# Safe Cleaning/Disinfectect Solution



## rockyMTNtortoise (Aug 16, 2011)

Please give me some suggestions for cleaning/disinfecting my Russian tortoise's food dish and water dish. I just adopted my first RT (Deuce), and I had him checked out by a vet last week, has a clean bill of health. I would like to try and keep his outdoor enclosure accessories clean but not sure what solution is safe, effective, and how often to clean. I would appreciate any help, thank you very much.


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## Yvonne G (Aug 16, 2011)

Hi Brandon:

I don't worry about that at all. I feed my outdoor turtles and tortoises either on a big, flat hunk of concrete, or on a piece of plywood. All I do is sweep off the dirt before I put new food down. I keep a little whisk broom in each habitat just for this purpose.

With the waterers, I have a brush in each habitat, and every morning I take the brush to the waterer, scraping away the algae and poop/urates that might be stuck in there, hose it out and refill.

I suppose if you really want to disinfect, you can use bleach. After rinsing well let it sit in the sun for an hour or so. The sun makes all the chlorine go away.


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## rockyMTNtortoise (Aug 16, 2011)

emysemys said:


> Hi Brandon:
> 
> I don't worry about that at all. I feed my outdoor turtles and tortoises either on a big, flat hunk of concrete, or on a piece of plywood. All I do is sweep off the dirt before I put new food down. I keep a little whisk broom in each habitat just for this purpose.
> 
> ...


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## Madkins007 (Aug 16, 2011)

For general cleaning, like the water dish, etc.- treat it the same way as your human dishes- soap and water or dishwasher. (Although I cheat and use folded newspaper to make a disposable food dish every day.)

For actual disinfection, a typical 'home use' mild bleach solution is great. It kills a lot of stuff, is cheap, and is fairly harmless to most reptiles (although you will still want to rinse things well). A 1:10 ratio is often suggested, although some sources go as low as 1:20.

Outside, sunshine, fresh air, and bugs usually do it for us. although you'll still want to try to keep the water clean and filled and avoid food wastes.


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## rockyMTNtortoise (Aug 16, 2011)

Yvonne,

Thanks a lot, I guess I am being a little OCD with my first tortoise. I think what you do sounds very reasonable and it works for you, so I will try what you do. Thanks again.

Regards,
Brandon



Madkins007 said:


> For general cleaning, like the water dish, etc.- treat it the same way as your human dishes- soap and water or dishwasher. (Although I cheat and use folded newspaper to make a disposable food dish every day.)
> 
> For actual disinfection, a typical 'home use' mild bleach solution is great. It kills a lot of stuff, is cheap, and is fairly harmless to most reptiles (although you will still want to rinse things well). A 1:10 ratio is often suggested, although some sources go as low as 1:20.
> 
> Outside, sunshine, fresh air, and bugs usually do it for us. although you'll still want to try to keep the water clean and filled and avoid food wastes.





Great information Mark, much appreciated!


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## Angi (Aug 16, 2011)

I use a scrub brush and high powerd hose nozzle for the big outside stuff. The little dishes and tiles go in the dish washer. I have also used deluted blech and rinsed like an OCD freak. Another one of my favorite cleaning products is viniger.


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## rockyMTNtortoise (Aug 16, 2011)

Angi said:


> I use a scrub brush and high powerd hose nozzle for the big outside stuff. The little dishes and tiles go in the dish washer. I have also used deluted blech and rinsed like an OCD freak. Another one of my favorite cleaning products is viniger.



Angi,

I use a piece of flagstone as the feeding dish and a glazed plant pot saucer as the water dish. How would you best reccomend to clean these items for my RT?

Thanks,
Brandon


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