POLL: How often do you clean your cage?

[jdub]

How often do you clean you cages???

 

[13mur 6]

Every single time my snake poops, or every week, which ever come's first. The water is changed every 2-3 days. I use paper towel bedding so it's easy to clean up, I roll up the paper towel, dunk all the cage accessories in bleach water, scrub and rinse em a little, and return everything to their place after I spray the cage with bleach solution and rinse with garden hose. I got it down to a 15 minute job per cage, it's pretty fast once it gets routine, and it keeps all the cages squeaky clean.

Once in a while I'll let a tank sit in bleach water with all the accessories for extended periods of time (about an hour) if I suspect bateria or something (bad smells, sick snake, mites, etc).

Yes, I'm one of those clean freaks.

-13mur 6

 

[fateamber]

I only clean the whole viv every month but as soon as they poop i clean it out of the viv.

 

[Harpy]

ALL OF THE ABOVE...

I spot clean..poop detail...when it happens..

I Scrub clean...once a week or so...when it needs it..

I Bleach clean.... once a month..

I Replace all barkchips... every two months or so..OR if it is bad.

I Bath the SNAKE...WHEN IT NEEDS IT...My female seems to love slithering across her poo...

AND then there are the other herps in the house...but thats another forum all together..

Harpy

 

[drizzt_19]

I'm a clean freak

I clean the cages after every defacation...All cage furniture and cages are washed in a bleach/kitchen-sanitizer solution usally about every three to five days...Sometimes twice a week...I use newspaper as a bedding now...Really easy to clean and the best part is it's free...

 

[QuickSilver]

It may be different with just one 18 inch snake, but there's really not all that much to clean (compared to rodents), so once every 2 weeks I wash everything with bleach water and replace the bark. Fresh water in a clean dish every day or two. There doesn't seem to be any odor at all between cleanings. If I see the poop I clean it out, but it's really pretty minimal.

 

[CAV]

I spot clean and change water bi-weekly and I sanitize tubs bi-monthly.

Has anyone tried to soak, bake and reuse Repti-Bark or a similar wood type substrate?

 

[Chip]

It seems like daily

I'm "sport-feeding" my breeders and they can't do me the favor of pooping on the same day, so I have to clean some every day or two. I've seen mold spores growing off one I missed, so got uptight about it. I clean them all with bleach the day before feeding (once weekly, except with babies and breeders) and have identical rubbermaids I cycle them in.

 

[Śiva]

I am on poop detail every day and i try to clean water every day but i usually get distracted and it works out to every other day.

When i'm using paper towels i clean and change bedding once a week but that is only for temporary cages or now when i am monitoring for breeding signs. I usually use aspen and i do the same things but i only completely clean bedding etc. once every two weeks. I do the deep cleaning (bleach soaking and cage rearranging if needed) once a month.

 

[IndianaCorn]

This is along the lines of cleaning.. I have two half log hides, big piece of driftwood, and some fake plants... would this stuff be ok in a bleach water solution? Does bleach have any ill effects on wood? If so.. what should I use? Should I clean with water and then "bake" them in the oven to kill possible bacteria? Your advice on all matters is alway greatly appreciated!

IndianaCorn

 

[CAV]

I'm not an expert by any stretch, but I do a little woodworking. Remember that raw wood is highly absorbant, especially soft woods like pine and fir. It would be next to impossible to get bleach out of the wood, once it penetrates. Now, I have absolutely no idea if this could cause a problem, but why risk it? Water and heat should be sufficient enough to kill any micro-critters that might be lurking. Besides, if you soak the half logs in water, the bark will eventually peel away from the wood.

 

[pinatamonkey]

I try to bake wood pieces whenever possible, instead of using bleach. 30 min at 250 seems to work. Don't put the temp too high, or the wood will start smoking Bleach does work, though. I recently had some sort of wood bug infestation in my tree boa's cage, so I had to bleach the big stick (too big for the oven)...all the bugs are gone now.

If the fake plants are plastic, I don't think bleach would hurt them, but if they're fabric???

 

[clumsly]

i clean out the area as soon as they poop. i clean the whole cage about 2- 3 wekks i will take out the plants and wash them, the rocks to and all the cool stuff in the cage and make sure its all clean.

 

[Scorpionking]

I clean usualy every four days, I use the same feeding schedule, aways before feeding I clen the mess left before...

 

[Nanci]

I change the water and spot clean on feeding days, and then in between if I see anything.

Nanci

 

[wax32]

FOUR year old thread woop! :grin01:

I clean on feeding days... which right now for the hatchlings is every four days and for my adults once a week.

 

[Maize411]

Hmm..well I spot check every day to see if the snakes made any messes anywhere..usually it's on something that I can take right out and clean off..I clean the viv. every month by emptying the tank of everything, rinsing it in hot water, cleaning it with hot water and Anti bacterial soap, then I spray it down with the reptile disinfectant..let it stand for about 5 minutes, dry it with a paper towl, have all the furn. and decor. soak in a tub of hot water while I clean the tank..then put everythng back..pretty simple but kind of annoying..also the water gets changed every 3 days..

 

[sazzy925]

I clean up poops as soon as I see them, water change daily and do a proper check once a week. And I do a thorough clean about every 2 months or sooner if it looks like it needs it. It upsets my snake quite a lot when I do a thorough clean because it smells funny and he's always been a jumpy sort, sometimes he even goes off his food for a week or so after. So I try and leave a full clean with a while inbetween each one.

 

[Double het]

I 'spot clean' when i see something. 4-5 days after feeding i check each cage because there's probably something that needs cleaning. Like once a month i remove everyting from the cage and make sure no suprises under the bedding or some secret place.

Waterbowls get cleaned every 2-3 days. Scrubbed every week with plain simple soap.

All bedding is removed and everything washed with every day soap whenever the cage doesn't smell fresh anymore.

I never disinfect. Only new stuff i bring into the cage gets disinfected thouroughly. Once it's there i just keep it clean. Unless something funky went on. Like a mold problem.

Beeing 'to clean' is in my opinion bad for their immune system.

 

[MO CORNFED]

This is along the lines of cleaning.. I have two half log hides, big piece of driftwood, and some fake plants... would this stuff be ok in a bleach water solution? Does bleach have any ill effects on wood? If so.. what should I use? Should I clean with water and then "bake" them in the oven to kill possible bacteria? Your advice on all matters is alway greatly appreciated!

IndianaCorn

I just bleached all my wood hides, and fake plants, there is not damage done.
Use a 5 gallon bucket, and add one cup of bleach to enough water to cover what ever your cleaning, plus 1 inch.