Disinfecting/sterilizing rabbit cage for disease prevention

[drowe005]

I currently have a buck with an eye issue which I believe is due to him having some of his eyelashes in his eye, but possibly could be an infection or disease as well. As a result, I'm playing it safe and am getting rid of him to prevent passing it to my rabbits or passing bad genetics to future generations, and plan to use the same cage to house the new buck I will be getting. What is the best way to disinfect/sterilize the cage to prevent passing it on, being that it was more than eyelashes in his eye, to future rabbits. And how long for the methods recommended would be the turn around time for putting a new rabbit in it? I also have a 24" x 12" x 12" house per say that provides shelter in the cage that would also need to be disinfected. Thanks

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I use very hot water mixed with white vinegar and dish soap for the initial cleaning, and scrub with a nylon bristle brush. Then I use rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle to mist the cages down, and let air dry in the sun. I think most people let the cages or nests sit in the sun for several days to kill any lingering bacteria.

I recently had to cull our original herd buck due to an abscess (suspected pasteurella :x ) and used my steam cleaner on all of the cages in the BunnyBarn. I believe I used one part white vinegar to 4 parts water. Vinegar is a good disinfectant as is boiling water, but to be extra safe I followed up with a misting of alcohol. To avoid having to take down and rehang every cage, I put each rabbit in the row into a travel carrier while I cleaned the cages.

Bleach can be used, but it must be rinsed thoroughly because it drys to a salt which will rust the cages. I also have a brush with metal bristles, but I learned here on RT that metal can scratch the galvanization, which will also result in rust, so I try to avoid using it.

When cleaning your shelter box, pay extra attention to the seams where the pieces are joined.

 

[SterlingSatin]

i got a nasty 3 stack once that needed a good cleaning. i used my dremel with a wire circular brush on it to "sand" off some of the calcified pee. then i used 1 part vinegar 4 parts water in a spray bottle. went over it again with bleach (1 part bleach 10 parts water). took a wire brush to the whole thing to get bits of hay, fur and poop off. sprayed it again with vanodine. then let it sun dry for a week. then gave it a new coat of paint i was being extremely thorough with this cage, probably more than was necessary

 

[drowe005]

That sounds like a plan, and thanks for the quick responses. Luckily this rabbits stay here is going to be under a week total by the time hes gone, so luckily he doesn't have much build up in there. But I definitely want to be safe than sorry so I'll treat it like he stayed for a year, don't wanna risk infecting future rabbits,that is if it was a disease or infection. So it it sounds like from your 2 responses that 1 week is a good turn around time to put a new rabbit in? That is being thoroughly cleaned and disinfected the first day and left to sun/air dry for the remainder?

 

[SterlingSatin]

i'd say that sounds good. no need for more than a week unless the "house" (if its made out of wood) is not dry by then. but if you leave it out in the sun it should be fine.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Personally, I would take his house away now if it is wood, and give him a disposable (and burnable!) cardboard box for shelter.

 

[drowe005]

Rabbits gone now as of tonight, looks like its time for some cleaning

 

[Miss M]

Torching is another good option, though you do have to keep the flame moving. Too long in one spot will melt the galvanizing.

Even with torching, though, a week in the sun! UV in sunlight is such a good disinfectant, they have incorporated UV light into air purifiers to kill germs.

 

[Frecs]

So, question -- if wanting to full sterilize a cage is it necessary to torch it or will vinegar/water and sunlight suffice? Sounds like either way, a week in the sun is recommended, yes?

 

[AmysMacdog]

Good question Frecs, I just posted a question on disinfecting cages on my thread too. I'm so glad to read this, white vinegar and alcohol will be much better. I thought that I had to use bleach.
opcorn:

 

[Frecs]

Good question Frecs, I just posted a question on disinfecting cages on my thread too. I'm so glad to read this, white vinegar and alcohol will be much better. I thought that I had to use bleach.
opcorn:

Vinegar and water would make me happier, too. I thought torching would enable me to use the cage right away but if even doing that requires a week in the sun, seems easier for me to go with vinegar and water. I want to do what will have the best effect against the Big Nasties. opcorn:

 

[AmysMacdog]

Me too. I still have sick bunnies from the recent bug that attacked my rabbits. I'm Going to douse the ground too. Hope it helps, I don't want to go through this again! I'm still wondering if they got this from the wild rabbits or how it got here.