# none harmful disinfectant



## Chelsea M. (Jul 6, 2009)

I have recently gotten an appropriate size cage for my Argentine Black/White Tegu (Monty).... but the previous owner had 4 corn snakes in the cage and i don't know what the effect will be on Monty. I need to know what the best thing to use to kill bacteria and whatever the snakes may or may not have been carrying without harming my buddy ^_^ i have a clorox bleach spray, but if that's not good for him i'd like to know what is. Thnx! =3


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## AWD247 (Jul 6, 2009)

I have a cleaner I use called: Green Works, its an all natural all purpose cleaner from the makers of CLOROX its made with plant and mineral based ingredients, all biodegradeable ingredients, filtered water and coconut base, safe on all surfaces.

Thats what I use on my enclosures and never had a problem


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## Chelsea M. (Jul 6, 2009)

sweet thnx! ^_^


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## Red Earth Exotics (Jul 6, 2009)

just regular dishwashing soap and water will work too. just rinse real well.


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## Rudd (Jul 6, 2009)

bleach and water work great. I use Rocal-D, its a great disinfectant a lot of vets use. $100/gallon but a cap full in a spray bottle is all you need. The gallon will last forever.


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## Red Earth Exotics (Jul 6, 2009)

Rudd said:


> bleach and water work great. I use Rocal-D, its a great disinfectant a lot of vets use. $100/gallon but a cap full in a spray bottle is all you need. The gallon will last forever.





$100 a gallon !! :yik 

chlorhexadine is just as concentrated and WAY cheaper. i have used it before, works real well.


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## DaveDragon (Jul 6, 2009)

Red Earth Exotics said:


> chlorhexadine is just as concentrated and WAY cheaper. i have used it before, works real well.


I use that also. Also known as Nolvasan. A gallon is very concentrated and will last for years. You can get it at some animal/feed supply stores. Or do a search online.


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## Rudd (Jul 6, 2009)

The reason I like the Rocal is it is a broad spectrum germicidal. I've heard of chlorhexadine/Nolvasan but does it kill bacteria, fungus and viruses?


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## Red Earth Exotics (Jul 6, 2009)

i dunno what all it kills and what all it doesn't. i know that i used it for about 4 years and have NEVER had a sick reptile. so, it must be able to kill all that my snakes are throwing at it! 

also, i think that vets and stuff use it as a disinfectant also. it can be used directly on the animals and their wounds from what i understand


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## CaterpillarGiraffe (Jul 6, 2009)

I use Healthy Habitat, you don't even have to remove the animal. 
I also use a 1 part vinegar, 2 parts water. Or one part bleach, 2 parts water (which is toxic, but cleaned thouroughly).


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## Chelsea M. (Jul 6, 2009)

wow ^_^ sounds great XD i'll probly stick to the cheaper choices though


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## Tux (Jul 6, 2009)

Commercial products like nolvasan are chlorhexidine diacetate where as the generic is chlorhexidine gluconate but either can be used. It is bactericidal and kills both gram positive and negative microbes, it also limits bacteria growth. It may also work as a virucide. It is not a fungicide and won't kill all viruses but this isn't an issue with healthy animals, if you are running a rescue using bleach is the best method but to do so it would need to avoid contact with animals and have enough time to become deactivated before adding them back to the enclosure, I sometimes use bleach during the weekly enclosure deep clean some of the animals get.


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## Anthony (Jul 11, 2009)

does anyone know where i can get the green works cleaning stuff? i didnt see it at walmart or the dollar store which is where i usually shop


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## AWD247 (Jul 11, 2009)

I picked up mine at the local Walmart


Check the link, at the bottom left you can put your location in
--> <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.greenworkscleaners.com/cleaners/detail.php?id=napc" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.greenworkscleaners.com/clean ... hp?id=napc</a><!-- m -->


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## JohnMatthew (Jul 11, 2009)

I use chlorhexidine also.


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## PinkPunisher (Jul 11, 2009)

Hydrogen peroxide and Vinegar.. spray them both down from seperate and when they meet they have a chemical reaction making them one of the best anti-bacterial and anti-fungal cleaner. It is better then most household cleaner and is 100% natural so no worries about anything dangerous. Just wait for the Vinegar fumes to go away and your set!


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## Mvskokee (Jul 11, 2009)

i use simple green works like a charm


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## Tux (Jul 12, 2009)

PinkPunisher said:


> Hydrogen peroxide and Vinegar.. spray them both down from seperate and when they meet they have a chemical reaction making them one of the best anti-bacterial and anti-fungal cleaner. It is better then most household cleaner and is 100% natural so no worries about anything dangerous. Just wait for the Vinegar fumes to go away and your set!



peracetic acid is bad mmmkay, use them separately as you do not want peracetic acid (it can be irritating or deadly depending on concentration.


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## PinkPunisher (Jul 12, 2009)

Tux said:


> peracetic acid is bad mmmkay, use them separately as you do not want peracetic acid (it can be irritating or deadly depending on concentration.





> ...In tests run at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, pairing the two mists killed virtually all Salmonella, Shigella, or E. coli bacteria on heavily contaminated food and surfaces when used in this fashion, making this spray combination more effective at killing these potentially lethal bacteria than chlorine bleach or any commercially available kitchen cleaner.
> 
> The best results came from using one mist right after the other - it is 10 times more effective than using either spray by itself and more effective than mixing the vinegar and hydrogen peroxide in one sprayer.





> "Can I mix the hydrogen peroxide and vinegar into one sprayer?" The short answer is: EEK - No! The longer answer is: never mix hydrogen peroxide and vinegar together in one container. The resulting chemical, peracetic acid, can harm you when mixed together this way if you accidentally create a strong concentration in this fashion. Peracetic acid also has entirely different characteristics and properties than either hydrogen peroxide or vinegar. Additionally, we don't know if peracetic acid kills the same group of pathogenic food-borne bacteria when used this way as a spray - it very well may not.



Quotes from this website. <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.michaelandjudystouffer.com/judy/articles/vinegar.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.michaelandjudystouffer.com/j ... inegar.htm</a><!-- m -->

Now one thing they never said was should I spray on then wipe up then spray the other and wipe up? Which I believe is what your trying to say Tux but not 100% sure. Don't suppose you know the answer? 

I was told on another that you spray them both down from seperate containers one after the other, then wipe them up and your done. Which is what I've been doing but now I'm wondering if I was doing something wrong here...

So yeah... don't suppose you wanna go into a little more detail with your answer Tux?


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