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How do you clean your viv(s)?

themichaelchoi

themichaelchoi

MC
I just wanted to know how other owners maintain the cleanliness of their viv(s). Paper towels? Wipes? Rinse out? And how frequently?
 
I spot clean whenever I see a poop/urates. Then about once every month or so, I take out all my shavings, newspapers, hides, decorations, etc. and spray the tank down with a very dilute bleach/water solution (approx. 1 part bleach to 9 parts water), let sit for a bit, then use paper towel to dry out, then spray with just water and wipe out and let dry. Unless my hides and decorations have poop/urates on them, I really don't bother cleaning. If I do clean them, they soak in the bleach solution and then air-dried.
 
I do not clean my viv's that is what a wife is for. :crazy02:

I just spot clean very 2 or 3 days and about very 3 to 4 months throw out the old aspen and soap and water clean the tub. Replace with new aspen. The water bowls are cleaned on very spot cleaning day and then filled with clean water. Maybe once a year, I will clean the tubs with a little and I mine a little bleach.

Fatman
 
jlindp said:
I spot clean whenever I see a poop/urates. Then about once every month or so, I take out all my shavings, newspapers, hides, decorations, etc. and spray the tank down with a very dilute bleach/water solution (approx. 1 part bleach to 9 parts water), let sit for a bit, then use paper towel to dry out, then spray with just water and wipe out and let dry. Unless my hides and decorations have poop/urates on them, I really don't bother cleaning. If I do clean them, they soak in the bleach solution and then air-dried.
Click to expand...

I clean all of mine basically the same way!

Wayne
 
Originally Posted by jlindp
I spot clean whenever I see a poop/urates. Then about once every month or so, I take out all my shavings, newspapers, hides, decorations, etc. and spray the tank down with a very dilute bleach/water solution (approx. 1 part bleach to 9 parts water), let sit for a bit, then use paper towel to dry out, then spray with just water and wipe out and let dry. Unless my hides and decorations have poop/urates on them, I really don't bother cleaning. If I do clean them, they soak in the bleach solution and then air-dried.
Click to expand...

That's pretty much it here to, except with three differences:
1) the bleach water solution is done with cool water as I read somewhere that hot water kills the effectiveness of the bleach
2) every time that I bleach clean the tank I also bleach clean the accessories, my thoughts are if there is some bug, virus etc in the tank I want dead then it will be on the accessories as well
3) I always make sure I rinse the tank and the accessories really well with hot water and then paper towel dry the tank and air dry accessories
 
I spot clean whenever I find any waste in the viv, or when he splashes his water on the substrate. Once a month I take out all of the aspen and decorations and wipe down the inside of the viv with a mixture of vinegar and hot water, then rinse with clean water until I can't smell the vinegar. When I clean everything I usually take the opportunity to clean/rearrange his plants, check the temperature probe, etc. since there's no substrate in the way.

I use the vinegar/water mixture to wipe down my decorations and plants, then I rinse and scrub them under hot water. When that's all done I put in fresh aspen and return everything to its place.

I used bleach once but even after rinsing a million times I could still smell bleach on everything, so it makes me nervous. I wouldn't use it again except on the extra tank I found in my garage that I'm cleaning up for my Christmas snake.
 
Sorry, going to post another question under someone elses post, but it's related, I sware. I've heard of keepers using nolvasan (chlorohex) (sp?) to disinfect cages. Does anyone here do this? If so, where do you purchase it?
 
I clean out my vivs every time the snake gets fed. I have snakes that must be a quarter dolphin and a quarter pig. No matter how unmoveble the dish I use they somehow end up with most if not all of their water in the substrate. Messy, messy, messy. I dump the substrate, rinse the viv, wipe it down with a towel, let it air for 30 minutes then reset it and wipe down the accessories. Now if substrate had stuck to anything i wipe down with a bleach solution, rinse then air out and continue as normal. So far so good.
 
I actually like using reptile relief (the mite killer stuff) to clean vivs with. I don't have a mite problem and want to keep it that way... and the stuff works really well for cleaning. I spot clean every week and change aspen as needed - any time I do the full aspen change I use the reptile relief to spray the enclosure, wipe with paper towels and then use a spray bottle of water and wipe again to rinse the residue.
 
I clean my vivs with the souls of the innocent....as well as highly diluted bleach water mixture.
 
Now that I'm moving to tub enclosures, it's been regular substrate changes (usually accompanied by dry-poo-scrubbing in the crevices with a damp paper towel) and, depending on the tub's size, either a run through the dishwasher (16 quarts and smaller) or a scrubbing with Clorox wipes followed by a heavy hot water rinse (anything that can't fit in the dishwasher).

Water dishes are changed out regularly (if possible, at every other refill) and run through the dishwasher. "Permanent" fixtures (as in: not cardboard) are run through the dishwasher or soaked in a bleach solution (level of dilution determined by material and porosity) and rinsed.

I'm thinking of changing my routine to involve something along the lines of a giant tub full of bleach water, though. With the number of snakes I'm at now, the dishwasher is becoming more of a time- and effort-waster than it is a time- and effort-saver. (Go figure!) I don't think I'll ever not send water dishes through the dishwasher, though.
 
Sorry for posting a question under a question, but my question does pertain to cleaning out vivs, I promise.

Ok so does anyone have those half log hides for thier snakes? If you do, how do you clean them? You know since they are wood? Because I am thinking of getting them for mine, but dont know how to clean them.
 
I would actually stay away from those half logs. I don't think they can be cleaned very effectively, as wood is very porous and can harbor bacteria. Besides that, they are very open and probably won't make your snake feel very secure at all. I used to have some of those, and the snakes would ususally choose to hide under the aspen rather than in the hides.
 
I also do not use them but I know a member on here posted that they had a terrible ant problem get into one of their tanks and could not figure out how or why they could not get rid of it. Finally they ended up wondering about the the half log hide they had for their snake and they peeled back the bark and found it full of ant eggs! They promptly threw it out.
 
Spot cleaning and substrate changes every few months. Novalsan (chlorohexidine) on the full cleans. I moved from tubs to AP T85 cages. These are 4'x2'ft cages. Life is much easier not having to unstack large Iris VE175 tubs. crazy idea I just though of: use shop vac to remove aspen. I have one of the smaller shop vacs on the market - maybe I can replace the basin with a garbage bag?
 
Ok so does anyone have those half log hides for thier snakes? If you do, how do you clean them? You know since they are wood? Because I am thinking of getting them for mine, but dont know how to clean them.
Click to expand...
I agree that the commercial "artificial" half logs might not provide the sort of enclosed hiding space that Corns prefer, but you could give it a try. Probably less of a pest risk than bringing in something from outside yourself.

I use cork bark bought from my local reptile shop - more naturalistic and never had a pest problem. To clean, I spray with whatever cleaning solution I have to hand, leave for the recommended amount of time, then scrub with an old washing up brush to remove anything stuck on. If necessary, I soak in warm water to loosen stuck bits (cork bark floats really well, so this bit can be fun!). I've reused many of my bits of cork bark for years.
 
I put newspaper down first then aspen on top. When you need to change the aspen you can just roll up the newspaper with the aspen inside. It makes cleaning my larger 3x2 and 4x2 cages a breeze.
 
I'm glad I found this post, I won't have to make one now :)
I have 2 homemade 4x2x2 tanks for our corns, and they both have logs which I hollowed out, bleached, and stuck in the oven (they were left in bleach for about 20+ hours, then stuck in the oven on 400 for about 1 hour each).

How often should I "maintain" these logs/hides? And how should I clean them, surely I do not need to bleach/bake them every time right?

Also, how often do you guys normally change your substrate? Is a 6 month cycle too long with regular spot checks?

Thanks!
 
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