my last beardie was really sick when i put him to sleep. now i have a new bearded dragon and i want to make sure that he don't get sick as well. My dad helped me build a really nice big cage for my last bearded dragon. He made it out of plywood for the back wall, sides, top and bottom, and plexiglass for the front wall. all together the cage is 4ft long, 2ft deep and 2.5ft high. the bottom of the cage is linned with tile for easy clean up and so the floor of the cage wouldn't rot. i'm not sure if what my last beardie died from is contagious or not but i don't want to take any chances with getting my new lizard sick too. can anybody tell me the best and safest way to disinfect and stearalize my cage so its safe and clean for my new beardie? what products should i use and should i paint the wood to make sure its safe? please help...i'm lost on this one. thanks
Reptile & Amphibian Forums
Welcome to kingsnake.com's message board system. Here you may share and discuss information with others about your favorite reptile and amphibian related topics such as care and feeding, caging requirements, permits and licenses, and more. Launched in 1997, the kingsnake.com message board system is one of the oldest and largest systems on the internet.
any advice on how to clean my cage?
Replies (2)
If the wood of the cage was unsealed it is much harder to clean. About the only thing you can do to be 100% sure the cage is sterile, is to toss it and build a new one.
If the wood was sealed previously, you can wash the cage with a strong disinfectant/antibacterial cleaning, rinse really well and allow to air dry before you put a new dragon into the cage.
But, giving the fact the dragon that was sick the problem was diagnosed as parasites, removing all the tiles and soaking them in a bleach solution and washing underneath the tiles in the cage (unless they are fully sealed into the cage, in which case you just have to wash the tiles inside the cage really well). Take out all cage furniture and wash it, then soak in a bleach solution for about 20 minutes, rinse really well, then rinse some more, air dry.
If the furniture is untreated wood, probable be simpler to just trash it and buy new furniture.
-----
PHLdyPayne
I'd paint or seal the wood just so it's easier to clean in the future. As someone that builds all there own cages it's never easier to throw away a cage than clean it. lol.
The tile I'd just scrub with a bleach solution and rinse real well. I've started using Clorox Clean-up for this task.
