil"
1.0 c.b.04' emorys ratsnake "zeus"

"...does it bite?"

Trueredtails Nov 07, 2006 01:34 AM

even with having a room just for my boas it never really smells that bad unless one of them has just took a dump. You sure there is no regurge in there? It doest have the same smell as pooh but it can clear a room. I would check to be sure
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True Redtails

slithering_serpents Nov 07, 2006 07:50 AM

You may think you cleaned thoroughly, but you didn't if it still smells. Take everything out of the cage. Clean everything, and put clean newpapers down, you obviously missed something. If you have cardboard or wood items in the cage throw them away. If you want to replace them with 'clan' wood, just coat it with a coating that you can keep clean, like urithane etc.

It's hard to say from here but it is likely you have stuff in the carpet still. Or if you have stuff like a branch or other porous stuff. Carpet is not a good strata for obvioius reasons, it can hold bacteria etc. You can experiment with aspen later, for now your snake deserved a clean cage, and there's newspapers everywhere, and you can do it right now. I have 10 boas in my bedroom, and it only smells when something needs cleaning. Newspapers have been tried and true for quite a few decades now. Aspen is good for some, but personally I think you can miss more odor and things in that kind of stuff because you can't see it as easily. Since you've already had trouble telling when something's clean, go with newspaper. This is not just a problem with small, but also with bacteria etc., which is also not great for your snake.

liquidleaf Nov 07, 2006 02:52 PM

I'd agree. I tried using indoor/outdoor carpeting with my first two snakes. Doesn't hold humidity at all, and is such a pain to clean. I never got all the poop out no matter how much I scrubbed.

That is one pleasant thing I notice about my snakes - they tend not to have much odor, unless one has just recently "dooked". The poop doesn't even smell much if it dries, just when it is fresh and moist. The only other time the cage smelled godawful was when I was switching one boa to frozen thawed from live - he took a frozen thawed, but later decided not to EAT it.... but he had dragged it behind his hide, so I didn't see it. A few days later - oh, it smelled horrid. I thought he'd just pooped - and found what was left of the rat with my bare hand when I was reaching around feeling for poop with a paper towel. THAT was unpleasant.

But I use CareFresh bedding in my smaller cages (shredded cellulose/paper pulp product, you can find it at pet stores in bales, in the small animal section) and paper in the large ones.
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Lauren Madar
www.ophidiagems.com
1.1 Hog Island Boas
1.1 Hypo BCI
0.1 Sorong-type GTP
1.0 Normal Ball Python
1.1 Surinam BCC

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