Help with general substrate maintenace

[worleybird]

Hey all! Just looking for some advice from some more experienced herp keepers than myself. Have a juvenile Desert Woma BP (about 6 months old) in a 20L aquarium for now. Aspen substrate. She typically poops every 7-10 days, which i remove immediately with the substrate it was lying on. I have read BP's pass both liquid and solid forms of urine, which I have seen the solids. Cant see or find (or smell) any of the liquid variety in her enclosure. That being said, how often should I replace ALL the substrate with fresh versus just spot cleaning? Also, what cleaning products does everyone recommend to thoroughly sterilize everything without possibly hurting the snake? Is a very mild bleach solution OK, since it would prob be the cheapest and can be easily made at home?

As a side note, I also have a Columbian Red Tail currently on reptile carpet. Its worked very well for me so far but have seen posts that say I really shouldnt use it. If I do continue to use it, what is the recommended cleaning procedure and frequency? Thanks for any help you can give!

[MD_Pythons]

I replace all the substrate in my enclosures monthly, alot of people use F10 to clean their enclosures. I've been using a vinegar solution but I'm going to order some soon.

[Caali]

I usually change all the substrate every 1.5 months but I do a bit more than just spot cleaning. If my ball python pees or poops, I change out all the substrate in that spot. I also clean the surrounding plants, caves, etc. that might have been affected.
I personally use a lot of products by cdVet. All their products are made without chemicals. I have specific ones for glass, terrarium furniture, wood as well as some stuff to get rid of smells. The downside is that the products are quite expensive (about 15 to 20 dollars each bottle; every bottle is normally 100ml). That being said, I wouldn't use bleach. F10 is definitely a good, cheap option. I've also seen some cheap products by Zoomed in some shops.

The problem with reptile carpet is that it's very difficult to clean. Some of them don't absorb excretions properly, so that it can cause damage to the snake.

[larryd23]

After reading numerous threads on this forum regarding habitat maintenance, we settled on spot cleaning as needed and a thorough monthly cleaning.

When we spot clean, we not only remove what we can see but we also remove any substrate within 2-3 inches of what we can see in case it absorbed any urates.

When we do a thorough cleaning we remove everything and disinfect with 2% Chlorhexidine solution: http://carolinadesignerdragons.com/s...lus-2-refills/

We spray everything (cage, plastic plants, hides, water dish, habitat), let it sit for a few minutes, and then thoroughly rinse with hot water. After everything is dried, we add new substrate, put it all back together and we're done.

[cchardwick]

I was using diluted Chlorhexidine solution for a year or so, I just switched to a diluted bleach / water solution. I like the smell of bleach, plus it's cheap and readily available. I usually change out the substrate when it smells musty, or looks moldy or dirty (now I clean all my racks all at once on a regular schedule). It really depends on how big your snake is and how big your enclosure is and how much substrate you have. A small snake in a lot of substrate can be pretty clean for a long time.

Do you know about the Desert gene issues? I wouldn't even try to breed that Desert Woma, they say the females are either sterile or can't pass eggs and can die egg bound. Males can breed just fine but females are considered 'pet only' snakes.

[RickyNY]

Once a month.
Be careful with reptile carpet, a Boa ate the carpet.

[c0r3yr0s3]

I spot clean as needed and complete clean every other month unless I can smell anything other than aspen after the spot clean. I use vinegar because all my clothes and shoes are black and bleach is my enemy. I use fabuloso around the house but I wouldn't want to use it for my snakes because I assume it would be bad for them