Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi guys

What do you clean your reptile cages with? I keep 37(?) snakes in custom made wooden cages. I use very mild solution of bleach and water (one Clorox cap : one large spray bottle). I remove the snake, spray this solution into the cage, wipe with sponge and wipe once again with water. However, the smell often remains.

Is there another safe and effective method to clean wooden cages? How do you, guys, clean your cages?

I keep newspaper as a substrate.

Thank you.

Nolvasan or other chlorhexadine products are very popular nowadays. Many places sell small bottles of it. It is not as tenacious as bleach and the smell will disapear as it breaks down - fairly quickly.

Justcage, a poster on this forum, sells a type of chlorhexadine.

What I like even better is a product called A33 Dry. It's a dry power you mix into water. It foams a bit and is a better odor neutralizer than chlorhexadine. It's also slightly better in laboratory viral killing tests. Not that that really means anything since we likely deal with different viral contaminants in reptile cages, but it should good. It also is supposed to work better in the presence of organic matter which is great for reptile cages. Ask your veternarian to order it for you.

I would use one of those. But do use bleach once in a while as it does kill somethings chlorhexadine and A33 won't. Maybe every fourth cleaning use bleach, especially on water bowls.
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Current snakes:

0.2 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)

3.3 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)

2.1 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)

3.3 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black & Tan)

Thank you so much for your help. Unfortunately, I live outside USA in UAE and I am afraid I will not have ready access to these products. Is there anything that can be obtained from a pharmacy or supermarket? Or should I use stronger bleach : water solution? Is bleach harmful to reptiles? I’ve heard regular disinfectants are not advisable since most of them contain pine oils. Please advise.

Thank you.

Bleach has been used for years so it should be fine. Just make sure to rinse it as much as possible.

I don't know what is available in Arabia (is that what UAE stands for?) so I don't think I can be of much help.

I would look to see if you can find a chlorhexadine based product, but don't worry if you can't. Bleach will work fine.
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Current snakes:

0.2 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)

3.3 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)

2.1 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)

3.3 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black & Tan)

np

If you don't have access to products made specifically for cleaning up after animals [Nolvasan, Quat Plus, etc.], bleach is probably your best bet. A capful per spray bottle is oddly enough probably not quite strong enough. The method I've used in the past and what is used in many zoos and is also recognized as the most favorable dilution by the USDA is 4 ounces per gallon [not sure what that would be in liters in case you use metric sys. in the UAE]. As to the odor you're smelling, you just aren't rinsing heavily enough. The main thing with bleach is that it won't clean in the prescence of organic materials [dirt, feces], so you need to cleanse first with some kind of soap solution and follow up with the bleach solution. Rinse heavily with a spray bottle and wipe out until you can't smell the bleach. If your wood cages are unsealed wood you might want to wait until they're completely dry before replacing the snakes.
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Matt Campbell
Animal Keeper, Small Mammal/Reptile House
Lincoln Park Zoo Chicago, Illinois

Assistant Curator
Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
Lake Forest, Illinois

I've been using a listerine and water mix in a spray bottle since the 80's with no apparent ill effects. I learned it from a friend who had a petshop when I was younger. I also use a commercial Quat product sometimes. Sorry, no scientific data to back it up.

For what it's worth, A very bright high school senior out this way in Westfield N.J. a few years ago conducted her own experiments on germicidal hand cleaners and soaps (made the papers even) and found that remaining germs were stronger/ resistant to subsequent cleanings and she felt that regular soap worked better in the long run. I wash my hands between handling animals or wear food service gloves for maintenance( my hands are really cracking)

Just food for thought, I've found just good basic/timely cleaning goes a long way in preventing problems.I'm looking to find where I can purchase those cheap white plastic 16oz. deli cups so I can just change the waterbowl entirely to even further minimize problems. Good luck.

n/p

Hey a neighbor (Woodbridge NJ here)

Try this place for the deli cups

http://www.reptilepackaging.com/
Link

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Stupidity should be Painful!

n/p

Do you know off hand if they will work in a 4" pvc coupler?
Bob.

The Listerine and water mix has worked very well on cleaning the glass. No streaking.

is Nolvasan Otic Cleansing Solution the same as nolvasan?