A few chlorhexadine questions!

Hey all,

I picked up a 16 oz bottle of chlorhexadine at the Arlington show, and I have a few questions about it.

How long can it be mixed with water before it goes bad?
I only have 4 snakes, and do a full cleaning every few months, so I wouldn't need a whole misting bottle full of water and chlorhexadine. I would probably fill it up 1/4 of the way, so I'd need like less than half a cap full of chlorhexadine :confused:
How much chlorhexadine should I add to that little bit of water?
What is the shelf life of the stuff?
People tell me they spray and wipe; will this kill everything right away? Or should I let it sit?

One more question about cleaning in general... Can I disinfect the cage and furniture and stuff and put the old substrate back in (after disinfecting that and PAMing it)?

Thanks all,

I figured out that if I put 200ml of water in a spray bottle I will only need 2 grams of chlorhexadine... all other questions still remain :)

I would like to know myself,anyone? --Josh

Once a week you need to do a new mix, get a small spray bottle and use it for your daily cleaning of surfaces, hides, water bowls etc.

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Originally Posted by Deborah

Once a week you need to do a new mix, get a small spray bottle and use it for your daily cleaning of surfaces, hides, water bowls etc.

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I have Healthy Habitat, which was recommended to me for daily cleaning use. They said chlorhexadine for disinfection when cleaning the whole cage...

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Originally Posted by DutchHerp

I have Healthy Habitat, which was recommended to me for daily cleaning use. They said chlorhexadine for disinfection when cleaning the whole cage...

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Chlorhexadine for daily use is BETTER ;), still need to make a new batch once a week.

Daily cleaning...

You all take your hides, water dishes, etc out everyday and clean/disinfect them? Seems like overkill to me.

Daily cleaning for me is spot cleaning and water...cleaning the stuff that is not explicitly dirty is a weekly thing.

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Originally Posted by ThyTempest

Daily cleaning...

You all take your hides, water dishes, etc out everyday and clean/disinfect them? Seems like overkill to me.

Daily cleaning for me is spot cleaning and water...cleaning the stuff that is not explicitly dirty is a weekly thing.

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Spot cleaning with me means removing the dirty newspaper and spray and wipe offcle tubs, hides and water dish with Chlorhexidine when needed. Not all snakes are cleaned daily only those that needs it but when you have 45+ snakes and some geckos you can be sure you will have to do a few tubs each day.

I had BioShield, which said it would keep disinfecting for three months. I did a full cleaning once every 2-3 months. Spot cleaning as necessary of course.

Now with chlorhexadine I'll make it every 3-4 weeks. So one last important question:

Can I return the same substrate to the cage after disinfecting the cage and its furniture? When I return it I will disinfect and PAM that stuff too...

If you use distilled water, the manufacturer says Chlorhexidine can be good up to 6 weeks.

Does anybody know the answer to my substrate question?

Substrate should be thrown away, thats where all the nasties are absorbed and bacteria grow.

I use newspaper so you chuck the paper, spray tub, hides and wipe tub. If its real nasty I scrub and rinse out.

What you do has alot to do with your setup. I always keep extra rack spaces so I can change tub instantly and clean yuck tub later if needed.

If you have a tank its more envolved.

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Originally Posted by West Coast Jungle

Substrate should be thrown away, thats where all the nasties are absorbed and bacteria grow.

I use newspaper so you chuck the paper, spray tub, hides and wipe tub. If its real nasty I scrub and rinse out.

What you do has alot to do with your setup. I always keep extra rack spaces so I can change tub instantly and clean yuck tub later if needed.

If you have a tank its more envolved.

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Why is Repti-Bark so expensive :( This'll cost me fortunes.

Thats why people use aspen, cypress or newsprint.

Especially when you have lots of snakes.:snake::snake::snake::snake::snake::snake::snake::snake::snake::snake:

Can I not reuse the same substrate if I thoroughly disinfect it with chlorhexidine and then PAM it?

Sorry for all the questions...

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Originally Posted by DutchHerp

Can I not reuse the same substrate if I thoroughly disinfect it with chlorhexidine and then PAM it?

Sorry for all the questions...

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You should never ever reuse cage substrate. Just because it looks clean doesn't mean it is. If you use cypress because it looks good (I used to when i had only 2 snakes) then just spot clean every day or as necessary and then remove all the cypress, clean everything and add new cypress every 2 weeks. That's what i used to do but now i use newspaper because it's simply much more cost effective.