cleaning

hello all, back with another question. i was wondering the best way to clean the enclosure and hides and everything. ive heard of the water and bleach solution, just dont know much much bleach to use. and if i were to piece of wood for the snake to climb on would that have to be cleaned or baked before i put it in the enclosure, i dont want to start off on the wrong foot here. thanks in advance everyone.

Just one or two capfuls of bleach per gallon of water as your cleaning solution is fine. If you are using a piece of wood found outside then it must be baked in your oven around 300 degrees for 30-60 minutes depending on how thick it is. Many people have differing opinions on how hot and how long to bake, but this is what has worked for me.

Is it a glass tank or a rubbermaid tub?

I use regular dish soap to clean and then F10 to disinfect. If you don't have that available, then bleach or even lysol wipes works. Just make sure it's fully dry before you put the snake back. A rinse or 2 also couldn't hurt.

If you're going to use wood, use wood from a store. Don't go grabbing random sticks. It's just not worth the hassle! I've heard of many people baking wood, but I've never tried it. Putting wood into an oven just doesn't seem like a good idea to me. What if you do it wrong and burn your house down?

Cleaning or disinfecting? They are not the same thing.

Cleaning is easy a bit of soap or detergent and stiff brush.

Bleach is not a cleaner it is a bleach and disinfectant. Disinfectants are used AFTER cleaning.

The use of bleach as a disinfectant is also easy.

1 table spoon to one gallon of water. Wash, wipe and rinse items with detergent (or soap) and water, then apply sanitizing solution of bleach and water. Let stand 10 minutes. Rinse completely no smell should remain. To be extra safe leave to dry in DIRECT sun (not from a window UV breaks bleach down). Reptiles are fairly reactive to bleach so be careful.

There are other disinfectants around that work well, the two big names in reptile specific are F10sc (F10scxd is the recommended detergent) and chlorhexidine. The big difference is stability F10 keeps for 6 months, chlorhexidine keeps for 3 weeks diluted.

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Originally Posted by kitedemon

Cleaning or disinfecting? They are not the same thing.

Cleaning is easy a bit of soap or detergent and stiff brush.

Bleach is not a cleaner it is a bleach and disinfectant. Disinfectants are used AFTER cleaning.

The use of bleach as a disinfectant is also easy.

1 table spoon to one gallon of water. Wash, wipe and rinse items with detergent (or soap) and water, then apply sanitizing solution of bleach and water. Let stand 10 minutes. Rinse completely no smell should remain. To be extra safe leave to dry in DIRECT sun (not from a window UV breaks bleach down). Reptiles are fairly reactive to bleach so be careful.

There are other disinfectants around that work well, the two big names in reptile specific are F10sc (F10scxd is the recommended detergent) and chlorhexidine. The big difference is stability F10 keeps for 6 months, chlorhexidine keeps for 3 weeks diluted.

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So F10 keeps for 6 months? Is that diluted? If so, how long does the concentrated form last as it was sent? I couldn't find info about this, but I have personal stake in knowing the answer of course :P

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Originally Posted by sharkrocket

So F10 keeps for 6 months? Is that diluted? If so, how long does the concentrated form last as it was sent? I couldn't find info about this, but I have personal stake in knowing the answer of course :P

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I think I read somewhere that it is good for a year after expiration. My last bottle still had a year or 2 on it when I got it

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Originally Posted by Rickys_Reptiles

Is it a glass tank or a rubbermaid tub?

I use regular dish soap to clean and then F10 to disinfect. If you don't have that available, then bleach or even lysol wipes works. Just make sure it's fully dry before you put the snake back. A rinse or 2 also couldn't hurt.

If you're going to use wood, use wood from a store. Don't go grabbing random sticks. It's just not worth the hassle! I've heard of many people baking wood, but I've never tried it. Putting wood into an oven just doesn't seem like a good idea to me. What if you do it wrong and burn your house down?

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i was going to use a plastic sterlite tub instead of glass. i dont want to hurt the snake so i rather ask, so thank you

I used this product sometimes I really like it. Zoo Med Wipe Out 1 Terrarium Cleaner

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rickys_Reptiles

Is it a glass tank or a rubbermaid tub?

I use regular dish soap to clean and then F10 to disinfect. If you don't have that available, then bleach or even lysol wipes works. Just make sure it's fully dry before you put the snake back. A rinse or 2 also couldn't hurt.

If you're going to use wood, use wood from a store. Don't go grabbing random sticks. It's just not worth the hassle! I've heard of many people baking wood, but I've never tried it. Putting wood into an oven just doesn't seem like a good idea to me. What if you do it wrong and burn your house down?

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What if you wire your heat tape wrong and burn your house down? Just use common sense, keep an eye on it, and try to find what has worked for other people.
(Here's a thread that is semi-related http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...Reptibark-Mold )

My rule for cleaning the cage is if I can smell disinfectant/cleaning solutions after I've finished cleaning, then it needs to be rinsed again.

My F10sc and xd for that matter the F919 was shipped with over a year and the F919 over two before the posted expiry. John Berry told me personally that he would use F10 range for up to one year after the posted date if necessary.

Yes 6 months diluted with tap water. Chlorhexidine is quite short once diluted. It also needs to be kept in air tight containers. For me this was the deciding factor. I actually really like the F10 range the SC, F919 and the XD are fabulous products I'd also highly recommend the f10 hand soap it is great.