cleaning the supplies?

e79

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There's a pretty good chance that we'll be adopting our first tortoise (a Russian) on Thursday - fingers crossed.

I imagine I should wash everything (slate, food dish, hides, etc.) before putting them into the enclosure? What is safe to use? Everything looks clean of course because it's new but I don't know if there are "store germs" on anything, lol.

I did a search here and didn't find anything so my apologies if there's already a thread that covers this...
 

johnsonnboswell

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Some things can go in the dishwasher. Others can be cleaned with salt. Coarse salt is good, then rinse with water. Some people use a dilute bleach solution, but since it is a respiratory problem for me I use salt instead.
 

Kapidolo Farms

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Bleach is good, but for that respiratory issue, as johnsonnboswell mentions out side is where it should be used. Alternatively clear ammonia is also very good, and like bleach should be used outside. Never use any cleaners in combination.
 

e79

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Ah, I was hoping it'd be something "easy" like wash with mild soap :p

I'm getting everything ready in hopes of Thursday working out...
 

BeeBee*BeeLeaves

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I do not like bleach because I consider it very scary. Chlorine and caustic soda (lye) are extremely dangerous on their own, and these two chemicals are reacted together to create what we know as bleach. Bleh. Also, those vapors, our pets are more susceptible because of their small air capacity and the likelihood of filling their lungs with vapors is real. Here is what scares me about bleach: When household bleach is mixed with wastewater it is found to form numerous organic compounds. Two of those compounds are chloroform - which can cause dizziness, headache, respiratory issues, heart attack, liver and kidney damage, birth defects and more - and carbon tetrachloride - which is responsible for nerve damage, liver and kidney degeneration, coma and death. Bleh-bleh, and more bleh.

Boiling hot water sometimes is enough. I also like to use plain, old, cheap white vinegar, soak some items if you must to be sure. Or spray, and rinse. I also love these two brands of soaps, Dr. Bronners and Mrs. Meyers (I am a fan for decades, I'm old). The ones with lavender are great because lavender is antiseptic, antifungal, antiviral, antibacterial. And it has aromatherapy benefits, so if you are going to clean you might as well feel happy-good afterwards, LOL! : )
 

thatrebecca

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Congrats on adopting your Russian! I just rinse things like water dishes and food slates with water and the same soap I use to clean our dinner dishes.

When I have to deep clean tort stuff I've used vinegar and baking soda, and it worked great. But with brand new items, I wouldn't imagine you'd need to do that. (In my case it was to deep clean a freezer they'd be brumating in).

Bleach gives me heebee geebees. I don't use it with my torts.
 

e79

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I like the vinegar/baking soda plan - it's what I clean most of my house with anyway (as well as some occasional Dr. Bronner's - mmmm, peppermint!").

With all the new stuff I'll just gently wash it and then rinse it really well before letting it air dry.

Fingers crossed for Thursday - ack! I'm nervous that we'll get there and that he'll have visible health issues or that it won't feel right or something...

I'll keep you guys posted! My 2nd grader has no idea - he's gonna FLIP if he comes home from school on Thursday and discovers the tortoise he's been wanting for 2yrs :giggle:
 

Jacqui

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e79 said:
I like the vinegar/baking soda plan - it's what I clean most of my house with anyway (as well as some occasional Dr. Bronner's - mmmm, peppermint!").

With all the new stuff I'll just gently wash it and then rinse it really well before letting it air dry.

Fingers crossed for Thursday - ack! I'm nervous that we'll get there and that he'll have visible health issues or that it won't feel right or something...

I'll keep you guys posted! My 2nd grader has no idea - he's gonna FLIP if he comes home from school on Thursday and discovers the tortoise he's been wanting for 2yrs :giggle:

Here's to good luck on Thursday!

New things I just do the plain ole dish soap and water. In the summer I like to let things sit out in the sunshine for a bit, too.
 
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