Chin's recent passing, best way to clean cage?

[LovinTheSmallAndFurry]

My boy chin was in the lower part of my divided FN. He died a sudden death--most likely heart attack from what vet says--but his sister above has been examined and is healthy.

I obviously have to clean my male's cage (part) out for a future chin. Since I don't know what caused his death, I want to make sure I clean it as thoroughly as possible.

Is the half/half water and vinegar solution strong enough, or should I use something else? And what about the wooden ledges--(that's all that's left in there, besides his bath house, rarely used, but since it's ceramic I figured I could clean that and leave it)-- can they be cleaned and left in there or discarded altogether?

Thanks for all input.

 

[Lillybabe]

I would clean the ledges with a vinegar solution and then either bake them or let them dry in the sun. You might also want to sand them before or after cleaning them. As far as cleaning the whole cage, personally I'd use a bleach solution. Read the bottle instructions and follow them for as much as you plan to use. You'd need to have a temp cage for your other chin though so that the cage could dry out fully before the other chin was exposed to it. With help you could probably detach the top portion... remove the bottom, replace bottom on the legs/storage portion, and clean just the bottom part in pieces. Otherwise.. if you can roll the whole cage outside that would be easiest. If you have the plastic pans I would make sure they are 100% dry before replaced. Wouldn't hurt anything to scrub down the whole cage while you're at it and hose it off. It's the time of year when that's easiest.

 

[javachin]

Just to be safe, I'd disinfect the entire cage, including the top half. Use a bleach solution over the vinegar and I would toss anything he had that was wood.

 

[summerdays]

i had to do that before, i was told i could use a bleach solution , and then let it dry out in the sun. sorry for your loss.

 

[LovinTheSmallAndFurry]

i had to do that before, i was told i could use a bleach solution , and then let it dry out in the sun. sorry for your loss.

Okay guys, then that is what I shall do. How long after cleaning it with bleach do I let it sit outside?


Thank you SummerDays. )

 

[javachin]

Spray it down with the bleach solution and scrub it with a brush. Let it sit for a good 10-15 minutes then rinse it off. You can towl dry it (or not) and leave it out for maybe 20 minutes or however long it takes to completely dry. It depends if you will have full sun or not.