Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm not sure if this is the right forum to be asking this, but it does have to do with husbandry and maintaining the health of my snake. I asked these questions elsewhere, but I didn't get any replies.

I'm new to the world of reptiles and have asked around what other hobbyists use to disinfect their cages and furnishings. The most common answers were bleach and regular dishwashing liquid. I have been using dishwashing liquid to clean the furnishings, but I'm nervous about using bleach, especially after my snake is in a cage too large to manipulate easily.

I've seen chlorhexidine sold in the classified section for cleaning cages and furnishings, and I've seen a couple people mention it. This would be a great product for me to use, because I have been using it for years to clean minor cuts on my dogs and horse. I've never used it for sterilizing equipment, though. So I have a few questions that I hope someone here can answer...

Is this a product that many of you would recommend?

What percentage do you use?

Is it safe to clean my snakes water/soaking dish with the solution?

Does it need to be rinsed off well or do I just wipe it off and place everything back in the tank?

Is this product strong enough to be used as the only disinfectant, or should I still use bleach from time to time?

I know some of these questions may seem silly, but I want to do the best for my snake. Thank you in advance for any comments!
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Dani

Dani,

Chlorhexidine is a good and safe disinfectant for use in your snake cages. It does have it's limitations though.

What purposes are you using disinfection for? (sterilization is an improper word for this topic and describes much more stringent controls) For general cleaning, nothing is needed. If it makes it easier, a mild soapy solution can be used. When you buy your chlorhexadine (gluconate), in this manner.

If you are caring for ill, or questionable sick captives and are in need of more stringent pathogen control, follow the directions on the back of the chlorhexadine bottle for proper dilutions. Chlorhexadine acetate is ideal for this purpose but both will suffice. This protocol should be used for quarantine periods.

Bleach and quatanary ammonia are stronger disinfectants than chlorhexadine and have their own uses. 10% bleach solutions are often used because they are cheap and easy. Q-ammonia is about the only thing available that works against some of the harsher pathogens like cryptosporidia.

It's a good idea to always rinse out well after disinfection, and this becomes more imperative with higher concentrations and stronger reagents. Bleach and Q-ammonia are also really pungeant and it's a good idea to use in a well ventalated area, and to definately not put animals back into the enclosure until rinsed, and aired out.

Ian