Stinky Redtail

[cherriepie]

I was wondering if anyone knew of a safe, effective way to keep my house from smelling like snake pee? I have a redtail, a ball, and a Brazilian Rainbow Boa and I cannot think of a way to deodorize safely. Any suggestions are appreciated!

I use artificial turf as my substrate in the enclosures and spot clean as needed.

[LdyDrgn]

I hear that the Novolsan or Virosan (sp? on either) work great for that and are non-toxic. There will be someone along soon to help you locate some.

Welcome to RTB

[toker]

Welcome to RTB!

What are you using for substriat? and how often are you changing it out?

[eddie]

Easiest way is to spot clean as needed and to do a full clean-out when the time is right.
If you are smelling the urates, either its staying in the cage too long, leaking out or you didn't dispose of the mess by bagging it and taking it outside.

Novalson is non toxic, but I really don't think you want to spray it all over the house like its a deodorizer. For the cage though, it is fine, but needs to be diluted.

Also, febreze is your friend for all the carpets, furniture pads etc. but not in the snakes cage.

[Ravnos]

Febreeze is toxic to birds, and has repeatedly been shown to be dangerous to dogs and cat as well, even though the company refuses to admit it - any kind of deoderizing chemical should be used sparingly with any animals in the house. The key is to never let it become a problem by keeping up with your cage cleaning. If it necessitates scrubbing down, do it, don't just replace the substrate. Novalsan isn't much of a deoderizer, it doesn't have a strong scent, but use of it before the scent becomes an issue will definitely help. The faster you clean up messes, the better everything will smell.

Rav

[RoYaL_619]

i had the same problem till i found " wipe out" by zoo med it not only cleans and kilss bact. it also a deodorizer.

[LdyDrgn]

I don't even like Febreeze around me. I try to avoid using anything with strong odors. It's best to neutralize, not cover up.

You could try a little bit of vinegar for spot cleaning, too.

[eddie]

But then everyone asks for a pickle when they visit

[CheshireCat]

It's only since we started using newspaper substrate for most of ours that we realized that snakes peed liquid in addition to urates. As we can now see dirty paper easily, and clean immediately, we can honestly say the only animal smells are from the gerbils or Dragons testosterone.

[djnzlab]

HI,
That last post hit the nail on the head , you need a cage that has a nonporus floor so you can wipe it down, You need a substrate like paper that shows water and stains, And you need to remove the substrate and clean the floor with water and be sure and wipe it well. If the pee hits the corners it dosen't take much snake urine to smell an it seems to have staying power... there's usally a small amount of liquid urates passed with the rocks.. Once a cage is rinsed it dosen't smell.. My reptile room smells like damp newspaper except when theirs a present or two....
Doug

[LuvMyBoa]

I use the Virosan, which I purchsed through ... um .... crap, now I can't remember where i got it from! Ohohoh... it was from ProExotics. I love it and use it to clean out my tanks every time one of my snakes poos. I have even used it on a rag to wipe down my snakes when they are found frolicking in that lovely brown mess...gotta love that. I don't spray it directly on them, just let them move through a rag which I have sprayed with the Virosan.

I like the stuff. It doesn't really have a smell to speak of, it is just a great cleaner and safe for the slithering ones.

[Wrasse]

My computer is in a room with 11 snakes and I have no snake pee smell at all unless there is a fresh mess there. A quick scoop and clean and the smell goes.

As has been mentioned above, change your substrate, if there is smell, there is residue and that means the cleaning isn't getting done properly.

[telefrag]

Originally Posted by Ravnos

Febreeze is toxic to birds, and has repeatedly been shown to be dangerous to dogs and cat as well, even though the company refuses to admit it - any kind of deoderizing chemical should be used sparingly with any animals in the house. The key is to never let it become a problem by keeping up with your cage cleaning. If it necessitates scrubbing down, do it, don't just replace the substrate. Novalsan isn't much of a deoderizer, it doesn't have a strong scent, but use of it before the scent becomes an issue will definitely help. The faster you clean up messes, the better everything will smell.

Rav

amen mr adam... amen.