Cleaning Day Pics

[jmcrook]

Did my winter deep clean and full substrate replacement on all 6 enclosures today. Dump all bedding, clean with F10SCXD, rinse/wipe with water, disinfect with F10SC, fresh bedding and replace all cage furnishings. Switched from aspen back to coconut husk for the season with things being a bit drier.

I typically do this heavily invested cleaning a couple times a year, maybe more if the critters are being particularly messy. Spot cleaning as needed and check on things daily. Water changes and bowl cleanings a couple times a week.

Thought I’d share some pics I took while scouring everything. Any preferences y’all have for cleaning procedures? Timeframes on deep cleaning? Anything else you’d like to comment about?












Wide angle lens on my new phone makes my snake room look way bigger than it actually is. It’s really only about 9’x10’.


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[Bogertophis]

Beautiful snakes, beautiful room! Very inspiring...& reminds me, I have a "date" with my cranky Korean rat snake. Or his cage, anyway.

[WrongPython]

Nice thread of the whole crew together! I really like the takeout container-turned-hide you've got with the carpets. I might just have to try that myself -- I've certainly got enough old takeout containers laying around here!

I do full cage cleanings seasonally, so roughly every 3-4 months. Scrub down and clean all the décor that can be, scoop and vacuum out all the old substrate, clean and scrub all the other surfaces in the enclosure with Healthy Habitat, and add fresh substrate and cleaned décor. I typically re-arrange the décor layout in the enclosure after cleaning as a little bit of passive enrichment. Since F10 is some pretty powerful stuff, I typically only use it if I'm cleaning after someone was sick or if I'm cleaning an old enclosure for a new arrival (ie. a pre-quarantine super deep clean).

This reminds me -- it's actually time for the longi's seasonal cleaning. Time to start chipping away at that Reptichip block that just arrived!

[Toad37]

Gorgeous animals you have there jmcrook! Especially that BO I use paper instead of substrate for most of my animals. I'm sure there's controversy on it but the animals seem happy with it and it saves me a ton of time cleaning. My deep cleaning usually consists of heavily wiping down every square inch of my racks, tools, walls, and floor in the reptile room and I do that 2-3 times a year depending on how bad it needs it. The actual tubs and hides basically get a deep cleaning every time something makes a mess so a couple times a week for some animals. The two animals I have that are in display cages with substrate get a deep cleaning about every 3-4 months, again depending on how bad they need it.

[jmcrook]

Gorgeous animals you have there jmcrook! Especially that BO I use paper instead of substrate for most of my animals. I'm sure there's controversy on it but the animals seem happy with it and it saves me a ton of time cleaning. My deep cleaning usually consists of heavily wiping down every square inch of my racks, tools, walls, and floor in the reptile room and I do that 2-3 times a year depending on how bad it needs it. The actual tubs and hides basically get a deep cleaning every time something makes a mess so a couple times a week for some animals. The two animals I have that are in display cages with substrate get a deep cleaning about every 3-4 months, again depending on how bad they need it.

Nothing wrong with paper substrate! If I had a larger collection and/or more critters in racks I’d probably use more paper too. Does kinda preclude the ability to spot clean but other side of that coin is that even maintenance cleaning is more thorough.
Thanks for the compliments, toad! I’m astonished the Argentine is even real every time I look in that enclosure.

Nice thread of the whole crew together! I really like the takeout container-turned-hide you've got with the carpets. I might just have to try that myself -- I've certainly got enough old takeout containers laying around here!

I do full cage cleanings seasonally, so roughly every 3-4 months. Scrub down and clean all the décor that can be, scoop and vacuum out all the old substrate, clean and scrub all the other surfaces in the enclosure with Healthy Habitat, and add fresh substrate and cleaned décor. I typically re-arrange the décor layout in the enclosure after cleaning as a little bit of passive enrichment. Since F10 is some pretty powerful stuff, I typically only use it if I'm cleaning after someone was sick or if I'm cleaning an old enclosure for a new arrival (ie. a pre-quarantine super deep clean).

This reminds me -- it's actually time for the longi's seasonal cleaning. Time to start chipping away at that Reptichip block that just arrived!

Those take out containers are great even if the snakes don’t use them much. Drunken noodles containers from one of the Thai restaurants here are just a tad smaller than a RBI medium hide and come filled with delicious, spicy as hell noodles and then get upcycled for use with critters. Works for me!
Agreed, F10 is powerful, but it does a great job of breaking up stubborn urates and such.
I forgot how much that coconut husk expands. Used maybe a full block collectively for two 4x2’ cages, a 6’x2.5’, and one small tub with a small bit leftover for spot cleaning.


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[jmcrook]

Now to sit back and enjoy the fruits of my labor. Curious animals exploring new scents and tactile stimulation, displaying natural behaviors. Thankful for everything about this room and all that it adds to my life. Cheers y’all!








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[EL-Ziggy]

The critters, setups, and space are all looking lovely JMC. I’m sure it’s a great place to kick back. Very well done!

[Kam]

Love the pictures. Especially the huge ball.


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[richardhind1972]

All looking great, viv set ups look awsome, that argie boa is truly amazing

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[Crowfingers]

great looking set up. I deep clean after every shed for my bp. That's about every 3 months right now. For the leopard geckos I clean their "litter boxes" about every three days and the entire enclosure once a month. Inevitably once I get all the furnishings out and tiles I'll find a few roaches that have escaped being eaten that have been living in there with them