Cage Cleaning Frequency

[donnak0125]

Wow, PardalisGirl
That is a really sound list of habits you perform daily for your chams. They get great care!

 

[Eltortu]

I like cleaning the cages daily, but in the past two weeks I have been busy so it is getting done on the weekends...

 

[jpm995]

Theres no space for me to vote. Should be a NEVER box. Yoshi hangs out in my living room mostly above a 6' long indoor pond with many plants and things and i never really see any poop. Guess the fish eat it or their filters pick it up. Sometimes i'll spot some on a window or floor, have to clean that before the wife spots it.

 

[ChameleonRave]

I'm a neat freak, and perfectionist. It tends to irritate me because its almost OCD like. I keep all of my reptiles enclosure clean all the time. I just can't help but keep them clean. I think they need a support group for me.

 

[mardithepanther]

i just pick it as i see it

 

[Hoj]

totall tear down evry month, daily pick ups of leavs and poos and whatnot ,, ya big poos today

 

[KatCham]

I pick out poops when I see them, wipe the floor after taking out dead leaves or corpses if there's any. Fill mister and spray bottle every 3 days.

Will do a thorough clean once a month. Plants out to be rinsed and washed down with anti bac soap solution. He poops in his plants as he's so small at the mo. The rest of the cage with vines etc intact will be 'showered'. Will wipe round with anti bac soap solution then rinse again.

Have only had Simba for 3 weeks, so first major clean will be in a week. Need to get a plant to put him in while I clean.

Don't reckon he'll be speaking to me afterwards!!! LOL (or during for that matter!!!)

 

[cooper9934]

Chem out of cage during cleaning?

I just got my first chameleon (veiled) last week and he is great. We named him Rodney Dangerfield due to his eyes.

I need to get in there and clean his cage but Im afraid I'm going to stress him out. I've been doing everything NOT to stress him out.

Some people have mentioned putting him in another plant while cleaning. Is there any thing I should watch out for?

ALSO- I need to put a cork back ground in the cage because he can see his refelction on the back glass. It says I have to have him out of the cage for 24 hours while the glue dries. Where should I put him?

Thanks!

 

[Creature13]

I do basic cleaning each night. I remove all insects from the enclosure, clean up any feces I see, wipe down the inside base thoroughly. Weekly I take the indoor enclosures outside and clean them thoroughly.

 

[JonRich]

I spotclean daily. (the floor of the tank is all news paper) So i just pick the whole thing up. But weekly i clean every square inch of is enclosure.

 

[Canny Chams]

bi weekly can mean every other week, and twice a week. I do it every other week then ever other month for a huge clean, with disinfectant, bleach, and stuff

 

[Robyrango]

I built the enclosure..23x20x47 inches. It's basically a wooden frame with mesh all around.
Lifted from the floor with an open ish buttom. One big ficus inside and a smaller one beside it. A bucket underneath to collect the water and drawn the escaped crickets!;-)
I empty the bucket twice a week and I wash it with hot water and bleach, put the plants in the shower and wash them wit hot water and vinegar and/or antibacterial soap, once a week.

 

[bighutch917]

My cages are cleaned daily.

 

[imhotep]

Weekly

My two females get fed every other day and poop about twice a week ... I leave paper towels lining the cage and swap em weekly ... It makes for easy clean up and it reduces puddling from the auto-msiting

 

[Creature13]

I clean every night... it's sooo easy, I say WOW every time. I use a small screened catch basin and SHAMWOW!

http://youtu.be/LV6puTS14Ho

It soaks up what the basin doesn't catch, I wring it out, and then wipe down the bottom of the enclosure. WOW!

 

[RSGification]

What anti-bacterial soap do you use?

 

[Ferdy Timmerman]

Nearly never
I have a lot of little unpaid helpers

Same here. Plants are growing like crazy

 

[BURSTspeed]

Same here. Plants are growing like crazy

So is it good to leave the poop in the plants? Meaning less cleaning of actual poop due to having living plants in the cage?

 

[Ferdy Timmerman]

If you don't let the soil dry up, yes. The soil in my terraria is as humid as you'd find it in a forest. Dead leaves and chameleon poop are broken down by small organisms similar to those that would occur in a chameleon's natural habitat. I never use any plant nutrition and almost never have to clean a terrarium.

 

[junglefries]

Complete wash out monthly, but daily 'pick ups' as needed. The females get cleaned a little more frequently as they make more 'messes'.