Natural Chemistry Healthy Habitat spray?

Status
Not open for further replies.

Sapphire

Sub-Adult Member
I'm wondering how effective this is at actually disinfecting. It claims it's perfectly safe to spray on all surfaces, including into terrariums whiel the pet is still present. I can't imagine anything that is so mild that it can practically be sprayed ON your pet could really be doing a great job disinfecting. I bought it because the vet recommended it when he had worms, and I've used almost the entire bottle (usually to clean his feeding enclosure after he eats and to clean the cricket tub in between orders of crix). It definitely deodorizes, but I'm wondering how well it actually works at killing stuff like coccidia.

Anyone know anything about it?
 

JeffSimpson

Juvie Member
Based on this description: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=11299

Healthy Habitat is specifically formulated to effectively eliminate odors and soiling caused by organic animal and food waste.

* Safe for use in any pet habitat, including on glass and other surfaces within the habitat, on heat rocks, gravel, artificial plants, and more.
* Safe for use on all strong animal odor sources and stains.
* Completely safe, 100% biodegradable formula is all-natural, hypoallergenic, and contains no irritants.
* Natural enzymes harmlessly break down organic contaminants, resulting in a healthier pet environment

That is a cleaner, not a sanitizer or disinfectant. Granted, completely cleaning and removing waste is a required step for sanitizing, IMO using this would only be step 1.
 

Sapphire

Sub-Adult Member
Original Poster
Hm. Well the vet recommended I get it, so I did, but the bottle is almost empty now so I was just wondering whether I should bother getting more. It definitely does get rid of odors, so using it to clean out the cricket bin between orders is good, but since I'm hopefully only gonna have to order crickets one or two more times before my roaches kick off, then I don't really need it for that anymore, either...
 

BadCon

Sub-Adult Member
Coccidia is a tough nut to crack. There are not many disinfectants in general that are capable of killing it, at least not any you would want to use around your animal. A 10% bleach solution is NOT effective against coccidia...that should put its resilience into perspective. From my own knowledge, the best things to use against coccidia are Ammonia based solutions. A 10% ammonia solution will kill coccidia within a 10 minute contact time, as will QUATS (Quaternary Ammonium Compounds), Rocall D being a popular choice. That said, none of these are even remotely safe for use around your animal, requiring venting and rinsing before putting the animal back in the viv.

Steam with temperatures higher then 165 will also kill coccidia, and is safe for use around animals (other then the burn risk). That said, steam may damage plastic or crack glass if your not careful.

In general, if your animal is healthy and the viv is kept tidy, Coccidia shouldn't be an issue. If you are looking for a safe disinfectant to use around your animal, then perhaps the best choice is Chlorhexidine. Its a general duty disinfectant AND wound wash, with no fumes or caustic residues. Its diluted 2oz to a gallon of water, so its very cost effective. I personally use it as my daily use sanitizer, as you don't have to pull the animals from the viv and it can in fact contact their skin without issue (don't get it in the eyes, and don't let them drink it). I do my best to keep the animals away from it though, but a couple times I have cleaned dirty feet with it. You can find quarts of concentrate online for around $8, and that should last awhile.
This isn't effective against Coccidia however, and proper sanitization requires at least a 15 minute contact time (for reference, a 10% bleach solution requires at least 10 minutes). That said, you'll be hard pressed to find anything safer for use around your animal, and this does NOT need to be rinsed, just blot up the excess liquid. It continues to protect the surface for a couple days after application too. Always pre-clean soils beforehand as debris will prevent proper sanitization.

Recently on this board a product called Starsan was mentioned. Its an acid based disinfectant used by home brewers. It has a very short contact time (2 minutes), and no fumes. It isn't safe for direct animal contact, and I would probably want to wipe down the area with a damp cloth after using, but other then that its very safe for use around animals. However, there isn't much information about its effectiveness against coccidia, or similar parasites. But factor in the short contact time and lack of fumes, and this would make a good general duty disinfectant. Its as effective as bleach, if not more so. Also, the dilution ratio is extreme...requiring only 1oz to 5 gallons of water...yes, 5 gallons. So break out the eye dropper to judge dilution in small containers lol. Translates into roughly 1.4th a teaspoon for a 24oz sprayer....money certainly goes a long way with this product.
 

Sapphire

Sub-Adult Member
Original Poster
Well I'm just asking because my dragon does have a very high coccidia count and he's on medication for it right now, but I don't know how to make sure his viv is actually coccidia-free, so he's probably just going to end up re-contaminating himself because I don't have any way to steam clean it and I don't feel comfortable using anything stronger than bleach in his viv (there's only one window that can open in my apartment and it isn't in the room that his viv is in, so there's no real way to make sure the room/apartment is ventilated well enough to use ammonia or anything)
 

BadCon

Sub-Adult Member
A 10% ammonia solution really isn't all that bad. Remember, that's just 13oz of ammonia to a gallon of water. If you dilute it down to a 24oz spray bottle, then its just 5 tablespoons of ammonia. Since your treating coccidia, you should definitely consider using it, as its one of the few chemical methods available to kill it.

Pre clean with soapy water to remove feces, etc. Spray down with ammonia solution and set a timer for 15 minutes. Then rinse 3 times, and let air dry. In the mean time, let your dragon hang out in another room. As for cage furniture, its best to clean that in the sink using the same procedure. Wash down the items with soap and water, then spray down with an ammonia solution, or soak them in the solution.
Rinse very well, and let air dry.

I'm sure you know this, but never mix bleach and ammonia. The resulting chemical reaction will release fumes that are deadly.


Coccidia really is a nasty bug. I wish you luck in your treatment.
 

Sapphire

Sub-Adult Member
Original Poster
Well, I think I'm just going to get rid of my cage furniture, so I won't have to worry about cleaning that. The only thing in his cage is something my sister built which was good when he was smaller but now that he's grown, it puts him too close to his UV light. And I have no way of changing his UV light location, so that means that I have to get rid of the thing my sister built (she'll probably be kinda ticked about that....... oh well).

Where can I buy ammonia? Just a normal grocery store? Walmart?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Members online

Still Needs Help

Latest resources

Latest posts

Latest profile posts

I miss you so much, Amaris 💔
What is a quick way to warm up a cold beardie? His heating element went out overnight and now he's very cold.
Pearl Girl wrote on moorelori1966's profile.
i feel so sad reading your about me 😢
Clapton is acclimating okay I think. He's quick as lightning so I'm not sure how much I should bring him out of his house yet. He's not at all interested in his salad though. I wonder if I should change what I'm giving him. Least he's eating his crickets.

Things to do:
Buy calcium powder
Material to raise surface for basking spot
Scenery decals for back of tank

Forum statistics

Threads
155,897
Messages
1,255,656
Members
75,965
Latest member
williamyoung
Top Bottom