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 #2088403


IguanaRama
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 Ugh! I really can’t take it anymore

My problem is the iguana that is being caged in my room is CONSTANTLY digging in the same corner in her(i think) cage all the time! Which has been going on for awhile and wasn’t a big thing till she started doing it constantly no matter what time or anything which is becoming a problem because she wakes me up at all hours of the night and she also seems very restless always climbing up and down the walls in her cage going back and forth from her basking spot(so i listen to her scratch on the walls as she’s moving around) to scratching on the Plexiglass (also irritating and wakes me up) I mean she is just non-stop! I was thinking perhaps she needs a bigger cage? Now I have one side of my bigger cage in the other room that is open and i have disinfected/thoroughly cleaned out. I’m thinking about putting her in it’s bigger and taller has more stuff i can put in there for her to climb on and! the plus side for me is no more noisy little bugger and a good nights sleep! Only thing is she won’t see people every day like she does in my room and im worried she’s going to become even more skiddish. And it’s going to be a change for her which im worrying about stressing her out but it’s a good change so she will adjust right? I’m just worried about her stress level when I do so and there’s other iguanas in there but she won’t be able to see them due to the way the cages are arrange but like I said I REALLY can’t take it anymore I get terrible sleep and I need it so i can work not to mention my BF too but, he sleeps like a sack of potatoes(typical man right?)

not sure if you need any temps or food and stuff like that but if so I can post it next time I get on in the morning.

Thank you for reading and sorry for the long post
IgRa.



10/25/09  01:22am

 #2088417


Pocochu
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   Message To: IguanaRama   In reference to Message Id: 2088403


 Ugh! I really can’t take it anymore

Oh boy.....Well it does sound like she does need a bigger cage...How big is the one she’s in right now?.....Now my second question..How old is she?..she may be gravid and looking for a place to lay her eggs.....Do you have a laybox?..Oh and do you turn her lights off at night? Sorry for all the questions...
10/25/09  06:30am

 #2088445


Tempestborn
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   Message To: Pocochu   In reference to Message Id: 2088417


 Ugh! I really can’t take it anymore

yep, she wants out. and she’ll hurt herself trying if you’re not careful with her. after i got donatello to his really big cage, i stopped closing the door. he almost never leaves. it’s his little domain. but his nose is still tore up (even tho it’s healed) from trying to force his way out of the plastic packing crate he lived in before he came to me. they’ll ignore the pain and just keep trying.
jesse
10/25/09  10:13am

 #2088446


IguanaRama
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   Message To: Tempestborn   In reference to Message Id: 2088445


 Ugh! I really can’t take it anymore

I had a feeling she wanted out. Now for the cage size its about 2feet high by 4ft or long and 2 ft deep approximately it’s been awhile since me and my dad made it. And I’ve had her for a year and a half maybe almost 2 so about that time cuz i got her when she was pretty little but the thing is the iguana i had went and got from PA they said it was 2 or 3 years old and shes monstrous so maybe she’s not that young and perhaps older anyways! she doesn’t look too big for the cage but they know better then i do when they want something. I can try and put a lay box in there and see what happens I’m sure i have some kind of box around here the only thing is she doesn’t look gravid like I’ve seen people post their iguana pics when they are gravid and she doesn’t look like that but, I will try the lay box. As for turning off the lights I turn off the ubv light I have off at night for the day night cycle and I leave her heating light on all day and night due to it becoming colder here winter is just around the corner. So I’m going to clean out the area in front of the other cage in the other room so i can access it and everything and set it up for her to stay in it sounds like a better plan and I’ll also put a lay box in there for her to see if she likes it now what should i put inside the lay box dirt wise or am i not supposed to put dirt in there... I’m not sure how it works. my big iguana has the whole bottom of her cage that’s nice and secluded with eco earth dirt that she loves to dig in and she can hide so i never really had to worry about a lay box for her.

Thanks for the replies!
10/25/09  10:26am

 #2088480


IguanaRama
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   Message To: IguanaRama   In reference to Message Id: 2088446


 Ugh! I really can’t take it anymore

also I’m disinfecting my Artificial foliage again due to a leaky roof that was finally fixed but i wanted to make sure they are clean. im using bleach/water. approximately how long should i let the plants sit outside till i can use them?



10/25/09  01:34pm

 #2088492


Cphill58
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   Message To: IguanaRama   In reference to Message Id: 2088480


 Ugh! I really can’t take it anymore

If you clean with water and bleach ...you can rinse and dry and use them right away...I suppose if you like you can let them dry outside over night...but really, I just towel dry and place them back into service.

Bleach kills grerms on contact...water rinses clean ....towel dry.

Cp
10/25/09  02:21pm

 #2088493


IguanaRama
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   Message To: Cphill58   In reference to Message Id: 2088492


 Ugh! I really can’t take it anymore

ah alright thanks i had them sitting outside to dry / air out a bit for almost a hour just to be on the safe side thanks for the info i guess i’ll go bring them in



10/25/09  02:38pm

 #2088502


Tempestborn
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   Message To: IguanaRama   In reference to Message Id: 2088493


 Ugh! I really can’t take it anymore

eco-earth would work for the lay box (i believe--double check w/annie). i have plain, old potting soil in lily’s, the kind without plant food, and i keep it just moist. she doesn’t really look very gravid, either, but she’s gone in there to explore and dig around, so she knows it’s there if she needs it. it’s just a 3.00 cat pan with a cardbord box inverted on top.

no green iguana will be happy in a two-foot-tall cage; they’re climbers.
10/25/09  03:17pm

 #2088509


IguanaRama
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   Message To: Tempestborn   In reference to Message Id: 2088502


 Ugh! I really can’t take it anymore

well like i said i when i made she was a juvie but i did make the cage switch already she’s basically stayed in the same spot for 2hrs but i’m leaving her be so she can adjust to it it’s much taller in the long run and more floor space im going to pick up something from my work there’s always something gotta love wally world! now i have a empty cage that i don’t know what to do with...I gotta stay away from petco that’s just too tempting lol.
10/25/09  03:29pm

 #2088522


IguanaRama
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   Message To: IguanaRama   In reference to Message Id: 2088509


 Ugh! I really can’t take it anymore

also 1 more note i did intend on switching her to a bigger cage i just didn’t know when but she made it apparent for me.
10/25/09  03:51pm

 #2088679


Pe
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   Message To: IguanaRama   In reference to Message Id: 2088522


 Ugh! I really can’t take it anymore

Hello,

I just wanted to clarify some information on the use of bleach as a disinfectant. I work in an industry where we not only raise bacteria, but we also have to remove bacteria. Plus we make our own bleach with a brine solution and electric generators.

When using bleach, which should be diluted (you’d be surprised how little you actually need). Bleach does not kill all bacterias, fungus, viruses, etc at the same rate or just by quick contact. Bleach has what we call "detention time". Most objects can be disinfected with the bleach in as little as 2-5 minutes. Depending on what you type of object you are disinfecting and what bacteria, fungus, virus, etc. Most recommended times are about 5 minutes. Wood products would probably take more since they are porous and you will dry out the wood with bleach use. However, if you do have to use it I recommend you spraying or soaking wood items in warm water to open up the pores...basically using a mixture of warm water and bleach.

So the point I would like to express is that you need to use a "detention time" of 2-5 minutes on objects you are cleaning. As for when you can put these items back in service, it depends what you are using it for. Keep in mind that bleach is an oxidizing agent. In short and without scientific words, it means it can work well in eliminating odors, but will destroy metals and living tissue/organs. So food and water dishes you may want to pick up a bottle of dechlor. I think I use Repti-safe. I also have the means of testing water dechlorinators since I have access to 15% plus NaOCL which is Sodium Hypochlorite...aka bleach. So when I get a chance I can probably pick up some common and some cheap decholrinator and record which products dechlorinate best. I tried doing this some time back, but I did not have the equipment and availability of items I do today. I may be able to video record the results as well.

Sorry for the long drawn out post on disinfecting. I just wanted to give other hobbyists and idea of what disinfecting was about.

Also one last note. Chlorine does not kill all oocysts/cysts. Some can be killed with "detention times" of about 15 minutes. However some cysts can be killed with ammonia.

PE
10/26/09  02:04am

 #2088691


Cphill58
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   Message To: Pe   In reference to Message Id: 2088679


 Ugh! I really can’t take it anymore

Nice ...thanks for that ... What about Hydrogen peroxide as a disinfectant...how reliable is that for topical cleaning??

Cp
10/26/09  03:38am

 #2089038


Pe
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   Message To: Cphill58   In reference to Message Id: 2088691


 Ugh! I really can’t take it anymore

Hey Chris,

I haven’t had the chance to work with hydrogen peroxide as a disinfectant as I have chlorine and bleach. If I’m not mistaken the reasons were because of cost effectiveness and instability at high concentrations.

With that I don’t believe that hydrogen peroxide that we buy in a store has the same ability (due to concentrations) of disinfectant as bleach would. It would depend on concentration, temp, pH, etc. Also hydrogen peroxide is an oxidizer which means it is can be corrosive. Maybe more so then bleach being it has an extra Oxygen molecule. I would have to look into it more. I know it has come up in my industry as a disinfectant so when I get a chance I will look though my study books and see what they come up with.

The good news is, that if you do use bleach, you can use peroxide after to remove any bleach residuals. Hydrogen peroxide should be very good at odor removal being it does have that extra oxygen molecule. Odor control is a whole other topic but we mostly use oxidation to control odors. And unlike bleach, hydrogen peroxide is more easy to water down and remove.

I hope that helps.

PE
10/27/09  12:54pm

 #2089247


Cphill58
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   Message To: Pe   In reference to Message Id: 2089038


 Ugh! I really can’t take it anymore

Yes that does help...and educate.

As I have used the household HP to treat minor cuts and wounds on myself...I thought it would also work to kill some topical germs pertaining to enclosures. And as a diluted germ killer on reptiles as well.

I noticed that you really directed your detention / application of the bleach to some rather stubborn water borne oocysts/ cysts. And deep cleaning of wood enclosure accessories.

When we are cleaning topically with a well diluted bleach on sealed surfaces...laminates / vinyl/ sealed wood/ formica / tile...usually within 3-6 hours of a lizard defecating ...what do you suggest as far as my method ...or even the advertisement of clorox wipes...as proper cleaning tools for surfaces.

I always believed that for this purpose I was killing the germs. And doing proper maintenance with a wipe down which could be considered a 1 minute at best soaking...if you consider a sponge as soaking the topical surface to a point where it has to be rinsed and dried off. In other words the solution is pooling/ standing for a brief time.

I googled the words oocyst and cysts ...I came up with giardia...and crypto /protozoa...etc that were discussed in water treatment. This is not something I would encounter in my enclosures?? Or is it?? Where is the infected host ?

Chris
10/28/09  02:35am

 #2091783


Pe
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   Message To: Cphill58   In reference to Message Id: 2089247


 Ugh! I really can’t take it anymore

Hello,

Sorry for my late reply. Last week ended up being a pretty busy week for me.

I use hydrogen peroxide on cuts and wounds too. It does kill bacteria and germs by oxidation. However I am not sure of it’s effectiveness on surfaces.

I do try to drive home the idea of detention time. I should really say contact time. Detention time is just what I get used to saying when we disinfect water. Contact time is the key in disinfecting. I think it is mostly overlooked. If you look at some of your disinfectant sprays some will have a contact time or will give you a time frame that you should leave the disinfectant on. I just looked at a bottle of Germ control - disinfectant, fungicide, and virucide...the instructions do give you a contact time. It’s only 30 seconds, but also has a warning that this contact time may not control all organisms listed on it’s label. So I think that is a good example of why I feel contact time is so important.

I found another example...409...under directions of disinfection...they want you to let stand for 10 minutes. Even when we wash our hands health advisers recommend 2 minutes of scrubbing with soap or the alphabet song.

I’m not sure of the kill rate on chlorine wipes. You can probably google there effectiveness. For a quick clean up it is probably worth it.

Now as far as oocysts/cyst....they are hard to penetrate. Oocysts is not only crypto or giardia, but also coccidia. A couple of years ago this was a huge topic on bearded dragons. Oocysts are tough and even with chlorine contact time still can be hard to destroy. Ammonia can kill it and UVC can kill it. One of the vets that I knew from one of the rescues that I volunteered at said they killed the oocyst with sunlight.

As far as encountering crypto, giardia, or coccidia...it can happen. It may not happen often, but I seen the coccidia in dragons and I seen giardia in humans.

I hope that answered any question you had. If not let me know.

PE



11/04/09  03:27am

 #2092506


Cphill58
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   Message To: Pe   In reference to Message Id: 2091783


 Ugh! I really can’t take it anymore

No worries about the late reply ....the webmaster set up these notifiations...it’s the greatest thing since buttered bread....no matter how late the response I get notified. So I can always see the answer / response...thanks BTW ... great info.

I have started to recommend longer contact times 2-10 minutes contact time for thorough cleaning. Appreciate the advise ...

Cp
11/06/09  12:04am


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