Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Do you take out all the substrate and replace it with new substrate or do you just keep the old one? Also what do you scrub the tank with? Just plain soap?

I spot clean mine until I feel it's time to replace all of the substrate. I like to use Virosan/Nolvasan to clean the cage before I put new substrate in. (actually I use a generic version, not the name brands)

I got the idea from ProExotics

http://www.proexotics.com/supplies.html

Traci

is here:
http://www.animart.com/cgi-bin/listing.cgi?line=Teat_Dips

VIROSAN

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Jeremy J. Anderson
No one in the world ever gets what they want, and that is beautiful. Everybody dies frustrated and sad, and that is beautiful.

I mix vinegar and water in a spray bottle (about 1 part vinegar to 10 parts water) and let it sit a minute if needed. Everything wipes out clean, no need to rinse. I always use this method for glass enclosures that are hard to move.

If I can, I'll rinse the whole tank with hot water, although I usually do this for the rubbermaid containers and not the heavy tanks.

Clean = hot soapy water
Disinfect = water & bleach solution or (my preferred method) Nolvasan/Virosan (totally safe for reptiles)
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Check Out My Albums

1.0 Ball Python "Aragorn"
1.0 Kenyan Sand Boa "Gimli"
1.0 Saharan Sand Boa "Frodo"
0.1 Rough-Scale Sand Boa "Arwen"
0.1 California Kingsnake "Gentoo"
1.0 Mexican Black Kingsnake "Indigo"
1.0 Snow Corn snake "Chile"

0.1 Australian Cattle Dog/Pointer
"Kira"

I spot clean almost daily, I CLEAN with Meyers Lemon Verbena cleanser, and disinfect with virosan dilution. I dilute and mix the two and it's totally safe (within reason) if visibly dry, and it is costing me less than $1/gallon!!!
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Jeremy J. Anderson
No one in the world ever gets what they want, and that is beautiful. Everybody dies frustrated and sad, and that is beautiful.