Question about clean

[jotay]

Ok I/ we all work real hard to keep our bp/boa/herp's cages clean, water bowls clean etc. We scrub,bleach,virosan them to death.

But yet in the wild they live in, lets face it, dirty conditions. Now I have heard the arguement about how they in living in the wild build up immunity to many things. Why then can't they build the same immunity in a confined space.

I guess I am comparing them to lets say children. Back in the day we eat dirt, played in mud and sneezed on each other yet children didn't have near the allergies or problems they have now in catching colds etc so darn easy.

I guess I am asking if your around not to clean situations you do build up antibodies so why would our herps not do the same as they do in the wild.

I am not debating that we should not clean our cages, just food for thought and discussion. And as in everything in life I understand there are exceptions to the rules.

I tell ya sometimes my mind just wanders way to much, but lets hear from others who may actually have some info related to this.

[kavmon]

i think in a herp room or cage, the volume of air is so small compared to the "wild". a bacteria in a room or cage would be might be highly concentrated, compared to the same bacteria in the great outdoors?



vaughn

[MedusasOwl]

Also, in the wild, they have the option of moving *away* from the poo. Gomez left quite a log in his favorite hide this week, which made it easy to find as he was all the way over on the other side of the cage as if to say "Mom, make the stinky go away!!" They can only escape the nastiness so far in a cage! In the wild, they can go as far away as their little hearts desire!

[Freakie_frog]

Also in the wild their contact frequancy with those nasties and their exposure time is limited. In a dirty cage contact frequancy quadrupils and their time of exposure is the same it goes through the roof. The other thing to look at is in the wild the mortality rate due to.. lets say crude is higher than any herper would want in his/her collection.

[jotay]

Aside from not leaving poo or ur's in the cage and still spot cleaning them do you think that due to lack of volume of air/fresh air it still is just to much bacteria potentional and from what ?

Again I am just wondering. I just started vacation and we haven't left for the beach yet and my mind is clear from work so it just starts to tick

I mean 50% humidity is not high enough to cause that much growth and if they are enclosed and not much outside contact what would be harmful ?

Just like to pick other peoples minds, thanks!

[Freakie_frog]

Well the risk is there. Thats why we all suggest that when you clean you clean. Bleach, or viroclean, or even the reptiwipe cage and furnature cleaner. That kills most every thing and done on a regular basis the risk of your snake getting sick from "crud" is way lower. I got to go and do that tonight my guy just shed and I bet theres poo tonight when I get home. So I think that by spot cleaning and a monthly total cleaning keeps things pretty safe.

Anyone else want to add did I miss something?

[Grim91Z]

Aren't captive life spans longer than wild life spans?

[Freakie_frog]

yea thats what I was saying. The care, food availability, water availability, and enviroment that they live in is the major factors that contribute to life span. Hince better care, water, food and enviroment in captivity, longer life. If you reproduce the living condisions they would have in the wild your mortality rate would sky rocket.

[elevatethis]

Not to mention in the wild, out in the bush, or in any habitat or ecosystem, there's a natural flora that breaks down waste chemicals like ammonia and other nasty stuff.

There's a natural balance out there. If a bp takes a dump in the bush, Noah doesn't come running out from behind a tree with a spray bottle and paper towels- flies land on it, lay eggs, maggots grow, eat it up, and all the like. Its like in a fish tank where you develop a colony of beneficial bacteria that processes the waste into harmless chemicals that leave the water.

We can't reproduce that kind of system in captivity, and if someone does, send me a link. With that, I'm gonna go mix another bottle of chlorhexidine......seriously...

[kavmon]

Aren't captive life spans longer than wild life spans?

don't know, anyone done any studies in the wild on life spans?


vaughn