Cleaning Your Enclosure

Chlorhexidine Solution

This solution can be purchased from your vet or online. A gallon will last you a very long time. I mix about 3 capfuls of solution with water in a quart-sized spray bottle. You just want the color to be a little blue-colored when mixed. This solution cleans your enclosure the same way bleach water does, but without any danger to your dragon. Vets use this for dragons with skin problems and mouth trouble so even if your dragon licks it or drinks some, it will not harm your dragon. I use it all the time to spot clean and once a week, everything in the dragon’s house gets sprayed and wiped down with it.

Bleach

If you prefer, bleach can also be used. It just takes a bit longer than using Chlorhexidine, but it is as effective.

Use a clean, one gallon milk container. Pour in one cup of bleach then fill to the top with water and shake well. Be sure you clearly mark the container as bleach, so it will not become confused with a gallon water container. Use the container to fill a spray bottle with the mixture to use for cleaning.

Weekly cleaning of all the items in your dragon's home is vital to its health.

If you use the bleach water mixture, first remove all items from the enclosure to the kitchen sink; spraying each one thoroughly with bleach water and letting them soak for 15 minutes. While everything is soaking, remove all paper towels or sift through all of the sand for any poop, then use Chlorhexidine or Healthy Habitat to clean the glass or Plexiglas and the wood or plastic insides of the enclosure. After the 15 minute soak, rinse all of the items. Rinse each one at least twice and then smell them. If you are still able to smell the bleach, rinse again until no smell of bleach is left. Dry the items before returning them to the enclosure. Make sure all of the bleach is gone and the items are dry. This is important as you'll find your dragon flicks its tongue out and licks everything all the time. You do not want your dragon to become ill and possibly die from getting bleach into its system.

I know this all sounds like a lot, but once you get the routine down it takes only about 30 minutes with the bleach-water mixture. If you use the Chlorhexidine Solution it only takes about 15 minutes. This is time well spent for your dragon to stay healthy and happy.