Cleaning products

[Bogertophis]

NO disinfectant will be effective in the presence of fecal material & other biological debris, so FIRST, wipe & remove that stuff, THEN spray on disinfectant of choice- & for best effectiveness, let that sit for 10-20 minutes before wiping dry.

A number of mouthwash products (for humans!) have chlorhexidine as the disinfecting ingredient, & I've heard of people using mouthwash to wipe their snake's homes, but the other chemicals, none of which are meant to be swallowed, could be irritating or even toxic to reptiles if left on the surface- no telling- as not all mouthwashes have the same stuff in them.

Normally, I use generic (very diluted) chlorhexidine for wiping both snake & rodent cages, & it doesn't need to be rinsed, only dried. You can buy it in places like feed stores, or online. Depending on how many snakes you have, even a pint will go a LONG way, so if you end up buying a gallon, you might find someone to share it with, or donate some to the nearest animal shelter.

I have in the past also tried F-10, etc.

BTW, bleach is very effective, but very toxic & must be rinsed so there's NO odor left- don't use for routine maintenance, only for major disinfection of cages+ in case you have a known sick reptile, or if buying a used cage- since you never know what may have died touching that & what it died from. Same goes for ammonia- must be used with LOTS of ventilation or you'll get sick too, as with bleach- it's toxic to US! Use sparingly only when absolutely essential, & ONLY on surfaces that cannot absorb it- never on wood, for example.

For some things, a spray or soak in rubbing alcohol (isopropyl) is a handy disinfectant, though irritating- I use it on my feeding tongs, for example.

For water bowls, I mostly use just white vinegar, as it's a mild disinfectant but also removes hard water deposits*. Obviously you have to rinse it out thoroughly, but that's easy- there's no foaming like with soaps- it rinses clean easily. (*good for cleaning bathroom fixtures/showers too, for the same reason) And a gallon of plain white vinegar isn't expensive- it's in your nearest grocery store.