Hey y'all! I'm new to the site and absolutely love it! My husband recently bought me a beautiful snow corn snake and we named him Azazel. We are buying a bunch of new stuff to put in his new tank we will be buying him soon. I have been doing some pyrography on some wood and bought some vines and stuff from Michael's. We were just wondering if there was anything special (besides washing the plants) that we needed to do before we set it all up? Also any ideas for an alchemy themed tank would be much appreciated.
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Cleaning furniture and decor
- Thread starter Chase9653
- Start date
Guruofchem
New member
Welcome fellow Texan!
I like a combination of dilute bleach followed by a quick dip in boiling water for anything that can survive both. This should kill the vast majority of potential pathogens, but make sure you air dry until no bleach smell is detectable, then rinse again with fresh water to be safe.
As far as wood goes, I generally bake it because of all the cracks and crevices that can harbor pathogens/insects. Get it up to 250 F or so for a couple of hours and it should be fine, and keep an eye on it in case something catches fire, though nothing woody should burn at that temperature. Smaller pieces can get the bleach/boil treatment if you prefer.
I like a combination of dilute bleach followed by a quick dip in boiling water for anything that can survive both. This should kill the vast majority of potential pathogens, but make sure you air dry until no bleach smell is detectable, then rinse again with fresh water to be safe.
As far as wood goes, I generally bake it because of all the cracks and crevices that can harbor pathogens/insects. Get it up to 250 F or so for a couple of hours and it should be fine, and keep an eye on it in case something catches fire, though nothing woody should burn at that temperature. Smaller pieces can get the bleach/boil treatment if you prefer.
cagedbirdsinging
Maya's Mama
I was also wondering the same thing as I am currently setting up a vivarium with various artificial plants, driftwood, etc.
Is the bleach necessary? I am only used to cleaning my rat cage, for which I use vinegar. Is there a specific reason for the bleach? Will that discolor the artificial plants? Must the wood be baked at each vivarium cleaning?
Is the bleach necessary? I am only used to cleaning my rat cage, for which I use vinegar. Is there a specific reason for the bleach? Will that discolor the artificial plants? Must the wood be baked at each vivarium cleaning?
smigon
Old enough to know better
Bleach is guaranteed to kill bacteria, vinegar is good but bleach is better. And you aren't using straight bleach, maybe a teaspoon to a gallon of water. I would stay on the safe side.
As for the wood, once you do the baking (I boiled mine in diluted bleach solution first as well for about 15 minutes) everything should be dead that needs to be. Unless your corn develops mites or a disease you shouldn't ever have to do it again.
cagedbirdsinging
Maya's Mama
I feel so dumb! With my rat cages, it is simple. I scrub the cage with a brush and my vinegar all over, making sure to get the spots where the boys are particularly messy. A quick rinse and done!
I am unsure of the process for cleaning a snake tank, though. Is there a place that does a walk-through of it? I am assuming that you secure the snake in a bin (Utilize this time by placing the snake in the feeding bin and letting it eat while you clean?), remove all furniture/decorations, dump/sweep/vacuum substrate out, spray insides of tank down and wipe, spray furniture/decorations down, rinse, and the reassemble?
I'm so sorry for the silly questions. I hope that the OP does not mind my questions being here. I didn't feel as though I should start a new thread for something so similar. If this needs to be moved, let me know!
I am unsure of the process for cleaning a snake tank, though. Is there a place that does a walk-through of it? I am assuming that you secure the snake in a bin (Utilize this time by placing the snake in the feeding bin and letting it eat while you clean?), remove all furniture/decorations, dump/sweep/vacuum substrate out, spray insides of tank down and wipe, spray furniture/decorations down, rinse, and the reassemble?
I'm so sorry for the silly questions. I hope that the OP does not mind my questions being here. I didn't feel as though I should start a new thread for something so similar. If this needs to be moved, let me know!
smigon
Old enough to know better
First rule, NEVER BE SORRY! This forum was built for corn owners to ask questions, as silly as you think they are, but there are no stupid questions, just stupid owners who don't bother to ask before they do something that may harm your snake.
RULES FOR CLEANING VIV
-remove snake, and yes, if it is time to feed put her in a separate larger container and feed.
-remove the decorations and wash them well with a little vinegar and hot water.
-empty substrate. Many snakes will do their business on the floor under the substrate, so you may have some "crusty" stuff to scrape off with a knife. After that, spray your cleaning fluid (vinegar or bleach mix) especially on the dirty spots and let them soak.
-clean the outside of the viv, inspect your lid for possible holes or bent wires
-go back in and use a heavy duty scrub brush (used ONLY for the snake cage and decorations) and clean all the spots away.
-rinse very well with clean water, dry, add clean substrate and the plants/rocks/hides in the cage and let her go!
I also have some large, round stones (6x6") that were in our landscape, I picked some of the prettier ones, boiled them for about an hour with a bit of bleach then let them dry. They make the viv more natural.
For a backdrop, there are several eBay sellers that you can buy a pre-printed backdrop for your viv. I installed mine today and it looks great!
Good luck!
RULES FOR CLEANING VIV
-remove snake, and yes, if it is time to feed put her in a separate larger container and feed.
-remove the decorations and wash them well with a little vinegar and hot water.
-empty substrate. Many snakes will do their business on the floor under the substrate, so you may have some "crusty" stuff to scrape off with a knife. After that, spray your cleaning fluid (vinegar or bleach mix) especially on the dirty spots and let them soak.
-clean the outside of the viv, inspect your lid for possible holes or bent wires
-go back in and use a heavy duty scrub brush (used ONLY for the snake cage and decorations) and clean all the spots away.
-rinse very well with clean water, dry, add clean substrate and the plants/rocks/hides in the cage and let her go!
I also have some large, round stones (6x6") that were in our landscape, I picked some of the prettier ones, boiled them for about an hour with a bit of bleach then let them dry. They make the viv more natural.
For a backdrop, there are several eBay sellers that you can buy a pre-printed backdrop for your viv. I installed mine today and it looks great!
Good luck!
Guruofchem
New member
Smigon is right on - my advice really was for initial sterilization of something I am bringing in from outside my home, and is over the top for routine cleaning. Most maintenance is spot cleaning poop (easy to do with aspen bedding), then every 4-6 weeks a deeper clean similar to what Smigon listed. Reptiles really are fairly low maintenance pets individually - it's when you turn around and repeat this 10, or 20, or 100 times that it can get onerous.
cagedbirdsinging
Maya's Mama
Bleach for initial sterilization definitely makes sense to me now. I got confused when I assumed that the bleaching needed to be included in the regular cleaning regimen.
Thank you for all of the guidance!
Thank you for all of the guidance!