Do you think it's ok to do the full tank cleaning less than once a month?

[Latlaw]

I have been changing the repti-carpet once a week and doing the full disinfecting clean once per month. I do of course change the paper towel toilet as soon as I see a poop. I have 4 geckos, one gecko per 20 gal long tank.

Doing the whole tank cleaning once a month is very time consuming (ok-I'm lazy) and I hate cooling them down when I have to unplug the UTH's. Do you think it would be ok/safe to do the complete tank clean less than once a month? Maybe every 2 months instead? Do I risk them getting parasites, etc by going that long between the major cleanings?

 

[MiamiLeos]

i would advise doing them at least twice a month. it doesnt have to be all that hard though. when i disinfect my aquarium tanks, i spray the entire inside of the tank and the screen top with either a 1:15-20 bleach solution or i use wipeout which is sold in petstores. wait 5 mins, then wipe dry with a towel. use the same method with cage furniture except the water and food dishes, just use hot soapy water on those. i also use repticarpet and with that i just saturate it either with the bleach solution or with the wipeout, wait five mins, then rinse and dry with a towel. i never have to unplug my uth because i dont even move the tank. sometimes i feel picky and wipe down the outside glass with bleach solution too, but its not really necessary. it really does not take more than 10 mins to clean my 20g long, so im sure you could clean your four relatively quickly as well. also, if you have two females of relative size, they could share one 20g long and that would be one less for you to clean. imo, skipping cleanings is just a recipe for disaster. leos and most other reptiles have very weak immune systems so they can be seriously affected by many types of bacteria, fungi, and other organisms. save yourself the vet bill and the very real possibility of loosing one of your loved ones to a preventable infection. sorry for the novel, just my 2 cents

 

[leogecko88]

I wash accesories with soap and water once a month. Food and water dishes get washed weekly. I disinfect every few months.

 

[Jheuloh]

I have been changing the repti-carpet once a week and doing the full disinfecting clean once per month. I do of course change the paper towel toilet as soon as I see a poop. I have 4 geckos, one gecko per 20 gal long tank.

Doing the whole tank cleaning once a month is very time consuming (ok-I'm lazy) and I hate cooling them down when I have to unplug the UTH's. Do you think it would be ok/safe to do the complete tank clean less than once a month? Maybe every 2 months instead? Do I risk them getting parasites, etc by going that long between the major cleanings?

I personally think you could be a bit liberal in the heavy-duty clean department, although I speak from prior experience with a single bearded dragon. 4 geckos is a different story. :main_laugh:

Anyways, I think you could go two months between a major cleaning, unless your leopard gecko's living space gets nasty looking before two months has come around the corner.

 

[ILoveGeckos14]

Yes its okay

 

[MiamiLeos]

ok i guess im the only clean freak here :main_rolleyes:

 

[gitrdone0420]

ok i guess im the only clean freak here :main_rolleyes:

:main_yes:

lol.

I dont have a time frame in which I clean my tanks. It isnt written on the calender when to do it or anything... I just do it when I feel it needs to be done. Sometimes it will be within a month, sometimes it will be longer... Just depends on how dirty I think their cages are. Granted, with all 12 of my leos... No one seems to be that messy! Thank goodness =]

 

[ILoveGeckos14]

I think its okay bc with these guys cleaning too much can actually have negative effects on their immune system and it can stress them to change bedding too often as they scent mark their territory.

 

[OneFootedAce]

:main_yes:

lol.

I dont have a time frame in which I clean my tanks. It isnt written on the calender when to do it or anything... I just do it when I feel it needs to be done. Sometimes it will be within a month, sometimes it will be longer... Just depends on how dirty I think their cages are. Granted, with all 12 of my leos... No one seems to be that messy! Thank goodness =]

Thats what i do too, when it looks like it needs cleaning, i clean it lol

 

[gothra]

I don't think you need to do the major cleaning disinfecting too often; unless you have a particularly dirty/messy gecko. I only wash everything once every 2 months (sometimes even 3 months...); my geckos are a lot happier if I don't change their stuff.

 

[MiamiLeos]

i used to only dininfect once about every 3 months or so.. but then i went through a horrible time with my last leo.. he was perfectly healthy until he picked up some sort of bacterial infection. i eventually had to put him down because he was just suffering so much. im just paranoid now

 

[Latlaw]

I don't think you need to do the major cleaning disinfecting too often; unless you have a particularly dirty/messy gecko. I only wash everything once every 2 months (sometimes even 3 months...); my geckos are a lot happier if I don't change their stuff.

Thank you! That's it. They are not particularly messy/dirty at all. I change the poop towel practically before the poop hits, change water every day, change carpets once per week. I do need to change the moss in the warm hide though and maybe just do the major clean once every two months. It can't be all that healthy to introduce chemicals that often in their environment. And they always seem so stressed afterwards.

 

[Ratman667]

Personally, I try to go no longer that 2 weeks between cleanings. When I clean, I disinfect everything.

 

[gothra]

I change the poop towel practically before the poop hits, change water every day, change carpets once per week.

Same here! I have my geckos in open top glass tanks, I literally check for poops every 10-15 minutes nightly (between commercial breaks, lol). But I only change the water twice a week, carpets once a month.

 

[KelliH]

Yes, it's fine.

 

[LizMarie]

It's fine.

Lana my gecko gets cleaned out around every 2-3months. I used to clean her weekly but try hauling that damn 20 gallon tank to the bathroom by yourself without a ding in it, practically impossible since I'm so clumsy. She's big and healthy so I just change the water every other day, clean the poop daily and change the coconut fiber in the humid hide weekly.

For the two AFT's that weren't kept in the best conditions I change them weekly just incase because their working on getting healthy.

 

[Latlaw]

It's fine.

Lana my gecko gets cleaned out around every 2-3months. I used to clean her weekly but try hauling that damn 20 gallon tank to the bathroom by yourself without a ding in it, practically impossible since I'm so clumsy. She's big and healthy so I just change the water every other day, clean the poop daily and change the coconut fiber in the humid hide weekly.

For the two AFT's that weren't kept in the best conditions I change them weekly just incase because their working on getting healthy.

Thanks! I agree.

 

[STUTFL]

My leo pretty much either sleeps in a corner or runs around outside of his cage. He doesn't pee all over everything like most pets, or fling food around, or spill water. The "toilet" corner gets cleaned when it becomes noticeable that it is a toilet (i.e., droppings visible), the water dish gets refilled when it looks low (rather often; he won't drink from the deep water so I keep it shallow), and the whole thing gets cleaned when it seems like a good time or when he's let a lot of feeders escape at mealtime and they've left their corpses, bedding, shed skin, etc. lying around. Because that's never pretty. :tongue3:
It's full of rocks, though, so I try to only clean the whole thing when it's messy. :laugh:

 

[Yamori]

I poop scoop, clean (sweep the sand and pick out cricket wings, leggs) and change the water in my enclosures every morning before work.

Every month or so i use a mini vac to vacume up the top layer of sand. I rarely need to do a full tank clean as my enclosures are always clean and free from any odors.

 

[Taquiq]

I clean my tank once a week AND I sterilize when I clean. So yeah I disinfect 4 times a month.