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cleaning, cleaning, cleaning....

5

581775017

New member
So you do it once a month... How do you guys/gals do it? I think its about time I have to clean my cage... What is the best/smartest way to do it... Just thinking about it gives me a little headache... First thing i thought about is the UTH stuck to the bottom dangling with wires and moving big tank around!!! HOW DO YOU GUYS DO IT?? and what do you use to clean? Bleach? vinegar?

Thanks.
 
Monthly cleanings are easy for snakes. Hamsters are worse.
I use Zoomed's reptile carpet

Its kind of like the stuff under your carpets. They come in 2 packs and you put bedding on top of it. I put my snake in a box and take out all equipment. I then dump all the aspen in a garbage bag and you toss the zoomed carpet into the washing machine. Just hang it up to dry when it is done. (you want to rotate them) I use a cleaner called X Tract but any non phenol cleaner will work. If your not sure, just use a little soap and water. Wipe down the inside and all equipment giving special attention to the water dish. Then, add carpet, bedding, equipment and snake.

I dont stick my UTHs to the tanks so I dont have hanging cord issues. I think some people use duck tape?
 
Is it really necessary to clean the tank? Changing the aspen and cleaning all hides and water dish not good enough? I just don't want to move the tank around that much...
 
no, no,,,, sorry, I was not clear. I dont drag the tank around. I pour a little of whatever cleaning agent I am useing into the tank and use paper towels to soak it up and wipe the sides.
 
I have heard of people using a very diluted bleach solution to clean everything. Not sure so if someone could verify if that is safe I would really appreciate it (since I will be due for my first cleaning in about a months time. There are also some specially made reptile sprays you can use to clean out the viv.

You really do want to keep the viv as clean as possible. Makes the snake happy because it isn't getting sick. Not to mention a dirty viv isn't really something you can show off to people.

Also, I have seen a lot of pics of what happens to snakes when they are not housed in clean conditions. It's really sad.

If you can you might wanna try picking up "the Corn Snake Manual" by Kathy Love (who to my awe and amazement posts here!) it has all kinds of great info on keeping corns including info on cleaning the tank.
 
I tear my tanks down and clean everything with diluted bleach once a month. I've never had mites with my snakes, but I've had 'em with the birds. They're a bitch to get rid of. So I'm starting off with as sterile an environment as possible.

I'm not gonna hijack your thread here, but will start another about some good animal husbandry practices. :-offtopic
 
I spray with chlorhexidine solution, let sit 10 minutes & wipe dry with paper towels. This is about 1 per month, but in between, I spray with chlorhexidine & wipe out but don't necessarily let it soak. That I do every week or two, depending if there's lots of waste that missed the newspaper.
 
What I do is mix some vudca and water. And let it sit for about 10 minutes. This way I am not using chemicals. Not sure if it is bad for the snake but it seems to be fine, I have been using it every month when I clean her cage along with my mice.
_______________
T-Rav
 
I believe many people recommend using a mouthwash--like Listerine. Just add some to some water and have at it.

Hey, where does one get chlorhexadine solution if one doesn't work at a vet?

Wait-a-minute. I think I remember having to use it for a piercing once. I guess they must carry it at the drugstore.
 
Can't remember which dotcom...either PetEdge or Foster & Smith (just about any pet supply catalogue should have it--the generic stuff is only $12 per gallon & you mix 2 ounces of chlorhex with 1 gallon of H2O)
 
581775017 said:
Do anyone of you just use vinger and water?
And how often do you guys change the water for the snake?
Click to expand...

I change my snakes' water daily, just to be on the safe side. And it only takes a minute, so it's not like it's a hassle.
 
581775017 said:
Do anyone of you just use vinger and water?
And how often do you guys change the water for the snake?
Click to expand...
bare minimum is like every 2-3 days

Like the previous poster said, every day is better, it doesn't really take long plus it gets the snake used to you having "the big scary hand" in the cage.

It's also recommended to clean the water dish to get rid of any bacteria, although I admit I do not know the recommended solution (have heard dish soap but after years of aquarium owning, I have beaten "no dish soap" into my brain)
 
Cleaning is pretty easy...i dont move the tanks. dont have to. i'd break my back or bust the larger tanks if i had to lug them around.
once a month i remove all the branches, bowls, hides, snake, and use a dustpan to scoop out the substrate and dump it in the trash can. then i wipe down the inside with a disinfectant thats made for animal enclosures. it's non-toxic. i also use this stuff to clean my dog's crates and kennels. i forget what it's called, my vet uses it for their kennels. then i clean the branches, hides and the bowls. i dont use anything that has toxic chemicals in it. the hides, branches and the bowls are porous and will absorb everything. i've used ivory soap to clean bowls. i've always been told never to use dish soap or bleach. especially around reptiles. i've always had aquarium fish too, and i know you have to be careful what you use to clean aquariums, any trace of most chemicals in cleaners will kill fish. if you need to use bleach, dilute it. a lot. i think it's 2 parts water per 1 part bleach or something like that. i just know to use bleach very sparingly.
i change their water everyday.
the UTHs are stuck to ceramic tiles not to the tanks. thats so i can move them if i need to and reuse them for other enclosures.
 
Tyger9791 said:
Cleaning is pretty easy...i dont move the tanks. dont have to. i'd break my back or bust the larger tanks if i had to lug them around.
once a month i remove all the branches, bowls, hides, snake, and use a dustpan to scoop out the substrate and dump it in the trash can. then i wipe down the inside with a disinfectant thats made for animal enclosures. it's non-toxic. i also use this stuff to clean my dog's crates and kennels. i forget what it's called, my vet uses it for their kennels. then i clean the branches, hides and the bowls. i dont use anything that has toxic chemicals in it. the hides, branches and the bowls are porous and will absorb everything. i've used ivory soap to clean bowls. i've always been told never to use dish soap or bleach. especially around reptiles. i've always had aquarium fish too, and i know you have to be careful what you use to clean aquariums, any trace of most chemicals in cleaners will kill fish. if you need to use bleach, dilute it. a lot. i think it's 2 parts water per 1 part bleach or something like that. i just know to use bleach very sparingly.
i change their water everyday.
the UTHs are stuck to ceramic tiles not to the tanks. thats so i can move them if i need to and reuse them for other enclosures.
Click to expand...

This is what I was about to do! :cheers: Can anyone confirm with me if vinegar and water is okay for cleaning?
 
581775017 said:
This is what I was about to do! :cheers: Can anyone confirm with me if vinegar and water is okay for cleaning?
Click to expand...

It should be, i would dilute it first and then make sure to rinse very well. But as others have mentioned; go with chlorhexidine.

http://www.amazon.com/Chlorhexidine-Solution-gallon/dp/B00061MU9W/sr=8-1/qid=1161985715/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-3467798-0479828?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden

It ended up being $20 after shipping, but you dilute it down to 2 tbl spoons per gallon. That ends up being that it will make 128 gallons which equals about 16¢ per gallon! And that's enough cleaning power to last a life time. I dilute mine down and then aliquot out some into a spray bottle and use that to spray the tanks, vivs, racks, etc. Let sit for a few minutes and then wipe up with a paper towel. Been doing it like this forever and it's worked great!
 
About every week, I change the paper and totally clean my snakes plastic tubs. I use hot water, diluted bleach, AND dish soap. I let this set in the tubs for 10 min, to loosen up the hard stuff at the bottom of the containers.
Then scrub well. Rinse w/ fresh water. Afterwards, I let the containers dry in the sun for about 5-8 hrs. The fresh air and sunlight helps break down any remaining traces of bleach that might be left in the tubs.

Stephen
 
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