Every new chameleon owner will face the same question. When I first get my chameleon, I was wondering how often cham enclosures should be thoroughly cleaned, and what is the best way to go about it?
So how often should you clean the cage? A: You should have a daily clean routine to evacuate any batteries that may appear, uneaten nourishment, dead feeder insects, shed skin, urates, or feces as well as any other unwanted trash. On weekly basis, I’ll recommend you clean and sanitize the enclosure of your chameleon as well as decorations, and substrates.
And if you are a new owner of a chameleon and don’t know anything about this topic – worry not! Keep on reading this article and hopefully, you will find the answers for everything you want to know.
Why Should You Clean the Cage?
Like every other pet on this planet, chameleons require detailed and regular cleaning of their habitat as well. In order to keep them happy and healthy, you will have to establish a well-organized hygiene routine. Otherwise, you may find yourself in quite an unpleasant situation – dealing with dangerous disease, or even facing your chameleon’s death.
Great cleaning habits likewise keep the cage alluring so you can appreciate flaunting your pet, and reduce repulsive smells that can show in an ineffectively maintained environment.
Since reptiles are helpless to skin and bacterial contaminations, cage and housing must be kept circumspectly perfect. Furthermore, in light of the fact that their fecal matter may convey microbes, similar to Salmonella, that can cause disease in people, your chameleon’s cage, decorations, and the cleaning gear itself should be consistently cleaned and occasionally sterilized.
To prevent contaminations, you must also store the cleaning gear for chameleon’s cage separately from your other cleaning supplies, and not use them for any other purpose.
How Often Do You Need to Clean a Cage?
The planning and measure of regularly routine cage cleaning rely upon the size and propensities for your own chameleon. Start by exploring and perusing everything accessible regarding the already mentioned information above, with respect to its species-particular needs and inclinations.
Cages of bigger chameleons, for instance, can often require even more work than those of a snake, especially if you are a new, inexperienced owner. The thing is, even if you are not so familiar with cage cleaning, you should not be worried that much since you will eventually be more and more involved in it, and gain a solid knowledge. As a rule, you should try to perform next things:
Day by Day Cleaning
A day by day cleaning to evacuate any batteries that may appear, uneaten nourishment, dead feeder insects, shed skin, urates, or feces as well as any other unwanted trash; additionally, remove and sterilize sustenance and water dishes if necessary. Be especially careful with removing the feces since they are able to transfer the bacteria and cause an unwanted disease in humans.
Weekly Cleaning
The things you should do on a weekly basis are: clean and sanitize the enclosure of your chameleon as well as decorations (do not forget to pay attention to cleaning them since they are a part of the cage too), and substrates.
Throughout the cleaning process, it is advised to utilize elastic or latex gloves and defensive goggles. After each contact with your chameleon, and each cleaning procedure – regardless of how substantial or little – do not forget to wash your hands completely. It is also recommended to use a hand sanitizer before doing any cleaning of the cage, so if you don’t have one you should definitely buy it as soon as possible.
Every day cleaning routine
As you are following the cleaning process and schedule, it is critical to search for any signs that your chameleon might be sick. Likewise, look for risky conditions in the enclosure, and evacuate or revise them. You should pay a special attention to the next things:
- Did your chameleon eat all of the food you provided him? (give him the normal food portion every single day of course)
- Are the feces and urates appearing typically as always and in the same amounts?
- What about shedding? Does it look normal to you? If not, get in touch with your veterinarian immediately. Don’t forget to take notice of the worst enemies of your chameleon that could appear unexpectedly – the parasites. See more here: Why is my chameleon shedding? (Caring Guide)
- Another crucial thing is a temperature inside of the chameleon’s cage – it has to be properly set! Otherwise, your chameleon will start acting weird and possibly react in different ways.
As for bugs, they show up as a little darker, potentially red, or dark spots around your chameleon’s eyes, between its scales, or moving over the creature’s skin. Ticks are somewhat bigger, seeming darker, some sort of black color, or dim in shading.
Also, interior parasitic pervasions are regularly motioned by thinness or changes in the feces.
- Do any of the attachments seem frayed to you or should they be changed with new ones?
- What about chameleon’s cage? Is it all good?
As said already, day by day, expel uneaten nourishment and feces, while wiping up water spills and urates. On the off chance that you are utilizing a sand substrate, you can try using a Sand Sifter for cleaning and expand its life.
If the cleaning of the chameleon’s cage is imperative to you, you should move your chameleon to another spotless cage while the cleaning process is lasting, until the point that the enclosure is free of any batteries and completely dry.
Nourishment and water dishes ought to be washed in hot, sudsy water, and dried completely. To give all the more cleaning force, utilize a disinfectant. Continuously wash well to make certain that no hint of cleanser or disinfectant stays on the dishes. A decent option is to have at least two arrangements of dishes, so while one set is being cleaned, the other set can be utilized in the cage.
Cleaning routine on a weekly basis
- Firstly, once every week, or as frequently as required, move your chameleon to a spotless enclosure, at that point. Right after that, evacuate all the decorations that are in the cage.
- Clean and sterilize water bowls nourishment dishes.
- Pack and dispose of the expendable substrate.
- Clean all of the cage’s surfaces with cleanser and heated water, and wash it all good.
- Slacken extreme spots with a quality, well-known chameleon-safe terrarium cleaner, a toothbrush, or even using the soft cutting tool.
- Wash all the decorations you have and the nondisposable substrate, for example, indoor/open-air cover, with hot, foamy water. Scour with brushes to evacuate squanders and dried fluids.
- After you did all the required washing and cleaning process, feel free to use a disinfectant. Just make sure to flush the enclosure and attachments with boiling water until the point that all buildups are expelled.
- Enable the cage and all the attachments to dry altogether before reassembling to decrease the likelihood of any form changes.
- Pay attention to the decorations: look carefully if any of them needs to be replaced.
- Make sure to completely perfect and purify all the equipment that was used, wipes, containers, gloves etc.
- In conclusion, wash your hands with hot, foamy water.
Cleaning Tools
Gather a cleaning pack explicitly to clean the enclosure. Store these things independently from your other family unit cleaning supplies. To forestall cross-sullying, never utilize sinks or tubs that are normally used for human washing or making nourishments.
- Backup enclosure – a perfect domain for the minutes, hours, or even days when your chameleon must be migrated in order to clean his cage.
- Containers – you can get them at the nearby stores, priced very cheaply.
- Brushes – little and medium sizes relying upon your enclosure. A toothbrush is useful for corners and different holes in the attachments and decorations.
- Paper towels
- Chameleon-safe terrarium cleaner – breaks down issue solidified on surfaces. I use Zilla terrarium cleaner myself. It’s 100% and contains no toxins, fumes or residues. Just spray it on and wipe it off.
- Elastic gloves and goggles
- Wipes and sponges- 1 set for cleaning, one for flushing, and one for sanitizing
- Toothpicks, putty cutting tools, and extremely sharp steels – expected to get into the littlest of spaces, and expel solidified material.
- Sand-sifter – expels excrement and different flotsam and jetsam from sand and other different substrates.
- Cleanser or dishwashing cleanser – do not forget not to utilize any items that contain phenol or pine fragrance.
Choosing the Right Disinfectant
Choosing the correct disinfectant for the cage must be done with great care. The disinfectant needs to be solid enough to remove the bacteria causing infections, microscopic organisms, and growths, yet not hurt the chameleon. Chameleons are very delicate when it comes to poisonous fumes, so you will have to take them to another room while utilizing disinfectants in order to avoid unwanted after effects.
Despite the fact that there are numerous disinfectants available, the most promptly accessible disinfectant for cleaning the enclosure is the bleach you already own. You can use it as a weakening of roughly 1 section bleach to 32 sections water (1/2 cup bleach to 1 gallon of water).
Different disinfectants may be the perfect one for your chameleon and they will be accessible at your veterinarian’s. You should try a couple of them and then decide which one is the best for your chameleon.
It is critical to expel sustenance, feces, cleansers, and so on, before utilizing any disinfectant since the nearness of natural material will keep it from working legitimately. Therefore clean any dirty territories of the enclosure or its embellishments with a hot arrangement of dishwashing fluid, flush well, and at that point apply the disinfectant.
Apply the disinfectant generously to the enclosure and embellishments. Enable the disinfectant to have contact with the material for 10 minutes; if a thing is permeable, a more drawn out time might be required. Wash the things, particularly any wooden things, altogether with clean water to expel all the disinfectant. Elastic gloves and wellbeing goggles are additionally advised. Enable the cage and all the things to dry rigorously before reassembling and putting the chameleon back into the enclosure.
Conclusion
Hope you enjoy this post. If you find anything wrong or outdated, please leave your comment below. I’ll update it as soon as possible.
Thanks for reading.
