Cryptosporidium- How to sanitize?

[ahouseofscales]

Hi all,

I recently had my two crested geckos pass away, one in June and the other this month. I couldn't figure out why they passed until recently when I put the symptoms together and diagnosed cryptosporidium. Now I have a new crested and my snake, and I need to sanitize things. I am not reusing any of the enclosures or decorations, but I am reusing temperature probes and my thermostat. How can I sanitize these items so they're safe to use again? I've heard of interkokask but it seems impossible to get in the US, and I'm worried steam will damage my equipment. Thanks in advance!

[bcr229]

Straight ammonia will kill crypto. I think it has to sit on the affected surface for a few minutes before being cleaned off.

Speaking from experience: you will want to do this outside.

[Bogertophis]

Just by coincidence, this was in the news. Sharing it here because they talk a bit about ammonia (the anhydrous kind) but it's all relevant- be careful to follow directions when working with ammonia. It's nasty stuff (which is why it works) so avoid breathing even the much milder "household" kind.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/30/us/il...eak/index.html

[Caitlin]

You can use a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution; it's safer than ammonia and just as effective.

Please note that when I say "effective" it doesn't mean there is a 100% guarantee that this will eliminate crypto. There's no substance that you can be absolutely certain will do that - so I am glad to hear you are not re-using enclosures or furnishings.

I'm sorry you lost your geckos; crypto is a nightmare.

[Bogertophis]

Thought this was interesting - especially the chart showing potential host species, as it seems to be everywhere, but there's various species that affect different animals: https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/fi...ium-report.pdf

Specifically for snakes & other reptiles- C. serpentis is a death sentence:

CRYPTOSPORIDIOSIS IN REPTILEs

https://azeah.com/REPTILES-AMPHIBIAN...TILES%20IS%20C.

[Trinityblood]

Quarantining exposed items to wait out the lifecycle while there is no host may work. This article says they can live a very long time without a host. 6-8 months. If going that route, to be safe, I would move that equipment into a box in a room away from the reptiles and not use that equipment for a year.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC81179/

Some chemicals that are noted to kill the ootosyts from this article: https://www.parkvetgroup.com/farm-an...%204%20minutes

Effective disinfectants:

• 2-3% KenoTMCox – kills 99% oocysts after 2 hours contact time
• 2-4% Neopredisan – kills 99% oocysts after 2 hours contact time
• 10% Ox-Virin – reduced oocyst infectivity after 1 hour contact time
• 3% Hydrogen Peroxide – reduced oocyst infectivity after 4 minutes

[ahouseofscales]

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone!

Straight ammonia will kill crypto. I think it has to sit on the affected surface for a few minutes before being cleaned off.

Speaking from experience: you will want to do this outside.

Good to know! Yeah I've used pure ammonia to cycle my fish tanks before, definitely something to be done outside!

You can use a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution; it's safer than ammonia and just as effective.

Please note that when I say "effective" it doesn't mean there is a 100% guarantee that this will eliminate crypto. There's no substance that you can be absolutely certain will do that - so I am glad to hear you are not re-using enclosures or furnishings.

I'm sorry you lost your geckos; crypto is a nightmare.

Thank you. I will look into using this as well.

Quarantining exposed items to wait out the lifecycle while there is no host may work. This article says they can live a very long time without a host. 6-8 months. If going that route, to be safe, I would move that equipment into a box in a room away from the reptiles and not use that equipment for a year.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC81179/

Some chemicals that are noted to kill the ootosyts from this article: https://www.parkvetgroup.com/farm-an...%204%20minutes

Effective disinfectants:

• 2-3% KenoTMCox – kills 99% oocysts after 2 hours contact time
• 2-4% Neopredisan – kills 99% oocysts after 2 hours contact time
• 10% Ox-Virin – reduced oocyst infectivity after 1 hour contact time
• 3% Hydrogen Peroxide – reduced oocyst infectivity after 4 minutes

Thanks! I don't have extras of my equipment so unfortunately quarantine won't work. I will look and see if I can find any of those disinfectants!