Sterilization/Disinfection Techniques

[TylerDurden]

I had a bearded dragon in my tank a year ago that died of a still unknown cause early on (most likely a parasite but if couldn't get enough of a stool sample to confirm it). When I was looking up what parasites reptiles often are exposed to (which turn out to be the same parasites humans often contract), I came across a lot of misconceptions about disinfection/sterilization. I just finished sterilizing everything in the tank (some parasites can survive over a year with no host so I wanted to be extra safe because I'm putting a new leo in there in a few days), and it reminded me of this so I figured I'd post this here, if anyone is ever looking for answers as to what is the right disinfectant/sterilization technique to use for your situation.

So for most parasites, ammonia (10% solution aka 1 part ammonia, 9 parts water, aka 1:10 dilution) is the way to go. Bleach doesn't kill oocysts which are the "egg" form of many parasites like giardia, coccidia, etc. 10% ammonia solution with a contact time (meaning full submersion) of 20-40 minutes is pretty much the only way to easily kill those.

Also be aware oocysts can live over a year without a host, and can survive extreme temperatures and most disinfectants and antiseptics. It only takes ingestion of 10 oocysts of giardia to cause a problem in humans, the "eggs" can often multiply and thrive quickly once in a host.

Also important - bleach and ammonia get deactivated very quickly when exposed to any organic material. This means if there's even a small amount of dried uric acid left over, or feces, or a piece of a cricket, anything at all that contains organic material, it could deactivate the solution quickly and it won't be effective. So you have to scrub whatever you're cleaning out first with soap and water and make sure it's spotless and THEN use ammonia solution (or bleach if you're just disinfecting and don't have any likely parasite exposures)


As I mentioned earlier, I've seen a lot of people say they've used everything from alcohol, to soap and hot water, to bleach after parasite exposure, most of which won't really help kill a good deal of the parasites out there.

Alcohol - alcohol is an antiseptic, not a disinfectant. It only works well on skin, which is why you'd use alcohol on a cut or to clean your hands, because it simply inhibits bacterial growth and your natural defenses (your skin has several) take care of the rest. Alcohol will not kill certain bacteria and definitely won't kill parasites if just poured over a surface. If you DO use alcohol though, you need to ensure a submersion time of at least 20-30 minutes. This means full submersion, which means you need to enclose whatever you are cleaning completely in something because the alcohol could start evaporating before then.

Lysol/Phenols - Will kill a LOT of bacteria, and even some parasites (probably not oocysts though), but they are EXTREMELY toxic to pets including reptiles. Really shouldn't be used at all on pet products or anywhere they can access. If you DO use them anyway though you really have to scrub it off after. I mean several rinses and applying some pressure when you wipe it off. Even a small amount of lysol/phenols can really make your pet sick and for a reptile it could kill them. some signs of phenol toxicity include vomiting, lethargy and seizures.

Soap and Water - will not really help with parasites as oocysts can attach to things and survive your soap/water washing. Soap and water is good enough for washing off bacteria though, but just be aware if you think you have a parasite exposure, you need to use some sort of chemical sterilization technique, soap and water is not going to help.

Bleach - fine for washing off bacteria and some parasites, but not parasites that make oocysts (coccidia, giardia and many others). Again as I mentioned previously, bleach as well as ammonia deactivate VERY easily if exposed to organic material, and needs a long contact time - 40 minutes to be safe. Simply rinsing bleach over things won't do much if it washes off quickly

Heat - unless you're baking it in an oven or have an autoclave machine, you're probably not going to kill oocysts with heat from hot water or dishwasher drying cycles. Baking things like logs or stones at around 350-375F for 1-4 hours (be very careful if using wood though, make sure you're monitoring in case of fire) would do it.


So the real best method of using a household cleaning product to sterilize your terarrium (and everything that came in contact with it) is
- 10% ammonia solution, 40 minutes contact time
- rinsing it off thoroughly afterwards
- making sure to wash everything BEFORE you use the ammonia to ensure all organic material is removed beforehand.

Also i'm sure everyone knows this but never mix ammonia with bleach, it creates toxic fumes that could kill you and/or your pet. Ammonia can also be caustic to metals and electronics so I wouldn't use it on electronic thermometer probes.

If you DON'T have a parasite exposure:
- bleach solution, 40 minute contact time
- same technique as with ammonia

Also, if you do have a parasite exposure, I'd probably recommend throwing out any real wood or plants, as ammonia and bleach won't work on them and the only solution you're left with is heat which, unless you're autoclaving, isn't really guaranteed to work on oocysts. In addition, any sponges/cloths etc you use to clean them should be thrown away after. You don't want to take a chance of spreading oocysts or parasites to other things you are cleaning (remember soap and hot water isn't going to kill them, so if the sponge/cloth isn't sterilized the oocysts can live on them and be transferred to anything you touch them with).

 

[reps4life]

Just don't forget you have wood in the oven! It's quite embarrassing when the fire department comes knocking at your door

 

[Syris71]

TylerDurden,

Great info:main_thumbsup: Luckily never had to deal with a parasite problem but I did not know bleach would not be effective.

Reps4life,

lmao:main_laugh: (I hope there was no damage?)

 

[reps4life]

TylerDurden,

Great info:main_thumbsup: Luckily never had to deal with a parasite problem but I did not know bleach would not be effective.

Reps4life,

lmao:main_laugh: (I hope there was no damage?)

Besides the large amount of smoke, they just took the wood out the oven and tossed it in the middle of the street! :main_laugh:

 

[Designer Geckos]

Nice work Howie, thanks for posting it. We have used Quatricide PV15 for years with great results. It is a quaternary ammonium germicidal disinfectant that gets diluted 1:256 (1 tbsp per gallon of water) and is extremely effective against bacteria, viruses, mold, fungus, spores, etc.

It has a very good safety profile and is even used in immune compromised mouse work in cancer research with no side effects. It has no odor and is a great product that can be used safely around geckos....our work proves it's safe, even around baby geckos. We use it for spot cleaning in a pump spray bottle as well as sanitization of tubs, equipment, dishes, etc. We recommend that all residue be removed after disinfection by rinsing well with water. Contact time is 10 minutes for maximum effectiveness.

It is only sold by the gallon but well worth the money and effort. We have even done micro plating of sanitized surfaces to validate it and have found zero growth and no resistance. I recommend it highly....http://pharmacal.com/QuatPV15.htm

 

[Syris71]

I have been using Zoomeds Wipeout 1 over the years for cleaning/disinfection.
But I cant remember the active ingredient? (something) Benzyl Ammonium Chloride I believe and only at 0.13%. How does that stack up against Quatricide PV15?
I like that with Quatricide PV15 you dilute it to 1:256, maybe more cost effective since the Wipeout 1 seems to be already diluted.

 

[reps4life]

Nice work Howie, thanks for posting it. We have used Quatricide PV15 for years with great results. It is a quaternary ammonium germicidal disinfectant that gets diluted 1:256 (1 tbsp per gallon of water) and is extremely effective against bacteria, viruses, mold, fungus, spores, etc.

It has a very good safety profile and is even used in immune compromised mouse work in cancer research with no side effects. It has no odor and is a great product that can be used safely around geckos....our work proves it's safe, even around baby geckos. We use it for spot cleaning in a pump spray bottle as well as sanitization of tubs, equipment, dishes, etc. We recommend that all residue be removed after disinfection by rinsing well with water. Contact time is 10 minutes for maximum effectiveness.

It is only sold by the gallon but well worth the money and effort. We have even done micro plating of sanitized surfaces to validate it and have found zero growth and no resistance. I recommend it highly....http://pharmacal.com/QuatPV15.htm

Some people use toilet paper rolls as hides do you really think they are going to pay for this?
:main_laugh:

I am just kidding. I am not rich myself. Seems like an excellent product.

 

[Designer Geckos]

Some people use toilet paper rolls as hides do you really think they are going to pay for this?
:main_laugh:

I am just kidding. I am not rich myself. Seems like an excellent product.

"If you can't afford the vet, don't get the pet" as GGG Marcia says. Same goes with routine husbandry. If you want high quality animals you give them high quality care....goes hand in hand.

Best thing to do is go in on a gallon with a few friends. One gallon lasts several years for most purposes. We even use it to clean our counters and sinks at home. Anal? Maybe. Healthy? Yes.

 

[reps4life]

"If you can't afford the vet, don't get the pet" as GGG Marcia says. Same goes with routine husbandry. If you want high quality animals you give them high quality care....goes hand in hand.

Best thing to do is go in on a gallon with a few friends. One gallon lasts several years for most purposes. We even use it to clean our counters and sinks at home. Anal? Maybe. Healthy? Yes.

Yes! cheers to that saying. I am glad I am not the only one with OCD:main_laugh: I will be looking into that product before I kill myself with ammonia fumes.

 

[Designer Geckos]

Yes! cheers to that saying. I am glad I am not the only one with OCD:main_laugh: I will be looking into that product before I kill myself with ammonia fumes.

Ammonia is bad but bleach is worse, and the chlorine fumes are not good for critters either. BTW, OCD can be a good thing IMO FWIW....especially when it comes to animal care. (As long as you just clean the counter one time. If you clean it several times in a row I'd be concerned!) But seriously, I think once you use it you'll never use anything else. I know several breeders who have switched to it on my advice and love it. If you did rodac plate micro testing on some of the gecko work surfaces you'd be appalled at the bacterial growth.

Disclaimer: I do not work for Pharmacal.

 

[im faster]

Best price so far

http://www.petedge.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=43404

 

[im faster]

not sure thats the right stuff

 

[Designer Geckos]

not sure thats the right stuff

That's the Quat PV. PV15 is much more potent (4 x as concentrated as PV). I found the folder with the technical info and they are effective against the same pathogens, so you are fine using either. Just be sure you use the correct dilution. The PV gets diluted 2 oz/gallon of water and the PV15 is 1/2 oz/gallon. We just mix one gallon of solution at a time and fill our pump spray bottles out of the gallon. Be sure you label the gallon jug and spray bottles of the Quat solution so you know what's in them and inform anyone who works with you or helps take care of your animals!

If you call Pharmacal they can send you more specific info than what is on their site.

 

[animeavatar]

How about chlorhexide? I was recommended that, is it good?

 

[OnlineGeckos]

How about chlorhexide? I was recommended that, is it good?

Good as a general disinfectant, but it doesn't kill coccidia oocysts.

More disinfectant info: http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Disinfectants.html

 

[OhioGecko]

Good as a general disinfectant, but it doesn't kill coccidia oocysts.

More disinfectant info: http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Disinfectants.html

This is a great article, thanks for sharing.

 

[geckoboa]

I use 3 different products for different situations.

I have been using Chlorhexidine for years as an everyday disinfectant. It is very effective for most bugs and is very safe using around your animals. Make sure you dilute only what you will use in a few weeks at a time since it can loose its effectiveness.

I will also use a diluted ammonia solution when I do a major cleaning every couple months or so. This will kill all the bacterial spores and all the tough stuff that has been left behind. Make sure to first clean off all organic material thoroughly and keep this solution away from animals as it can be toxic.

And lastly, like Ray, I also use a Quaternary Ammonium Chloride (QAC) product called Bioshield from Pro Products. This particular product is nice because once applied it bonds to the surface and remains effective for over 90 days. When sprayed on clothes it actually will remain on them for 50 washes! I apply this product after I do a major cleaning directly to the tubs and wipe clean. It is also very safe to use in close proximity with your reptiles.

 

[TylerDurden]

Well while quarternary ammonium compounds lack the odor of ammonia, it is not that great against parasites.

They aren't the same thing. Mycobacteria, Spores, Cryptosporidium, and parasites that have an oocyst stage are resistant. Also many viruses are not killed by quarternary ammonium compounds either.

For regular cleaning - they'll do the job, they kill most gram positive and negative bacteria (which is most of the bacteria you're exposed to daily).

For sterilization after a parasite, fungal, or viral infection - you should look to other agents.

 

[TylerDurden]

I use 3 different products for different situations.

I have been using Chlorhexidine for years as an everyday disinfectant. It is very effective for most bugs and is very safe using around your animals. Make sure you dilute only what you will use in a few weeks at a time since it can loose its effectiveness.

I will also use a diluted ammonia solution when I do a major cleaning every couple months or so. This will kill all the bacterial spores and all the tough stuff that has been left behind. Make sure to first clean off all organic material thoroughly and keep this solution away from animals as it can be toxic.

And lastly, like Ray, I also use a Quaternary Ammonium Chloride (QAC) product called Bioshield from Pro Products. This particular product is nice because once applied it bonds to the surface and remains effective for over 90 days. When sprayed on clothes it actually will remain on them for 50 washes! I apply this product after I do a major cleaning directly to the tubs and wipe clean. It is also very safe to use in close proximity with your reptiles.

yea you definitely have the right idea.

regular cleanings, chlorohexidine is fine. For spores/parasitic oocysts - ammonium, and QACs for regular cleanings

My previous comment was just to clarify that QACs are not the same thing as ammonia, and don't act as a replacement for sterilization. But for every day disinfection they'll definitely do the job.

I guess the point is there's a huge difference in what you should do after your reptile is actually sick or has come into contact with a sick reptile, versus what you should do to keep it clean on a daily or weekly basis.

 

[TylerDurden]

Good as a general disinfectant, but it doesn't kill coccidia oocysts.

More disinfectant info: http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Disinfectants.html

oh wow lol if I knew about this article I could have just linked to that, would have saved some time haha

Yea all that information seems pretty legit to me.

They didn't post any sources though which would have been really helpful if you are questioning any of the info

Although I didn't either, but if you're wondering most of my source info is from pharmacology medical texts, including LANGE's "Basic and Clinical Pharmacology" which is what I used when originally learning about sterilization/disinfection, and THEIR sources are mostly original research articles that can be viewed in journal databases if you really wanted to put in the effort. For info on susceptibility of parasites and various bacteria, most of what I've learned is from a clinical microbiology text which I can't recall the name of at the moment.