Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Until this breeding season I had a pretty small group of leos. They're all in good health and I want to keep it that way. I've kept a good number of the babies this year to breed next year. So my numbers have increased to 20.

It's still not a very big group, but I was wondering how you guys keep from passing things from gecko to gecko. I've kept 90 day quarantines on all my new leos before they pass into groups or just into the same area as my other leos.

The alcohol hand sanitizer isn't really all that great... There's been a lot of debate about it even working against most bacteria anymore. Would a small spray bottle of bleach water to mist on my hands be better between gecko cages?

How do you guys do it? Any advice is appreciated =3

Bleach can burn skin even when mixed with water. I know a woman who got freaked about stuff we were learning in school (PSW class) about all the natural bugs we have on us and she started putting bleach in her bath (((CRAZY I KNOW!!!!!!!!!!)))
Anyways, she got a nasty burn from head to toe. Now i don't know what the ratio was of bleach to water, nor how often she did it, but if you plan to use it alot, i'd advise against it.
A good antibiotic soap and washing for 15-30 seconds should work to kill alot of stuff. Thats what i had to do when i was placed in the hospital to care for one of my clients while the SARS thing was really bad. Hand washing was also a part of my schooling. If your still not satisfied that washing will do the trick you can try using gloves. I did while my one leo was sick. I don't know where you are but up here they don't sell latex gloves in drug stores anymore, only vinyl.
Just a thought, i don't know of anything else that would work
Red
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1.0 crested gecko
1.0 leopard gecko
(hoping to get 1.0 blizzard, 0.2 patternless)
1.0 papillion (small dog)
2.0 bettas
and 2 very annoying younger brothers LOL

Onse after I had finished feeding my corn snake I decided to didn't feel like going up stairs to the bathroom because it was very late and everyone else was asleep. I poured some bleach straight onto my hands without dilluting it and scrubbed my hands together (please do not make fun of us stupid people. After about three seconds it was burning like crazy, I tried to rinse it off in the sink but I couldn't get it all off and some of it seeps under your skin. I ended up running up stairs to get some soap and waking everybody up anyway. I think you probably could use %5 or  bleach though because this is what your hands are in when you clean cages.

np

np

Our vet reccomends a 5-10 % bleach/water solution in a spray bottle between dogs just in case. This is when we're treating for a cold, cough, coccidia...just about anything really. Just because not everything is killed with the anti-bacterial.

I do know of the dangers with pure bleach tho. Stuff is nasty if you're not careful.

I've noticed some diahrrea in one of my juvie cages so I got a bit paranoid. Just curious as to what some others may do... that's the type of precautions we have so as not to spread anything from one dog to another. Was interested to see what some breeders do.

My advice is to not worry about it so much. As long as you are not adding anything new to your group. If the current geckos in the group check out fine, don't worry about it. If you have other species you are working with , it is a good idea to wash your hands when switching from species to species.
good luck
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Bill DiFabio
Azteclizard.com
Email Me

Some people are more sensitive than others to bleach (I can keep my hands in it forever, but can't breath it), but if that's what it does to us, I can only imagine it's much worse for such a small creature.

It's probably best to stick with a good anti-bacterial soap like Dial or what the hospitals use, because bleach is really, really hard to wash off of skin. Or, just buy gloves and spray with bleach and rinse them well before re-using them.. just my opinion!
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Got hips like Cinderella / Must be having a good shame / Talking sweet about nothing / Cookie I think you're Tame

I have only had one instance in the last 6 years of a problem cropping up in an established group of leos. I still do not know what happened or why it did.

Contact me in private if you would like the details.

Steven-Royal Gold Reptiles

Bleach is a base (as opposed to an acid). Strong bases make your hands slippery almost like your skin is turning into a soapy substance. Although it isn't the strongest base it still can iritate the skin (i.e. burning sensation) and it could be worse for a little gecko rather than a human. Are you not supposed to rinse the bleach solution off after washing the tank?
I believe that a hand sanitizer and then washing your hands with a good antibacterial soap like dial would be best for your leos and your skin.
I know i'm repeating a lot of what has been said but I just wanted to put my 2 cents in. lol.
mal