Reptile & Amphibian Forums

cleaning the water bowls? such as crocks bowls commonly sold in pet stores is what i use and every now and then i would bleach them and rinse them. what do you guys use or do when cleaning the bowls deeply? by the way i have water in the tubs 24/7.

I don't have a huge collection, just about 30 snakes. I remove all the water bowls once a week (tonight actually). I soak them in warm water with bleach while I feed everything, then wash them out and rinse. Tomorrow when I check to make sure everyone ate I change the bedding and put the water bowls back. During the week I spot clean the litter, top off the bowls as needed and change any that were soiled.

Bleach doesn't kill everything though. In the 80's I brought a pair of snakes at a show and brought crypto home. I used to do the same thing with the water bowls, and when they went back in they just were put where ever. I ended up losing over 30 snakes. It must have taken about 20 stool samples before we figured out what it was, because it doesnt shed often. Basically I spread it thru the water bowls.

Now I have a better quarantine system and nothing gets put with my collection for at least 6 months.
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"The band is just fantastic, that is really what I think. Oh by the way, which ones pink?"

Hi Derek,

I hope all is well... I have always used nothing but hot water and soap to clean all of my herp stuf...

Will i see you in white plains or did you move already. Also, hows your wife felling?

~ Mike Russo

wow that must have sucks to lose over 30 snakes.
well Mike we ended up staying here because of the baby and so...i won't be able to make it to the very next wp show . the wife been feeling off and on if you know what i mean. you go to hamburg too right?

Bleach won't do it-you need a strong ammonia solution. The little guys are a tough nut to crack!

Brad Chambers

which ammonia can be use?

Just regular household ammonia-dilute it just as you would bleach.

Brad Chambers

Yeah crypto is fun.
I remember when it wiped out the majority of my collection a couple years ago.

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Mike
KingPin Reptiles Inc.
www.kingpinreptiles.com
^ Updated 8/27

How do snakes get crypto? Does a 'new introduction' have to bring it in or is there another way. It is a horrible disease. I heard it cannot come in via water as the crypto that can sometimes be found in water is a different kind.

Thanks,
Dan

has done a tremendous job on researching methods of controlling Cryptosporidium.
Pls check this out:

http://www.k-state.edu/parasitology/basicbio

and note that dessication is the oocysyts weakness. Via personal communication with the crypto dept, I learned that a strong solution of bleach (10-20%) will kill the oocysyts IF left in contact for 24 hours and followed by drying the cages/bowls/etc for another 24 hours. The use of heat lamps or sunlight will accelerate the kill rate and shorten the required exposure time.

Quarantine and testing is basic and probably doesn't need rehashing again.
Jeff
Link

do you guys soak/clean the bowls all in once? i have always been iffy about mixing bowls then i won't know which is which for each snakes lol i know i am crazy. so i am gonna do it anyway save time too. will hot water and a soap of dawn will do rather than bleach?? thanks

If you're reasonably sure the collection is free of crypto (and the other junk) there's no good reason that you could not skip the harsh chemicals (bleach and/or ammonia)and just use dishsoap which is satisfactory for killing common bugs and spores that will normally grow in the bowls. Ideally, that's the goal in a closed collection.

In the general collection I use about 20 gallons of bleach per year and collectively soak the water bowls in 10-20% usually 30-50 at a time in a large laundry tub. Shoeboxes, lids, hatchling cages, etc..all get a minimum 24 hour bleach soak and several days of dry time. Think of it as a kill tank.
However:
Any suspect animals or imports are isolated and have dedicated racks/cages/waterbowls until I know they're clean. Those waterbowls are cheap enough to be discarded if things turn out bad but would otherwise be sanitized along with the others...be sure to refresh the bleach solution regularly. I'm actually using the same tank of water drawn 5 years ago and everything dissolves in it...the water is clear and smells like...well, bleach.

Talk to different curators and serpentarium owners about their quarantine methods and normal sanitizing protocol, try different proven methods from guys in zoos with well established inventories until you find something workable.
Jeff