cleaning a terrarium

[ReptileLover567]

I just bought a terrarium second hand from kijiji (yay!) And it came full of sand because the lady I bought from it didn't have time to clean it out. What's the best way to approach this? Just grab a shop vac and get to it? Where do I dispose of the sand? And would I clean it the same way with aspen in it when I get my skink?

[Susann]

I don't know what the laws are like in Canada, but in the US, I would just bag the sand and throw the bags in the garbage.

Since you don't know what's been living in the tank prior to you getting it, I would do some serious bleaching of it before I put any animal of mine in it. Just make sure you rinse the bleach out extremely well after you're done scrubbing it down.

After you have it set up and running, just do spot-cleaning whenever you see poop --scoop out the poop and any substrate that looks wet/dirty. I only do a full tank clean and replace all substrate every 3-4 months, and then I do what I described above: bag it and throw it out.

[ReptileLover567]

Thanks Susann. I'm pretty sure ? I think I can just throw the sand out. She said she kept a long nosed leopard lizard in it, but I don't think that makes a difference, because I still want to clean it really well. Is there anything else I could use other than bleach?

[Susann]

There are some reptile cleaning agents in pet stores, but I've never used them. I say bleach because, even highly diluted, it kills most living organisms, and is super cheap.
Vinegar is a natural disinfectant you can use for cleaning, also fairly cheap, and wouldn't make your skink sick if you didn't get it rinsed out all the way.

[ReptileLover567]

Thanks! Would I use the vinegar or bleach to clean out the water dish and hides as well?

[SmaugTheBluey]

If the hide is small enough, and not able to be melted you can boil the hides to disinfect them or use dawn and thoroughly rinse the hides until no soap bubbles form

[sacs4010]

There is also the medical cleaning stuff where you dilute it with water. It is VERY effective. lol LLLReptile sells it.

[Susann]

Would I use the vinegar or bleach to clean out the water dish and hides as well?

It depends on what they're made of. If it's anything made of a porous material, like wood, I would either boil, bake, or freeze it to disinfect. But unless you've bought them used where there's a possibility they've been used with other reptiles or animals, I wouldn't worry a ton; just rinse with really hot water, or run it through your dishwasher.

[ReptileLover567]

Would I use the vinegar or bleach to clean out the water dish and hides as well?

It depends on what they're made of. If it's anything made of a porous material, like wood, I would either boil, bake, or freeze it to disinfect. But unless you've bought them used where there's a possibility they've been used with other reptiles or animals, I wouldn't worry a ton; just rinse with really hot water, or run it through your dishwasher.

I did buy the hides and dishes used as well, but they're not porous and I cleaned them well with soapy water and then vinegar so I think its alright. It also came with a basking rock that I think might boil just to be safe. It also came with some other stuff, but I'll include that in another post.