Cleaning Questions

[Cummins09]

So im new to this and i was wondering about cleaning i have heard and seen people say they use Clorhexidine solution or F10. which is better to use? and can i clean my fake plants, water bowl, and decors with this stuff or should i just use soap and water? I also will have wood hides how do i go about cleaning those or making sure they are safe before putting them in the cage and after to make sure they are clean. Where can i buy that stuff with out ordering it online and how often should i do a good clean and pull everything out some people say they do it every week and others say every month to 3 months and just spot clean. Thank you

[Sauzo]

I've used both Chlorhexadine and F10SC. I actually prefer the F10SC as I like the smell of it lol. You can use either to clean everything for the cage like water bowls, fake plants, plastic hides etc. Chlorhexadine can be bought from any farm/feed store. F10SC I get from Bean Farm as I live fairly close to them and just pick up stuff I need from them when I go to pick up my bails of aspen from them. Unless you have a reptile shop by you, I would imagine you have to order F10SC online.

As for wood hides, I don't use them. The only way to really clean them is to bake them in the oven at like 250F for about 20 mins watching that they don't catch fire. There is no way to clean poop or stuff off of them. I use Reptile Basic hides as they are simple and do the job. Plus they are easy to clean. You can probably find some kind of non porous hides at the pet shop but the Reptile basic ones are from them only online.

As for cleaning schedule, I check for hidden poops and pees daily when I change my gals' waters plus pet them or generally interact with them if I don't take them out for some hang out time. I do complete cleanings of dumping aspen and F10SC the whole cage every 1-1.5 months depending how much they pee. I also let them soak every couple months in their tubs with warm water which they seem to enjoy. I keep them clean since I take them out a lot and they ride with me around, sit on the couch or on the bed while I watch tv so I don't watch a stinky, poop covered snake in me

[Zincubus]

Most people and indeed vets over here ( UK ) seem to swear by F10 .

[LittleTreeGuy]

I too like the F10. It's cheap, and easy to use. I picked up a pretty old plastic type enclosure, used, at an expo that had a funky odor in it... like it hadn't ever been cleaned. I tried some household stuff and dish detergent. It helped, but still had a trace of that odor. I sprayed it down with F10 and let it set for about ten minutes and wiped it out. No more odor.

[Zincubus]

I too like the F10. It's cheap, and easy to use. I picked up a pretty old plastic type enclosure, used, at an expo that had a funky odor in it... like it hadn't ever been cleaned. I tried some household stuff and dish detergent. It helped, but still had a trace of that odor. I sprayed it down with F10 and let it set for about ten minutes and wiped it out. No more odor.

Very true , it's usually diluted down to something daft like 1:250 or something as I recall so it goes a long way and lasts a while .

[Cummins09]

whats the difference between F10SC and F10SCXD

[Sensismell]

F10sc is a disinfectant, spray it on wipe it down let dry and you can put your animals back in. F10scxd has a soap in it helps break down dried poop better but has to be rinsed well before putting your animals back.

[Cummins09]

where can i buy this stuff at with out ordering it online?

[Sensismell]

Most likely nowhere. I get mine from reptile basics (ordered online) but you may be able to find it at a expo.