Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I posted a while back about my sick gecko. I had tests and the news wasn't good, it was crypto and I was devastated. I chose to have her put down.

Is there any disinfectant I can use to clean out her tank, of should I get rid of it? It is a very big tank. I have one other gecko and I am desperate to stop him getting ill too.

Thanks.

I always am about being safe then sorry. I would throw it out, but you could probably use like 50/50 bleach and water and wash out with scorching hot water. Good luck.

Bleach won't completely kill all cryptosproridium spores. The only thing that has any real ability to wipeout spores are aldehydes, and even these aren't 100%. Just get rid of the enclosure and start over.

I did a search because I was intriqued by the many questions about crypto particularly yours and I came up with this quote from the CDC
"The parasite is protected by an outer shell that allows it to survive outside the body for long periods of time and makes it very resistant to chlorine- based disinfectants." for more information on the parasite which can be passed to you if you accidentally touch your mouth after touching something from the enclosure go to CDC.gov and do a search for crypto. based on that I would definatly get rid of the enclosure. I understand it's really hard to get rid of something expensive but in this case it's for the best.

If you want to mess with cleaning the cage, wash it down with dishwasher detergent to get all the larger dirt particles out, rinse it well, then soak it in undiluted ammonia. This is the only agent that is known to kill crypto oocysts.

Boiling water also works, but only if the object is in the boiling water. (Crypto is actually the reason why you have to boil drinking water when you go to Asia.) If you can fit any cage furniture into a pot of boiling water, do that, but toss everything else that won't fit because you can't sterilize something by simply pouring boiling water over it.
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