Alien the Iguana - Exotic Cleaning Tips

Pets Articles | March 11, 2010

Exotic animals - snakes, lizards, iguanas and spiders - are impressive creatures that make wonderful pets. They also make a wonderful mess and its worth knowing how to clean up after them

Cleaning up after exotic pets may seem like a daunting task. Indeed, even the thought of keeping a pet lizard, kimono dragon, boa constrictor in your house is daunting, let alone the idea of having to clean up after it. In fact, the process is quite simple and here are a few tips gleaned from one-off cleaning professionals who have experience with this kind of thing.

It turns out that exotic pets are comparatively low maintenance when viewed alongside their more conventional canine and feline counterparts. The most important thing about cleaning up after your exotic pet is it’s health: poorly cleaned lizard and snake enclosures can breed harmful bacteria that, left alone, can end up killing your pet.

Plan on cleaning your pet enclosure every one to two weeks, and have a back-up enclosure to put your pet in while you are doing this, especially if you happen to own a python. Any foul smell coming from the cage is a good indicator that it is time for a cleaning, even if it is before the scheduled cleaning time.

The first step is to remove all of the furniture from your pet’s enclosure. This may be a climbing gym, water bowl or reclining chair, if you have a very lazy lizard. Clean the furniture with disinfecting spray or hot soapy water to remove any bacteria or filth left behind. If you use sand, gravel or wood shavings as litter for your pet, these should be sifted through and any faeces or other waste removed. Use rubber gloves or a pet shovel to keep from spreading around the mess that is already there.

You should remove litter or bedding from the cage at regular intervals. Usually a one-off cleaning once a month is fine depending on the size of your pet in relation to its enclosure. Once you’ve done this, scrub out the cage itself, again with disinfectant spray or hot soapy water to keep harmful bacteria to a minimum. Once you have finished wiping out the tank, be sure to rinse it so no soap, cleaning chemicals or disinfectant is left behind. Otherwise these could harm your pet when you put it back inside.
Now that you’ve finished the cleaning, replace the furniture and give your pet new bedding and litter. By now you should have a happy, healthy exotic pet no longer emitting any bad smells and ready to live in an enclosed lizardy paradise until its next cleaning. If this isn't enough, get in touch with the end of tenancy cleaning wizards at homecleaninglondon.co.uk for more info on specialty cleaning for exotic pets.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alfred Halfnight is a London-based freelance journalist with a mission to make you a better, cleaner, happier human being. He enjoys writing articles about the obscure facets of modern life, and thinks this is what Kafka would have done if he lived in the twenty-first century.