I have a question. So where I am I can’t get animal or reptile specific tub disinfectants. Right now I’m just wiping out the tubs, but I think I should try to disinfect the tubs. My question is could I use 50% water 50% vinegar in a squirt bottle and use that as a disinfectant?
IMO, no. Vinegar isn’t really that great as a disinfectant. And diluting it makes it even weaker. It’s handy and easy to use for little spot cleaning between big cleanings…but I would rather use hydrogen peroxide or a diluted bleach solution for major cleanings if I didn’t have some F10.
If I did a diluted bleach solution how much water to bleach would you recommend?
Usually I just add a capful to a large spray bottle. Once it’s in water it usually breaks down pretty quick and is less effective after 24 hours. So you don’t want to mix too much at once
If you ever do have a big breakout and need to really nuke things, veterinarians will use a 1/2 cup to a gallon of water.
I’m thinking you can’t find F10 locally in a brick-and-mortar. In that case, F10 is available on Amazon in both concentrated and ready-to-use forms. Amazon also carries Chlorhexidine Solution.
1:10 dilution with a contact time of ten minutes is standard for laboratories and medical facilities to kill the nasties. Follow with clean water rinse
You can also use chlorohexadine solution (diluted per manufacturer). I have found it at big box stores like Lowe’s and HomeDepot. Tractor Supply may have it as well
Or, you can hit up a home brew store and grab something like StarSan and use that
And, as HalfMoon notes, Amazon is a great resource
The chlorhexidine disinfectant you just named i use a gallon about 15 bucks on chewy. 2 tbl spoons per a gallon has very little smell after wiping out tubes. Vets use it To clean exam tables.
Just a heads up to everyone offering retailers, the OP is in Southeast Asia and may not have access to these.
Can you access chlorhexidine? It’s a disinfectant that’s used in both human and veterinary medicine and is sold in all kinds of stores. Lots of online vendors sell it as well.
If you can’t find chlorhexidine, a diluted bleach solution is probably your best bet.
Both those options are going to be more effective than vinegar.
I was not aware of this but it should not matter for bleach or chlorhexidine as they are broadly available just about everywhere
Another possibility – Alcohol. IPA or EtOH would work fine and are pretty effective against most things. Not sure what SE Asia availability but generally IPA can be found in 50%, 70%, and 91% solutions. For EtOH, cheap vodka or grain alcohol of 100 proof (50% ABV) or higher would be fine
Yes and no. for now I think ill use a diluted bleach solution, but I may be able to find chlorhexidine for sale in China, but I’m not sure I could find it being sold locally.
Vinegar as stated is not a good disinfectant, but it works really well for removing odors and hard water stain if its diluted in water and used in a spray! I use it to get rid of odors in my rodent breeding bins before cleaning them and to get rid of water stains on glass terrariums that get misted very often.
F10SC or diluted bleach in cold water for 10 minutes on a surface works well to disinfect and sanitize surfaces, just dont use bleach on anything porous. The reason for cold water + bleach is that hot water deactivates the chemical components responsible for disinfecting.
So could you keep a spay bottle with diluted bleach in the refrigerator? I mean I don’t have that many snakes, so it won’t get used up that fast. So could I put the extra in the frig and save it or would it still lose it’s disinfecting components?
I don’t know much for the longevity of bleach but as far as I’m concerned it shouldn never be kept in a refrigerator. Maybe a cabinet where it stays room temperature is ok with its container marked as containing bleach so you’ll always know what and where it is.
I use diluted ammonia. It disinfects and doesn’t leave a resudue.
In lab and medical settings, it is a requirement that a 10% bleach solution only be used for a day because after 24 hours or so the concentration of the bleach has actually dropped (half-life decay and such)
You do not have to make a full bottle each day, you can make a half or a quarter bottle so you do not have to worry about being wasteful if that is a concern. And remember that a 4L bottle of bleach is enough to make 40L of 10% solution, so you will not be burning through it quickly
I have hard water, so I use white vinegar for the water bowl, which works really well at dissolving the calcium build ups. (I know, it’s nasty).
But for disinfecting, I use F10SC. It’s reptile and bird safe, and lasts FOREVER. It gives you directions on how to use it and even at full strength it works for years. But at the dilution rate it lasts even longer. Spray bottle and follow the directions, it cleans a lot.
Safer than Hydrogen peroxide and bleach and cheaper than most other cleaners. You still have to rinse, but if you miss a spot of where it is, it’s not death for your animals. (Works well for frogs too, who are prone to bacterial infections)
So I use both on the water bowls especially, and f10SC on the tank.
F10SC, 'cause there are 2 kinds, make sure to get the right kind. One will kill snakes, the other will be fine.
Chlorohexadine is also good.