Cage cleaners

[thesnakeman]

Just curious what everyone else uses. Personally, I don't like bleach. It has potential to do harm to snakes. Ammonia is just plain nasty! And I just can't bring myself to trust chlorhexadine, or any of the other commercially available chemical compounds. If you will recall, DDT was once widely thought of as being perfectly safe, along with countless other chemicals. Then years down the road, we found out all the bad things they caused, and discontinued them.

So I did some research about two years ago, and found a technique used by a gecko breeder. I've been using this method ever since, and so far it seems to be working well. Take two empty spray bottles, and add a tablespoon of liquid dish soap to each one. The soap acts as a spreader/sticker, or surfactant. And it kills germs too. Now fill one spray bottle with vinegar, and fill the other with hydrogen peroxide. Spray the area to be cleaned with a couple squirts of vinegar, and let it set for a minute or two. Then spray the peroxide, and let it set for a minute or two. Then wipe dry, and then I put a small fan in the cage door to clear out any fumes for a minute or two. I use this method on water bowls as well. Although, I only use stainless steel water bowls. No porous materials for water. Then a couple times a year, I steam clean all the cages, from top to bottom. So far, so good. As a matter of fact, Dr. Carl Gossett told me that all he uses is vinegar, and then he drags the cages out into the driveway, and hoses them out, and lets them dry in the sun. However his protocol may be different with wild caught, or quarantined stuff. I'm not sure.

So what do y'all think? Thanks,
T.

[Mike Greathouse]

Natural Chemistry makes a product called Healthy Habitat that I've been using for a couple of years now. It is non-chemical, does a great job cleaning, and even smells pretty good. Here is their ad-copy:

Healthy Habitat is specifically formulated to effectively eliminate odors and soiling caused by organic
animal and food waste. For use in any pet habitat, glass and other surfaces within habitat ie: hide boxes,
gravel, artificial plants etc. Safe for use on all strong animal/reptile odor sources and stains.

Enzyme Technology:
Natural Chemistry’s products are inspired by processes that occur in the natural world.
Their patented technology uses trillions of natural enzymes and co-enzymes to break down
undesirable organic materials safely and effectively...resulting in a healthier pet environment.


Safe, yet powerful
All natural
Hypo-allergenic
Easy to use
Unconditionally guaranteed

As I said, I've been using it for 2 years and I love it.

[epidemic]

I prefer to use Chlorhexidine in conjunction with steam cleaning and have yet to incur any problems. Keep in mind, those little 50.00 scunci steam cleaners do not pack the heating element necessary to disinfect the surface of your enclosure. To truly disinfect an enclosure, especially the nasty little corners, I use the Euorsteam 1900, but have found the Lady Bug XL and White Wing models will accomplish the job too.
It's interesting to note, bleach and Chlorhexidine are not effective in the eradication of Cryptosporidium serpentes, but steam is highly effective for eradicating such...

Best regards,

Jeff

[Chris R]

I've been using a dilute solution of Chlorhexidine. I spray the empty cages and wipe down thoroughly after removing the larger deposits. I let the solution sit for about 10 minutes after cleaning and then wipe out with a clean paper towel.

Chris Rodgers