Can the cause of RI survive on the rack?

I am mostly finished my new BP room and have started the process of putting the racks back into the room.

I have a rack that I used roughly 4 years ago, and haven’t had the need for since then – until now. During the time it was used I had a male BP that I purchased with a RI that never healed and caused that particular snake to die. I do not know the cause of the RI. I don’t know if it was viral or bacterial. All I know is that he had a RI.

Fast forward….

Is there even a 0.1% chance that the cause of the RI has managed to survive on/in the melamine??? I’m not sure how anal I’m going to need to be when it comes to cleaning :taz::taz:

Pretty hard to say without knowing if the RI cause was bacterial, viral, or fungal. What conditions has the rack been stored in? Are the particle/unfinished edges of the melamine sealed?

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Originally Posted by Annarose15

Pretty hard to say without knowing if the RI cause was bacterial, viral, or fungal. What conditions has the rack been stored in? Are the particle/unfinished edges of the melamine sealed?

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The rack has been sitting in my basement. I'm going to guess its around 20 degrees and 20%RH.

only 1 edge is sealed.

20degrees celsius?

I would assume Celsius since the poster is Canadian, just (20 x 9)/5 + 32 and whala :) 68F

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

20degrees celsius?

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Yeah, 20 celcius

While after four years there probably aren't any nasties left alive, I would still clean it with a mild soap, disinfect with either a chlorine bleach or F10 solution, rinse well, and allow it to dry in the sun outside.

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Originally Posted by bcr229

While after four years there probably aren't any nasties left alive, I would still clean it with a mild soap, disinfect with either a chlorine bleach or F10 solution, rinse well, and allow it to dry in the sun outside.

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x2

I doubt there is anything to worry about but personally I would mix up an extra strong batch of F10, spray it down, and let it work for 20-30 minutes.

Virus are the sticky bit the oldest know virus has been found alive after 12000 years (small pox) so it is hard to say for sure. they are also very hard to kill.

Is the melamine sealed?

The substrate is a good medium for bacterial, viral, and fungal to maintain. It is also very hard to clean as there is a massive amount of surface among the particles. If the rack is fully sealed no particle board exposed anywhere I would suspect there is a very good chance of a effective clean. If there is open particle board I would say there is no way to fully clean the rack. I would think there is a small chance of leaving unwanted 'guests' regardless of how carefully cleaned the rack is.

personally I would get rid of a melamine rack based solely on the out gassing issues associated with it the effects of formaldehyde are unknown on snakes but they are know to be a human carcinogen.

I wouldn't think it could survive very long, but I would clean the heck out of it with bleach or F10. I personally prefer cleaning with F10.