Why clean so often?

I have read lots of threads about people who clean their vivs. out every week or every month. This seems really frequent to me and seems really unneccessary because my snake only poops once a week and I can easily clean that out by removing a small area of the substrate. I use coconut bark, which I know alot of people use aspen but I like the coconut bark, and it sticks to the bark pieces really well and I can just scoop that out and be done. I haven't cleaned my amels. cage since I have had her, which has been about two months now. Is there any health reason as to why I should clean the viv out so frequently?

I've only cleaned the viv once since I brought her home in August for that same reason; I still wouldn't have cleaned it except for the fact that she had excaped and hurt herself really badly so I didn't want her to get an infection. Whenever I spot clean I replace the aspen with fresh stuff, and I wash the water dish with every change of water; it seems fine to me!

She isn't complaining, anyhow. Maybe I've been doing it wrong this whole time?

I've read about people only cleaning once a year, so I'm not sure. If you don't spot clean I'm sure you'd have to wash the viv MUCH more frequently though.

Would you only want your house/apt cleaned every other month?

Bacteria and what not can still spread even though you've removed most of the contaminants. Fully cleaning doesn't take that long; especially doing it once a month. That's only 12 times a year. Sure you might be able to go 2-3 months, even longer but I personally don't want to risk my snakes health.

I'm sure that this is post will have a lot of different opinions posted but when it comes down to it it all depends on what youv'e researched and what you think is right for your corn. Personally i clean mine fully out every 2-3 months and all seems fine so i guess it's up to the keeper.

Personally I do a weekly spot cleaning, then once a month, I completely empty out the viv or bin scrub it clean and put all fresh stuff in.

:shrugs:

I would say your house is a lot different from the snake viv. We poop, pee, cough, spit and shed everyday, sometimes more than once a day. We also go outside and track dirt in, have pets etc. Your snake in contrast, sheds once every month or less, pees/poops once a week or so (my chondros once a month or two) and they don't track around outside. I do a full cleaning every couple of months and spot clean as necessary. I usually do a nose check every day too as they manage to hide poop with surprising dexterity. Hard to believe when you see how big some of those poops are! It's very easy to smell it when I walk in my snake room though. When I remove the dirty wet stuff I throw in a handful of new dry aspen to freshen.

Ditto Meg. I am on an every two months cleaning schedule, but I spot clean when needed. I only have the one little guy, so cleaning his poo up is no big deal.

I don't do as much spot cleaning as most since my snake does her bidness in the bathtub. But I have to mist the viv daily because it's so warm in my apartment. So I do full-cleaning once a month, mostly to wipe down any watermarks on the glass.

From the daily misting, the aspen gets (matted?), so I'll fluff it often. But after a month, it looks old and dingy. Since I get free substrate from my petstore, cost isn't a factor. And I line the viv with papertoweling, so it lifts right out- done in no time!

I don't do a total cleanout every month either, and my snakes are all fine. Comparing a snake's viv to a house isn't a good comparison, and I think Meg said why very well.

I totally clean every 4 months or so. It's worked fine for us.

Here's a recent thread on this topic:
http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=43316

As you can see, different members clean out their cages differently, from once a month to maybe 2-3 times a year.

It all depends on your personal preferences really, and I guess to some degree where you live, since bacteria is more likely to grow in warmer, more humid climates.

simple_minded said:

It all depends on your personal preferences really, and I guess to some degree where you live, since bacteria is more likely to grow in warmer, more humid climates.

Click to expand...

This is true, but bacteria will still be alive and able to survive even at refrigerator temps. Plus, you figure that many vivs have areas that are in the low to mid 80's with decent humidity, so many snake vivs are actually quite good incubators for bacteria.

I agree that how often one cleans is a preference thing. If my snakes had only ever gotten waste only on the aspen, then no problem. I could spot clean and get most everything. However, they like to burrow and get stuff all over the glass or plastic enclosures they are in. Me, I can only take looking at nasty dry black streaks and markings on the plastic tubs for so long before I have to clean it just to ease my mind. Personally, I feel like the bacteria issue probably only becomes a problem in the more extreme cases, but vivs can be great places for bacteria to grow.

I spot clean as needed, i try to totally clean out the tanks about ever 1-1.5 months but i think it is more like ever2-3 months that i do it, but that is for the few snakes that i have that are on ASpen, the rest are on newspaper which i clean it all out everytime they poop