Reptile & Amphibian Forums

How do most of you go about cleaning your snakes enclosures? I just clean it using really hot water. However I was hearing recently that you should use a 5% bleach mixture to dissinfect everything...now I feel kind of stupid if I never used a 5% bleach mixture....

Different disinfectants kill different pathogens. A CHlorine Bleach solution is a good all-around disinfectant but it doesn't kill everything. One of the main things it does not kill is Cryptosporidium. Also, 5% is a little weak. I'd use at least 10% and preferably 20%. Do not put your reptiles back into the cages after using any disinfectant until they have been thoroughly rinsed and dried. Disinfectants are irritants and can cause problems if the animals come into direct contact with them.

The only hting proven to kill Cryptosporidium is ammonia. I use a Quaternary Ammonia preparation called Roccal-D. It is a veterinary disinfectant/deodorizer. It doesn't kill everything either, though, so I alternate between that and a 20% Chlorine Bleach solution.

Never, ever use anything like Pine-Sol or anything containing Phenol.

Maybe this sounds like a stupid question, but how exactly do i go about making an accurate 20% bleach mixture...

2 cups of bleach and 8 cups of water makes a 10-cup, 20% solution.

I actually bought a spray bottle with a dilution guide printed on the side. That kept me from splashing it in my eyes or accidentally turning the dog white. I'm a bit of a klutz.
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Peter: It's OK, I'll handle it. I read a book about something like this.
Brian: Are you sure it was a book? Are you sure it wasn't NOTHING?

I clean mine with Chlorhexidine Solution, more commonly known as Novisan(not sure about the spelling on this). I did use bleach & sometimes still do, but this stuff kills more. It also costs a lot more. I properly dilute it as directed.
Cricket

I alternate between that and a 20% Chlorine Bleach solution.

You should know that bleach and ammonia together produces toxic fumes, for both you and your snake!

I personally use Nolvasan for darn near everything. If you have amphibians, this is the safe way to go.
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...the oldest task in human history: to live on a piece of land without spoiling it."
Aldo Leopold (1938)

"Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us."
Calvin and Hobbes (Scientific Progress Goes 'Boink', 1991)

Good point.
You never use an ammonia product and a bleach product together. If you are using them both at one cleaning (as I do once a month), you have to rinse thoroughly between.