Cleaning a tank

My dragon recently passed away and I have not actually cleaned the tank out w/ anything - I threw away the sand mats that were in there and vacuumed the tank - now I need to spray it down w/ vinegar and water I am assuming to to get rid of what ever might be lurking--- is that going to take care of all that might be in there -- ?? And what concentration amounts should I use?

Thanks Karrie

The vinegar/water spray should help clean up any stuck on bits and give a clean surface. I usually mix them at around 50/50 or maybe a bit more vinegar. Once the surfaces are clean I would then sanitize them using a steam cleaner or some F10 disinfectant.

ok thank you-- what is a F10 disinfectant?

It's a good veterinary disinfectant. You mix the concentrate with water in a spray bottle and can spray surfaces to disinfect them safely. https://www.lllreptile.com/products/18709-f10sc-veterinary-disinfectant-34oz

How often should this tank be cleaned? I have bought the sand mats from Petco for the bottom of the tank and if I let the poop dry it easily is picked up w/ a paper towel or Kleenex and thrown away -- but w/ Trogdor she seemed to wait and poop out of her tank on a dish towel she was sitting on so I rarely had to clean out poop in the tank -- so actually the only stuff in the tank was food (she was a messy eater) or skin she had shed.
thanks Karrie

It's nice to have a trained dragon like that. Certainly helps keep the tank cleaner. I'm not a huge fan of sand mats because they tend to flake apart but if you didn't need to clean frequently they may have held up better. If the tank stays relatively clean you just need to spot clean it as needed and maybe do a deep clean every few weeks. It really just depends on how quickly it gets dirty.

Ok so it looks like I will be getting measurements of the tank and going to Home Depot to get fake rock tile flooring for the next dragon. This one will not be trained like Trogdor was --don't know why she pooped out of the tank but we figured cuz she was able to move and run extra stimulating the activeness that needed to be --
also the lighting I had in her tank consisted of this:
150 watt basking lamp Zoo Med replace often as they burn out
100 watt ceramic heat emitter Zoo Med
Desert UVB 50 -T8 Flourescent Slimline 18"
also bought a heat rock that was kept out of tank for when she was on couch or chair for her to sit on
it is a mini size
and then I have the probe thermo that hangs over one of her logs
Is this sufficient?

I also forgot to say there is a reg housebulb on the cool side of the tank that is a 75 watt bulb

thanks Karrie

They don't tend to like being near their poop and respond well to routine. My guy is trained to go outside of the tank too and it's very nice.

I had an issue with the ZooMed bulbs burning out frequently too. I switched to using a 90w PAR38 halogen flood light and they tend to be sturdier and last longer. That might be worth a try and you can pick them up at home depot most likely.

100w CHE is fairly powerful so double check the nighttime temps. You don't want the tank to go above about 75 most nights. I like to keep my tank between 70-73 (on a thermostat).

The Slimline t8 is a decent fixture for small tanks but I suggest upgrading to a 24'' T5 fixture. They are much more powerful and better suited to larger tanks. A T5 should sit about 12'' above the basking area. http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/22-t-5-ho-fixture-high-output-with-arcadia-d3-12-ho-bulb/

For outside of the tank I suggest using a clamp lamp or dome fixture with a basking light (or MVB) hanging from an adjustable lamp stand. They will return to this light to bask and warm up when they're out and about. Either a PAR38 halogen or a 100w PowerSun MVB would be a good option for this.

The probe for the thermometer should be secured right to the basking surface to get the most accurate temps. It's good to have a second one on the cool side surface so you can see the gradient across the tank at a glance.

All lights were shut off at nite -- 12 hrs on 12 hrs off-- temp in the tank was around 73 in the morning and she sat on her rock alot during the day under the house bulb but also sat under her basking light too --- she moved around her tank sitting in different spots -- the heat emitter sits in the front of the basking light and she sat on a water bowl that was long under that heat emitter -- all lights are on the outside of the tank directly on the screen above where she would sit. The probe hangs on the log where the basking lamp is at -- its a digital. Anytime she would poop I would clean it up pretty much immediately -- I didn't like her dragging herself thru it so I would clean it up -- the UVB light is pretty long and she didnt really sit under it too much even tho there was a log that came w/ her that sits under it-- thats all she had to sit on when we first got her and after getting her a new one and putting under the basking light thats where she would sit -- then we got her the rock thingee and she would go a prop herself on that during the day and doze on that ---------- so she was all over her tank pretty much --- but she loved being out the most and sitting in the sun on the back of my big chair in the LR -- She looked so healthy -- and seemed to be healthy up until she died -- that was what thru us all off------------

I picked up a Par 38 90 watt halogen flood lamp -- turned it on to see how high temp would go -- it only topped out at 84 degrees-- the probe is hanging on the log that sits under basking lamp--- all other lights are off at this time including the heat emitter I have -- I wanted to see how much heat the flood lamp would put out -- the probe hangs about half way down of the tank meaning beardie would be sitting on the floor of the tank ---------- I am looking to get a platform to run the back of the tank so the UVB lights would be on the other side from the basking lamp -- I never had too much heat in that tank -- in fact I always thought it could be hotter even w/ the heat emitter on all the time-- it only got down to 73 degrees at nite w/ all the lights off -- w/ the 150 bulb I had in tank it got to about 90-100 in there according to the probe temp gauge -- all lights and heat emitter are sitting on top of screen - they are not directly inside the tank --- so if I get a platform in there rising the beardie higher toward light I am assuming the temp will be good at that point -- about half way I assuming-- right now I am busy redoing the tank and am going to be getting the tile next --- any suggestions?

Raising the basking area is a good idea. A mesh top will intercept some of the light and heat. The halogen you got is standard rather than energy saving? The energy saving ones don't put out enough heat to be useful. I tend to get about 100-110 from my PAR38 at around 18'' (no screen) but those numbers will vary depending on the setup.

It says its a 20% energy saving on box -- I got it from Home Depot I told him I did not want a energy LED -- told him what I was going to use it for so---------- this is what I got -- Phillips Par 38 90 watt halogen flood bulb-- I am going to the Reptile Show in the cities at the end of April -- I am going to look at all the stuff they have down there and see what tips I can get from the vendors/ breeders there

thanks for the help

I don't think I've tried those before. The ones I have are GE 1790 lumen bulbs https://www.walmart.com/ip/GE-90W-PAR38-Halogen-Outdoor-Floodlight-2-pack/21695128

If you go to the Cities you might also want to check out Twin Cities Reptiles in St Paul. They carry a lot of good reptile specific stuff in their shop. I bought my tank there years back.

Yes they were voted the best reptile store in MN -- thats how I found them -- but they do not carry paper whites -- OddBall Pet factory in Spring Lake carries them -- I am going to look I really dont want a colored one or a leather back

gonna shop and figure something out but first I need to get this tank in order

thanks again