Cage furniture

[ewaldrep]

I am getting a couple of new cages in soon and I am trying to find things to help clutter it up. Is it alright to use aquarium furniture for snakes? I was thinking about getting the mangrove trees from LLLreptile and I have found a few other aquarium products in pet stores that look pretty good but I'm not sure if there are good reasons not to use them. Thanks

[Kaorte]

As long as there are no small openings where the snake could get stuck, feel free to use whatever you want! Snakes have been known to get themselves stuck in cage furniture, so choose wisely!

[ewaldrep]

Thanks, I like the wood furnishings as well but how hard are they to disenfect? I have been washing them with hot water and cholorhexidine and then placing them in the oven at 150 or so for 30-45 minutes? Is this enough or should I scrap the wood and go with plastic?

[Kaorte]

Thanks, I like the wood furnishings as well but how hard are they to disenfect? I have been washing them with hot water and cholorhexidine and then placing them in the oven at 150 or so for 30-45 minutes? Is this enough or should I scrap the wood and go with plastic?

Totally up to you. Sounds like you are doing lots of cleaning. I scrub my wood with a mild bleach solution every so often, but thats about it. I suppose when you initially get it, it would be a good idea to bake it, but no need to do it regularly.

If you want an easy cleaning day go with plastic

[LLLReptile]

I spray my wood products with wipe out or simple green, and then rinse them off and put them in. You don't have to stress too much on disinfecting them every time - just get them cleaned up and rinsed off. I would only do that deep cleaning you described every few months, maybe even only once a year for spring cleaning. Your snakes shouldn't need to have such a sterile living environment most of the time, but it doesn't hurt to do a deep clean once in a while.

As far as hiding spots go, anything works as long as it's not so small and tight that you can't get your snake back out. So use what you like!

-Jen

[ewaldrep]

Thanks for the tips, my snakes have a tendency to poo on the wood in some way, usually at the bottom with the substrate getting stuck to it so I end up cleaning it more often