Best way to Clean a tank?

If you looks at some of my pictures you may see that cleaning can be a hassle at times, but i was curious as to what is the best way to go about cleaning the plants, clay/wood fixtures, and etc. I've been boiling the plants and putting the wood in the oven, but I'm beginning to notice my plants and other items are starting to look harggard and worn down, even falling apart. What are some ways to clean these items better and more effeciently?

Thanks for any recommendations.

Take all the un-needed stuff out :D :D :D

I'm sure it looks great but I don't know how you can keep everything clean. I tried with my first ball but quickly threw in the towel and went to racks and tubs. Balls aren't really display animals anyway. I would think you'd need to do regular spot cleaning and eventually just replace stuff due to becoming worn or just nasty...

Yeah I understand where you guys are coming from, but I guess for the time being I'd like to set everything different ways, trying to making it look real, but also being effective for all the snake's needs (hide spots, shedding, ,heating, and climbing fixtures). I know there are people out there who are on the same page as me, but I just wanted to know some easy ways to clean these items. I mean when people go about doing their monthly clean on a tank, how do yall go about cleaning the plants, etc.?

This is my cleaning procedure, which is probably more drawn out than most...

1) Empty substrate and clean out tank with chlorhexamine solution
2) Place all plants, dishes, and hides in tub with water diluted with environmentally friendly non-chlorine bleach and let soak (I will soak my mopani wood too if my BP has soiled it, but mainly I will keep it out and just spray it down with the chlorhexamine solution, as it takes forever to fully dry back out)
3) Place substrate back in tank and spray with PAM, wiping top of tank
4) Rinse and dry all soaking items, hitting them again with chlorhexamine solution and letting them air dry with just a spot wiping if still moist
5) Place everything back in cage as long as the PAM has aired out.

This takes me an hour to the minute to complete and darned if Tiberious didn't knock his water dripper off the tank flooding half of it the very next day!

Hire someone.;):D

I'm hiring myself for this job, and what exactly is this chlorhexamine solution? Are there any others that have a specific way fo cleaning this stuff?

I'm one of the odd balls on here that uses tanks, eight of them right now. Everything I use if artificial, I won't use real wood because it is a pain to clean, and my main reason is because the last time I used real wood I got infested with mites because of it. All in all, to do all of my tanks it takes about two and a half hours.

1. I hand wash all the decorations with dish soap and let air dry.
2. Use my power vacuum and suck up all of the substrate out of all of my tanks.
3. Wipe tanks out with a 50/50 bleach and water mix.
4. Dry tanks.
5. I have my Eco-earth expandable substrate expanding before I start, so it is ready to fill my tanks.
6. Put all decorations, hides, and water bowls back.
7. Put snakes back.

Here is a picture of some of my set ups:
https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...h_pets_032.jpg

I think the dishwasher is extremely overlooked. It will sanitize everything just as well as soaking. I throw all my hides in the dishwasher and bake the wood and that's that. There its simple, safe, and effective. Your plants may or may not be dishwasher safe, though. I'm not sure I don't use plants.

Sorry, it's chlorhexidine. Search for related BP.net links. It is a chemical antisepctic safe for humans and animals and commonly used as an ingredient in topical disinfectant and as a commerical cleanser. A solution of it and water works great for cleaning the tanks. I got mine from a local feed store.

1) I take everything out of the tank and discard the paper towels I use as substrate.

2) Wipe down all the cords from the probes and T-Stat with a paper towel with bleach/water solution.

3) I fill the bathtub 1/4 of the way with bleach/water solution and soak the hides and the red slate rock in my BP's tank for an hour or so.

4) After I start soaking the hides and rocks, I turn the oven on to 200* and bake the piece of wood for about 30 minutes to an hour.

5) While all that is going on, I take a spray bottle with more bleach/water solution and spray the inside and outside of the tank and wipe it down. I sit it outside to let it dry and to get any fumes out, even though the solution is so diluted, you can barely smell the bleach. I do the same to the lid for the tank.

6) When that is done, I get the wood out of the oven and put the hides and rocks in there and bake them for 30 minutes.

7) Grab the tank, line it with paper towels, spray it and the lid with Provent-A-Mite and let it sit to air out again.

8) After I am satisfied that it is properly aired out, I put the tank back, put all the stuff back, let my snake crawl through a warm, wet towel and then I put him back.



I know it's a bit of overkill and it takes a few hours, but it makes me feel like things are nice and clean. Ever since my BP got mites a few months back, I've been a lot more cautious when I clean his tank.

Sounds good!! Overkill is the best way to do it... only ppl who have dealt with mites *cringe* would know this. lol

I just cleaned my tank.

1. Took everything out and put the water dish, rock, and hide in HOT water with soap for about 30 mins. Scrubed & rinsed, then dry.

2. Threw all the paper towel substrate away
3. Sprayed tank with bleach solution, wipe it down and probe cord.
4. Let it air out then spray with mite solution and wipe it down
5. Let it air then put paper towel down
6. Cleaned all logs and branches in diluted bleach water for about 30 mins. ( guess who decided to crap in his cylinder wood hide? :O While spraying it I discovered a big turd that was 100% fur!!! Bleh)

7. Letting them now dry.
8. replace everything
9. Spray all with a diff mite solution
10. Let air out
11. Replace my bp :]] :snake:

Whoo! Finally done!! :] :banana:

What is the mix for the bleach solution, 50/50 sounds a bit much?

I just put about a half a cup- cup of bleach in the water and mix it. I think 50/50 would be way too strong personally. You don't need too much bleach in the water. Just so you can barely smell it. Which is a minute amount.

All these are good, I have used them all from the chlorahexadine, to diluted 50/50 chlorine water solutions, to dish detergent. using wood in my tanks is a pain, but something i found that worked really well was too scrub everything and then freeze it. I scrub everything down using either one of these things rinsing of course very well and drying very well, then with the wood stuffs which i no longer use i would freeze it, then let it thaw and all of it would be sanitized and clean smelling too. baking soda i also used on my fake plants that had a funky smell.