Plastic/ceramic cage furniture degrades over time?

[Requiemk626]

Hi guys,

I noticed this happened in two different enclosures I have, both pieces of cage furniture seem to be made out of some kind of concrete or hardened clay. I was cleaning them recently and noticed that they almost smell... burnt? Has anyone else noticed this? Is this normal degredation of material used to make these things, from the heat lamps and the UV lamp? Why didn't these products come with a heads up about that? :|

I've had this water bowl and a large hide for about three years, one in my leopard gecko tank and one in a bearded dragon tank. I bought them in the reptile section of PetSmart, so they're made for reptile enclosures (not something random). I clean them regularly by submerging them in a scrubbing them in a clean bathtub with a very dilute bleach solution for a couple of minutes and then sometimes using some anti bacterial soap and a toothbrush to scrub problem areas and rinse them well.

Is it safe to let my animals still use this cage furniture? I threw away the water bowl immediately because I was afraid of some chemical seeping into the water. But should I change out the hide too? My beardie really likes it, and I don't want to disturb his set up unless I'm reasonably sure it's a threat to his health.

Thanks for the wisdom, guys!

 

[CooperDragon]

Is it the paint/coating that is degrading? It could be the UV light or it could be the scrubbing/cleaning or a combination. If it's flaking away perhaps it needs replacement or could be re-sealed using some polyurethane which is safe and waterproof once dry.

 

[Requiemk626]

Hi Cooper Dragon!

Nothing is flaking off, and visually nothing looks damaged or discolored or different. Just the smell. Have you ever noticed that with any of your enclosure furniture?

 

[CooperDragon]

It's good that it isn't flaking but if it's producing a bad smell, that may be harmful (depending on what it is). I haven't had that issue with the composite rock or bridge in my enclosure. What are the surface temps on it? It shouldn't need to get above 110 or so which shouldn't be a problem for most plastics.