parasite removal

fabos

New Member
is there any actions needed to remove parasites from my cage in which there was a recent death? i plan to reuse the cage but i want to make sure its safe.. i figure the vines and plastic leafs would be trash .. but if im wrong let me know!!
 
im not rushing to get it clean, i both my chams are currently happy in there cages and perfect sizes for them, just im planing on gettin a third and when that time comes i want to have the cage ready!
 
It depends on the parasite you are trying to kill. What parasite was/is it?

The eggs/oocysts of some coccidia, cryptosporidium and some flagellates (just to name a few) can't be killed by simple bleach, soap and water.
 
You can use full strength bleach as long as you rinse it really well. If its one of those reptariums you can wash the screen in the washer.
 
cant recall the parasite name. but if it was something that was a strong parasite would there be any why to clean the cage or should i just buy a new one??
 
Bleach is a gift from the gods...

Actually bleach WILL kill almost all parasites. The problem that most people have is 1) the cage is not cleaned thoroughly of debris before bleaching, 2) they are not using a high enough concentration, and 3) they are not allowing proper contact time for the bleach to work.

When you have animals that are using the cage and you need to do maintenance cleaning a 10% bleach solution on the cage for about 10 to 15 minutes before rinsing is fine. (Remember that if you can smell the bleach after the rinse, you need to keep rinsing until it is gone.)

If you have an enclosure that has been exposed to an infectious agent or parasite you will have to take more care or throw the enclosure away.

Bleach only works by contact. Example- if you have a ball of feces with an oocyte in it and you dose the ball in bleach, if the bleach doesn't make it to the center, the oocyte is not harmed. So, if the cage is not completely cleared of fecal/organic material, it doesn't matter how much you clean, organisms can exist. Wood (untreated) will protect organisms. Hard to reach cracks and crevices will harbor organism.

It take time for the bleach to penetrate. If you just spray on the bleach and then immediately wipe it off, you are wasting your time. 10-30 minutes is really necessary for a good effective treatment.

If you have time and your material can handle it, a higher concentration of bleach 20-30% will help eliminate pathogens and parasites. Again, just make sure you rinse and rinse and rinse and rinse....to get rid of the smell before reusing the apperatus.

That's all I got.
 
Addendum - For organisms like crypto, you would need 70-100% undiluted commercial bleach for 2 hour soak to kill. Again, all debris must be removed...
 
i was planing on using 1005 solution on my cage... i already threw away all plants and vines... starting over from scratch is OK but the loss of a nice big cage would really suck!

so i just have to clean sceen and glass... since its a 1/2 and 1/2 cage..

after its clean i already bought new vines and a ficus for my vield for when she is ready to move into it...
 
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