How to remove hookworms, strongyloides and coccidia from a cage?

[MikeYPG]

If someone could provide a cleaning regiment that would cleanse a cage of hookworms, strongyloides and coccidia, I'd really appreciate it.
Keep in mind:
1- There are 2 big logs in the cage
2- There are 3 basking stones
3- There is a lot of dirt/sand substrate
4- The enclosure itself is unsealed birch plywood

[Lizardlicks]

If you got sand/dirt (bioactive, I'm guessing?), you've got microorganisms. There's no way to be rid of the bad ones that won't also kill all your beneficial ones. The only way I can think of that would sterilize everything would be to bake/boil/freeze everything possible, but then you get to the fact that the enclosure itself is unsealed wood and that's just a losing battle.

[MikeYPG]

If you got sand/dirt (bioactive, I'm guessing?), you've got microorganisms. There's no way to be rid of the bad ones that won't also kill all your beneficial ones. The only way I can think of that would sterilize everything would be to bake/boil/freeze everything possible, but then you get to the fact that the enclosure itself is unsealed wood and that's just a losing battle.

I can bake and disinfect the logs, rocks and substrate and I've heard temps above 165f will kill all the parasites mentioned. I do have a steam cleaner would that work? could steam clean the enclosure

[Kcl]

There are no real options for this. You have some hardy parasite species and a bunch of porous materials. The animal will also continue to re-contaminate the enclosure until all parasites are eliminated. As far as I know, the only real way to eliminate these is to get rid of all porous materials and put your lizard in an enclosure that can be sterilized until the parasites have been killed. However, I'm not sure how you'd balance that with monitors' burrowing needs.

[Oxylepy]

Are there biological methods to handle this? Organisms which will keep the level of the parisites in check to greatly reduce the number of them.

I am a big fan of ecosystem type setups, and if there are methods to be rid of the parisites which will generate another level to the setup, it could be very effective

[MikeYPG]

Not sure about biological methods but I do know that steam will kill coccidia. The other 2 parasites can be killed by bleach or ammonia or chlorhexidine.

So maybe if I use my steam cleaner to clean the porous materials including the cage? There is a layer of plastic sheet over the wood which provides some seal but it's not perfect. Hoping I only have to steam clean the inner part outside of the plastic layering and not have to rip out the plastic and clean beneath.

[Kcl]

There's no biological option for these parasites. There are a few things that parasitize other parasites like this and some weird stuff like predatory fungi, but I don't know if there are any for these in particular, and even if it exists, it's highly unlikely that you'd want to introduce it anyway and it won't be available regardless.

Also, it should be noted that some species of each of the listed parasites infect humans.

Seriously, these things are built to survive. This is one of the few things where "kill it with fire" is the actual recommendation in many cases. Literally, you can find things put out by agencies like the California Department of Public Health where the recommended disinfection procedure for outdoor soil with roundworm eggs includes lighting it on fire with a propane torch repeatedly.

[Kcl]

Chlorhexadine is not effective against nematodes. Bleach removes the ability of roundworm eggs to stick to surfaces allowing for mechanical removal - this is useful when you have a non-porous surface. It does not kill them.

[Jeanne]

I suggest switching to a tub.. if you attempt steam cleaning the unsealed wood in your enclosure will just ruin it.. furthermore over time you will find tht the unsealed wood the cage is made of will start seeing damage from moisture at some point. Obtain plastic hides...

Until you get this under control at least.

Not sure tht you can clean completely ur current cage.

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