Chlorexidine use?

[rabernet]

Thanks Kara! I love the Barker's book, and I refer to it often. So....here is what they have to say:


P. 178, Ball Pythons of the World, Vol II: Ball Pythons by Barker and Barker

Chlorhexidine gluconates

A variety of chlorohexidine disinfectants are found in use in snake rooms. Some of the brand names with which we are familiar are Nolvasan, Virosan, and a product simply called Chorhexidine Solution.

Chlorhexidine products are often used as disinfectants for inanimate objects or as antiseptics for cleaning skin wounds. Some chlorhexidine compounds contain alcohol, and these have been found to have antimicrobial properties superior to those containing only chlorhexidine. Chlorhexidine is effective against many bacterias, and against yeast (especially Candidia). It is not effective against most viruses, mycobacteria, bacterial and fungal spores or Pseudomonas.

Convenience is the main thing that chlorhexidine products have going for them. They are readily available and reasonably priced. They are a moderately effective disinfectant against many microorganisms. They are not corrosive to snake hooks or other equipment left to soak. We have used dilute solutions of Nolvasan to clean the shells of incubating ball python eggs of mold and fungal growth without any observed deleterious effects on the eggs.

The disadvantages are that this class of disinfectant has poor activity against most viruses and many gram-negative bacteria. Only Virosan has any activity against Pseudomonas (Johnson, 1996). Chlorhexidine products are not effective in the presence of organice debris. These products must be mixed and discarded daily.

There is also an interesting section on Disinfectants and Why Use a Disinfectant at All if anyone is interested.