Cleaning up your Reptile Cage

Cleaning up your reptile cages the right way is very important as it will make sure that the chances of them picking up diseases and infections are greatly reduced leading to a far happier and healthier pet. There are several rather important steps for you to follow and the key ones are noted below so pay attention and put these steps into action when next cleaning out that cage.

1. Clean the accessories first.
To begin with you should remove all of the accessories that are in there such as plants, ornaments and stones and clean those at the start. Stones can be put in boiling water for 30 minutes and even sand can be washed and rinsed in order to get rid of debris and dirt that is in it. The same can be said for the branches, but once the sand and branches are clean do look at putting them in the oven for 30 minutes at 93c to warm them up for going back in the cage.

2. Dispose of anything damaged as well as the disposable substrate.
Once a week you should look at disposing of the substrate in the cage and replacing it with something fresh. If you are using a substrate that is non disposable, then consider scrubbing it with a brush to get it clean, but make sure it is well rinsed and dry before replacing. Throw out anything that is past its best or damaged rather than spend time trying to get it clean and replace with something new.

3. Wash the cage, then disinfect it.
Once the cage is empty you need to wash it with soap and hot water and then rinse it and do then check for any spots that have remained and use either an old toothbrush or a special cleaner for their cages to get it off. Once this is done disinfect every part before rinsing with hot water to remove any residue that may be there and allow it to dry thoroughly.

4. Wash your own equipment thoroughly for the next time.
Even though that is how you wash the cage you must scrub clean the sponges, brushes, or anything else you have used and then disinfect them in order to be ready to do the same job next week. This will prevent bacteria building up as this will then be transferred onto the cage the following week and it will gradually become an unhealthy place for your reptile to be in.
So that is how you clean up your reptile cage the right way and there is nothing complex or too time consuming so there is no reason not to do things correctly. Take your time because making sure they have a nice clean and healthy cage to return to will keep them healthy and also increase their live span and it will save you money on bills at the vet so it makes sense from an economic point of view as well.