Cleaning cages

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trinityoaks

trinityoaks

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What are my options for methods of cleaning and sanitizing a cage between rabbits? I have one empty cage that was Smokey's, and I want to have it ready for when I can pick up a new Zil buck.
 
clean it as best you can.
spray the entire cage with a bleach/water solution. let dry 10 minutes (or longer if so desired) and then spray with clean water.
 
I agree with Ladysown. A stiff wire brush is great for removing the worst of the dirt. Be careful when spraying with bleach water that the mist does not drift to the cages next door. If it seems to be a problem, the bleach solution could be applied with a sponge. You could, of course, remove the neighbouring rabbits to carriers while you work. :)
 
I love using a small propane torch to clean/sanitize- it also dries out/burns off anything stuck like hair (which is an issue for me with my English angoras of course), hay stuck under the urine guards, etc. Then you can use a dollar store brush to get anything left. I still wash my cages down, but I only do it about once a year now since the torch became my cleaning tool of choice.

Best of luck!

Lauren
 
I also use a torch but don't hold it on one spot too long as it can damage the galvanizing. I just run the torch back and forth quickly to burn the fine hair and dust bunnies off, then wash with the hose, spray with vanodine/water and then let it sit in the sun for a while.
 
Thankfully, because of the way our cages are arranged over the poo pans, there isn't a lot of caked-on gunk. I'm hesitant to use a torch, especially since this is the cage I bought as a kit to learn how to make cages.

Is there an advantage to using vanodine instead of bleach? Where would I find vanodine?
 
MaggieJ":1blsvav1 said:
Vanodine has the reputation of being a very safe product for use around animals, but bleach is perfectly adequate as long as you are reasonably careful with it. Bleach, of course, is much cheaper too.

Here's some links. I can't vouch for them, just did the google search.
Click to expand...
Thanks, Maggie! Is this something that my local feed store or TSC might carry?
 
Vanodine has been very difficult to come by for the last 18 months or so. Last fall I spoke to the people at the UK facility where they make the stuff and this was their reply:

V18 cannont be imported into the US any more because the EPA due to a mistake, revoked the registration number. it is therefore off the market. we are attempting to get it reinstated but its likely to take at least 1 year.

The same issue exists in Canada - where it has never been registered and as such cant be legally imported.

So most likely only left-over stock from suppliers who had lots on hand will be available. This could be why bunnyrabbit.com is only selling 8 and 4 oz bottles.
 
In the summer when the hose is still up. I pressure wash my cages. I'll also scrub them with a wire bbq brush and spray them with Swish Miracle then wipe down with paper towel.
 
You can't beat a few hours of sun to help sanitize either and thats free!! Bleach is a good sanitizer and is certainly cheaper and way better smelling than vanodine. I think that stuff smells horrendous!! Also I just found out that iodine the main component of vanodine is also used in meth labs to make their drugs, so large quantities will come under the scrutiny of the FDA etc. Perhaps thats part of the "problem" with the import of the product?? There are other better smelling options available that are just as good, and won't leave your rabbitry smelling like a meth lab lol.

http://www.barbibrownsbunnies.com/ecuniculi.htm This is a link to Barbi Browns wry neck article. If you scroll down to cage maintanence/cleaning you will notice that she says to use bleach as nothing else will kill the E.C. spores! in other parts of the website she says to use vanodine; but take that with a grain of salt as she also sells the product! So if bleach kills spores of EC then it kills everything that is not actually part of the rabbit!
 
Bleach is not effective on organic matter - ie if there are bits of poop on an edge they have to come off or bleach can't kill anything hiding under it ...
I use a dilute bleach solution after many years of trying many options - but I do either pressure wash with hot water and soap or scrub the item first so it is clean before being sanitized

does that make sense?
my brain is fried ..
 
Yes bleach is a sanitizer not a cleaner. You can get products that do both in one step though The bleach solution would come after the visible dirt was cleaned off first. And yes it does make sense!!

BTW why is your brain fried?? lol
 
been through a bit of sadness over the last couple of months
and spent most of last week sitting at my step dad's bed side in the hospital ...
sleep and food seem to be hard to come by commodities around here right now
glad I made sense
 
Sorry to hear that, Brody....

What about Borax, hydrogen peroxide or vinegar? Just curious....<br /><br />__________ Mon Mar 15, 2010 11:05 pm __________<br /><br />Hmm, did a google search for pet safe disinfectants and came up with Virkon and TEC-5000, too tired to look into it further but as usual, just curious.... or nosy!
 
White vinegar is an excellent all-purpose cleanser... especially for removing mineral build-up from hard water or urine. I use it for food and water crocks too. It kills a lot of germs when used full strength, but not all.

I'm not sure it is desirable to have any living thing in a totally sanitized environment. How are they to develop strong immune systems if they are never exposed to anything? There used to be a saying... "We all have to eat our peck of dirt." You don't hear that any more, but I think it has validity.
 
thanks folks - been rough - hopefully it will settle now for a bit anyhow ;)

I'm with you maggie - everything has to get used to some germs/bugs whatever

I use vinesgar ALL the time
and save the dilute bleach for after a serious bug (fostering I get some cooties sometimes) I have a pretty extreme isolation protocol so (touch wood) have never had anything serious "upstairs" or infect my own animals ... but if I am switching litters or a dog leaves or somesuch thing I do the germ clean - animals own stuff is dealt with mainly by hot water, soap then white vinegar
 

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