Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, A friend of mine gave me soem manzita/manzanite(not sure what it's called), and a nice big peice of vine. Thjey were in an Iguana's cage that died of old age.I was told a mild solution of bleech/water sprayed on it and allowng it to sit for a few days would work. Does this sound right, or is bleach to strong?

Just use a 1:1:10 bleach to soap to water solution.
Do NOT leave it there, especially if it is a fake vine, the synthetics in the vine will soak up the bleach and stay for a looong time. Just rinse it well after a minute or so and it will be fine. I use this solution on my enclosures a lot and it works well for mild disinfection and general removal of feces and bug goop etc.

Actually the best sterlizer is natural direct sunshine, I usualy rinse off whatever it is I need cleaned then set it in direct sunlight for several hours.

Really? Ive never heard of that! Very cool, i'll try it. I'll still use the bleach/soap/water for parts I can't take outside though.

to be on the safe side (especially since it came from another herp) you can soak it in a bleach water solution (1:10 is fine). Spraying will not penetrate if it is a thick branch and manzanita usually is. Soak it for a an hour or so, then run it under lots of clean cool water. I soak it in water and change the water a lot until it runs clear (smell). then you can let it dry out in the sun for a day - you want it to dry all the way thru. And your done! Some may use some short cuts, but better safe

lele
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia (MIA
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta

Thanks i will try it ths week, BTW the branches are all real, prolly cost over 100 bucks at petsdumb.I have two sides to my outdoors cage. I should have bought and electric staple gun, lolol. i'll post it when it's all done, Thanks for the info, Dave