Reptile & Amphibian Forums

how do you do it? bleach and water? And how do you clean the driftwood they bask on ? things like that...

I use Nolvasan to clean my tanks when I'm going to put a dragon back in it right away. The light odor from Nolvasan isn't harmful like bleach or ammonia is. If I'm going to have the tank outside for a day or so to air out, I use a 10% bleach solution. I first clean out the tank and remove any debris, then I soak it in the bleach solution and let it sit for 20 minutes. Then I rinse clean and let it air dry until there are no odors left.

For wood, I soak in the same bleach solution as mentioned above. Use a sink or bucket and just let the piece soak for a good 30 minutes or longer if you have the time. Rinse really well. Then I bake in a 250 degree oven for 1 - 2 hours depending on how thick the wood is. Check it every so often to make sure the wood is not getting too hot or burning. I've noticed that some people just do one or the other - soak or bake. I do both - it doesn't hurt to be extra safe.

Hope this helps.

Veronica
Beautiful Dragons

thanks, I'll do that.

ps-you have an awesome website I love it. Do you happen to have a list of live plants that are safe?

If you go to my Nutrition Content page, all the way at the bottom, you will find a list of plants that are proven safe for reptiles.

Thanks for the kudos on the website. I've worked really hard at it. Just glad you enjoyed it.

Veronica
Beautiful Dragons

my vet told me that I could use a 1:30 dilution of bleach as a daily cleaner for poop and such. Do you think this is ok to do in a little spot while my beardie is in the tank? It is very dilute and hardly smells.

Because bleach can be very irritation to your beardies eyes - even if you can hardly smell it. I got the following info off of Melissa Kaplan's very helpful website ...

"Any residual of these substances (bleach or ammonia) left in the tank can cause severe, if not fatal, problems for your animals. Both substances produce strong fumes which can cause internal and external irritations."

Here is the link to that page if you want to read more on what she has to say about cleaning, disinfecting, and sanitizing. It was very helpful to me!

http://www.anapsid.org/cleaning.html

Veronica
Beautiful Dragons