Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I like to grow plants nearly as much as I like to "grow" reptiles, but how can you keep plants that have been soiled on (reptile soiling, not dirt) sterile? I would think they they would eventually become a hot bed of bacteria...

Wihtout knowing more about how your tank is set up... I can make a guess. I'm pretty sure that the plants can use most of the waste and convert it into harmless materials. At least, that's usually how a system set up with live plants works - as long as you're using an "active" substrate with the plants rooted into it, and you don't change the substrate out.

I would suggest simply wiping the plant down with a damp cloth or running it under water. Using any sort of chemical could kill the plant. Any residue would eventually be converted into harmless materials by beneficial bacteria.

Phillipe deVosjoli's "The Art of Keeping Snakes" has a lot of info on this topic, and you might find it a good read.
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::i believe in joy > http://www.winds.org/nekomi/hope.html

::my homepage > http://www.winds.org/nekomi

My Growing Zoo:

1.0 Husband (Byron) ^_^
0.1 black cat (Shade)
0.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boa (Zia)
1.2 Cockatoo cichlids (A. cacatuoides yellow-gold)
1.1 WC Cockatoo cichlids (A. cacatuoides blue Peru)
3.3 Pygmy corydoras (C. pygmaeus)
2.0 Endlers' Livebearers (P. sp. Endlers)

the process is called the Nitrogen Cycle.
we use hetatrophic bacteria as Wash once a month
on our clients vivaria which is great because this
allows the waste to be broken down faster, competes -
starves the pathenogenic bacteria and in this process
the only waste is inorganinc - co2 which the plants
uptake better then any type of "fertilizers" and
even with out this, the micro=fauna are great to have
so toss in a handfull of clean back yard dirt even!

hope this helped

Nekomi is correct.

I've kept fully planted terrariums for a variety of species and I would just wipe the leaves with a damp paper towel from time to time and mix up the "topsoil" every now and then.