Cleaning

[FRooTLooPS]

Hi people!

How often do u clean your viv? What can u do about the constant bad smell from it? Just wondering...
thnx

 

[Alex Dew]

I do a spot clean (just take out the crap) every week and every 2 months, I take out all the wood chip ect.

Alex

 

[mattsnake]

I spot clean my aspen whenever I see a poo, and it keeps smell to a minimum.

 

[MegF.]

I clean the poop out every time I see it, and the whole viv once a month. If you're getting a bad smell, you need to clean it more often. My snakes have almost no scent at all except if they freshly poop.

 

[FRooTLooPS]

thnx for the advice.
I use astro turf and I clean it about once a week

 

[galaxip]

I use a kind of thick felt carpet.
Umm... Lemmmesee... Ah. It is called a "Lizard Litter Terrarium Carpet" made by ESU (Energy Savers Unlimited, Inc) in Carson California. esuweb.com

I keep a clean one handy (yep. Two per viv).
When one starts to be visibly or olfactorily (is that a real word?) dirty, every week or two, it depends... I take out the contents of the viv, wipe it down with a wet rag, and put the clean carpet in. Then I take the soiled carpet outside, rinse it with the garden hose, hang it up to dry.

About every other time I use dishsoap to disinfect it. When I feel the need I wipe down the viv with an ammonia based window cleaner (great disinfectant, but make sure to dry it ALL out before putting a herp back in the viv)
So far this works flawlessly.

 

[Darin]

Constant bad smell? The only time I have a bad smell in my snakes enclosures is when my red tail defacates, its huge and it smells worse than the dogs. Seems like something isn't right if you have a constant bad smell.

 

[DAN916]

Mine smells of nothing but fresh bark

 

[Heather]

It shouldn't smell bad constantly, is it constantly dirty? The only way to take care of that smell is to clean it more often, ideally whenever you see it needs it.

You can spray a mix of water and vinegar in the tank during cleanings to get every nook and cranny, dry, and put everything back in.

Keeping the snake in a tank with screen or wire top allows the air to ventilate more freely, cutting down on any smell. Rubbermaid containers definately hold more smell in I find, sometimes so much I can't smell anything until I take the lid off I switched to a glass tank setup and no longer have the problem.