Viv Odor HELP

[Blitz_153]

hey everyone, i used to have one beardie but just added another (love them so much), they're on ceramic tiles but both their poops leave heavy odors, lol, but I was wondering if I buy play sand will help with the odor? Any advice would be greatly appreciated

 

[dragons1222]

no play sand will not help with odor it will just make them more likly to get impacted (if temps are not high enough) and get bacterial infections if it is not kept clean enough

are they housed seperatly?

as for smell i would guess they may have parasites

their poop should not smell up an entire room

i have 2 in the same room as well as many other reptiles and my room does not smell at all

the only time i can smell their poop is if i am right next to them and their poop is fresh after it dries it has no odor

 

[BadCon]

A few questions.

#1. Are the tiles removable, or glued down?

#2. How often do you clean up the poop?

#3. How often do you do clean the entire tank?


Poop should be cleaned as soon as you see it, with once a day being the minimum. If you are letting poop sit in the tank, bacteria, parasites, and viruses will be building up during this time, posing a risk for you and your dragons. Also, simply wiping the poop up isn't enough, you need to clean it. Many people use unsented baby wipes for the initial wipe down with good success, however you still need to disinfect the area. The strong poop smell is letting you know its time to clean, and that smell also means bacteria is building up. If you keep the cage clean, the smell goes away...this I can guarantee.

Assuming your dragons are healthy, you can use baby wipes to clean the poop up daily, then once a week clean and disinfect the tank. Once you get in a rythm, these weekly tank scrubs go quickly. You can use various products to accomplish this goal, but one product I really love is chlorhexidine, as it can be used to clean the tank and doesn't need to be rinsed away, and will not leave and toxic fumes behind.

I am assuming your tiles are not removable. If they are, simply remove the soiled tiles and clean them in the sink using warm soapy water. You can then bake in an oven at 320 degrees for 1 hour, or you can soak in a disinfectant solution. If your not in the mood to hand scrub, simply put them in the dishwasher on the potscrubber setting.

For tiles glued in the tank, do the following.

Step 1 - Remove the dragons from the tank
Step 2 - Remove all cage furniture, such as rocks, leaves, logs, etc.
Step 3 - With a scrub brush or sponge, scour tank with warm soapy water, and rinse when finished. Make sure to clean all soiled areas until all fecal matter and soil is removed.
Step 4 - Using your disinfectant of choice (properly diluted), thoroughly wet the entire tank with the solution, and let stand for 30 minutes. A 10% bleach solution is a great odor remover! After the soak time, rinse the tank until there are no fumes (if using chlorhexidine, simply wipe up the excess with a dry cloth).
Step 5 - Clean all tank furniture with warm soapy water, then soak in the disinfectant solution for 30 minutes. Rinse well once complete. Alternatively, stone/ceramic and wood items can be baked in an oven instead of the disinfectant soak. For wood, use 275 degrees for 1hr, for stone/ceramic use 320 degrees for 1hr, taking care not to cool the items too rapidly at the end (may cause them to crack).
Step 6 - Replace all items back into the clean fresh smelling tank.


You do the above, and your tank won't smell anymore...this I promise. Also, to answer your other question, sand will not hide the odor. In fact, sand will harbor smells and be harder to clean...the tiles you are using are the best substrate for beardies.

 

[Rachella]

I'm gonna pop in the thread here for a minute and ask :: What is chlorhexidine exactly? Is that what it'd be labeled in the store? The fact that it works and doesn't need to be rinsed away is very enticing to me. So, if I were to use it on a tile or a stone, I would scrub them with it and then let it dry? Would that be it and it'd still be safe for the beardies? :?:

 

[dragons1222]

that is very informative

my beardies almost always poop in their bath so i dont ever have to clean poop out of the cages lol

 

[BadCon]

Chlorhexidine is the generic name for chlorhexidine gluconate or chlorhexidine diacetate (same thing really)...which is commonly available under the name brands virosan, nolvasan, etc. Chlorhexidine is most commonly used as a skin antiseptic, but is also marketed as a non-corrosive disinfectant for various surfaces. The important thing about chlorhexidine is that it has no harsh odors or fumes, and will not irritate skin. Because of this, it makes an excellent disinfectant for large vivariums where proper rinsing would be difficult. Its also safe to use around your animal because of the lack of fumes, so for spot treatments you could leave the animal in the tank, just don't spray it in their eyes.

Chlorhexidine is very commonly used as ear scrubs for dogs/cats, and mouth rinses for humans (after surgery). Its efficacy as an antiseptic is better than other commonly used antiseptics like hydrogen peroxide, or iodine, and like I said above, its non-corrosive to metal or plastic. The other kicker with chlorhexidine, is the dilution rate....it only takes 2 ounces of the concentrated solution to make 1 gallon of disinfectant! If you buy the generic version (commonly marketed as chlorhexidine), you'll pay about $15 a gallon plus shipping (https://sec02.simplot.com/wsistore/ac/stores/1/Chlorhexidine_Solution_br_by_D_P67C14.cfm). If you buy a brand name, you'll pay about $50...though like I said, 1 gallon of conentrate will make 64 gallons of disinfectant. If you buy a brand name, get Virosan...as its slightly more effective at killing viruses...though it is a tad bit more caustic (contains alcohol), and shouldn't be used on animal skin (still doesn't need to be rinsed).


There are a couple drawbacks to chlorhexidine. #1, when used as a disinfectant it looses effectiveness in the presence of organic soils (feces, blood, etc), so pre-cleaning is recommended (true for many disinfectants, such as bleach). #2, once mixed, it needs to be used within a week when using tap water, or within a month with distilled water. #3, it is not effective at killing coccidia...though this should only be a problem when your specifically targeting coccidia. If it makes you feel any better, a 10% bleach solution doesn't kill coccidia either.

Overall, I don't think there is a better disinfectant to use around sensitive animals like reptiles and birds. What is gives up in disinfection power, it makes up in safety...as all other commonly used disinfectants need to be rinsed away before the animal is put back in the tank.

 

[ddma]

Sand holds the smell, it's like a litter box. i have linoleum tiles in my enclosure and i love it. if my beardies poop, i use an unscented baby wipe to initially wipe up poop messes, then i spray some of the chlor --- whatever its called and wipe with a paper towel, i have 5 beardies in the same room and the room never smells, i only smell it when i open the enclosure.