Hi

I have just brought a second hand viv from ebay and would like to clean it before I use it. What is the best thing to use? Would washing up liquid be ok? Sorry if it is a stupid question but I am new to all this and don't want to use anything that may harm (am going to get my first gecko as soon as the vivarium is set up!)

Thank you
Amanda

You can buy specialist cleaning products like this:

Reptile Bactericidal Cleaning Disinfectant

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1 royal python
1 creamsicle corn
1 Blue Merle Collie
1 Kitten

If you want to disinfect it properly and kill any nasties lurking, you'll need to use something stronger than washing up liquid. When cleaning my viv once a month, I mix water and bleach in a ratio of 10:1 to dilute it to 10%, then scrub it out. Rinsing properly afterward is very important. Get a sponge, soak up and get rid of as much of the bleach water as possible, and pour in a load of fresh water and rinse it around thoroughly. Soak up and wring out that water, then rinse it again with fresh water, soak it all up then let it dry. That'll do the job. If you're not sure if you've rinsed enough, take a look at the water you're wringing out and ask yourself whether you'd want to drink it. If you can still see bubbles, you haven't!

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My collection:0.0.1 Burmese python (13ft)1.1 Coastal carpet python1.1 Crested gecko

I normally use a disinfectant such as F10 or virkon, but a dilute bleach solution will kill off all the nasties if you just want to make sure its not harbouring anything.

Make sure the rinse the viv well after using the bleach and let it air and it will be fine.

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Thank you

Hannah ... do you have any links etc where i could get the F10 ?

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