Hydrogen peroxide and chameleons

[herbiethechameleon]

anyone know if the Clorox disinfectant hydrogen peroxide spray (non-bleach) is alright to use? I bought it and sprayed down my cage with it since I was having bad fungus gnat problems and it just smelled really strong so I took Herbie out and put him in his temporary enclosure and figured I’d ask you guys!

After spraying with the disinfectant I also sprayed a bunch of water to try and dilute it!

 

[MissSkittles]

I’ve no idea other than strong scents can easily irritate paper thin chameleon lungs. Have you tried mosquito bits for the gnats? I hear they work well, but I can’t try since I have bioactive enclosures.

 

[herbiethechameleon]

I have a bioactive closure too, can you not use mosquito bits if you have one?

 

[elizaann2]

What about some kind of carnivorous plant? Could that be put in the enclosure?

 

[herbiethechameleon]

Im more concerned if I can put Herbie back in there, he hates being out of his home. Im afraid I’ve “poisoned the area” im just not sure

 

[MissSkittles]

I have a bioactive closure too, can you not use mosquito bits if you have one?

I’m not sure. Here is some info about its safety and it mentions being safe for “beneficial insects”. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Mosquito-Bits-30-oz-Granular-Biological-Mosquito-Control-117-6/206940251

 

[MikeyBen]

Im more concerned if I can put Herbie back in there, he hates being out of his home. Im afraid I’ve “poisoned the area” im just not sure

Imo, of you use chemical disinfectants, you may want to wait 24hrs before putting Herbie back in his enclosure. Let the chems dial down.

 

[kinyonga]

To get rid of pest insects, you can look for a predator insect that will not hurt your chameleon if it gets eaten but will eat the fungus gnats.

 

[absolutbill]

Seems to me like there's probably something else in that spray because I use hydrogen peroxide on a q-tip to kill mealy bugs and it's never smelled. Perhaps it's the quantity used, but my guess is something else is in the spray. Maybe rinse the plants in water to rid them of the smell?

As for plant gnats I've found a couple of things that worked for me. One is to re-pot the plants using ABG mix (think you can get it through Josh's Frogs) which helps with the drainage in the soil of the plants. Another option, is to buy a Katchy - they have them on Amazon, and it's a small electric "zapper" (not quite right but it's early still) that has a light which will attract the gnats out of the cage and into the trap which uses a sticky pad to catch them there. It works wonderfully, and is silent. If your chams are in a room where you can close the door to keep them safe, you can wait until they are fully asleep, then go in an open their cage doors, and then close the door to that room, allowing the gnats to escape more easily. As long as the Katchy is the only light in the room they will be attracted to it and then get stuck. Good luck!

 

[Beman]

Is this what you used? It states on the back hazardous to humans and animals. Also the instructions say it can be an eye irritant. To use you spray down a surface leave for 10 minutes then thoroughly rinse. I do not like that I can not find what else is in it.

But to answer your question... It is not something I would ever just spray in a cage where there is a living animal. I would consider using it on a cage I had to clean but this would be followed up by proper rinsing and air drying the entire thing. I would not spray on plants or anything porous.

With chams they have extremely sensitive respiratory systems. So this would be my concern with you spraying his cage as a fully set up cage with him still in it much less putting him back into it.