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What do you use to make your critters cage nice and shiny?

Posted By:

Beardies08

Our little guys 40 gallon tank is sooooo.....dirty. Well at least the glass sides are all smuged and just not pretty to look at. Everything we have read states not to use typical glass cleaners to shine up the glass and get rid of smudges so. we were on the hunt for reptile safe cleaners. Well we came across 2 different brands of reptile safe cleaners at PETCO today, we bought the well known brand (Zilla). Got home and couldn't wait to make Bandits home nice and shiny again! Well, we were very disappointed. It made more smudges and streaks then there were in the first place! UGH! So, I will be returning it. What does everyone else use to make the glass look shiny, new and clean again?


Points:	50
Topics:	General Health , Caging , Disinfectants
Tags:	Caging, Cleaning, Disinfectants
Administrative:	Show/Hide

Member Comment

3/29/2009 8:27:31 PM

critterking1987

i use windex just dont spray it on the glass put some on a paper towel then wipe the glass then i take a dry paper towel and i wipe up the windex thats on the glass and it drys realy fast and i havent had any proublems

Member Comment

3/29/2009 9:00:56 PM

Howard Redding

yup thats what i have done for years and let the cage air out a bit and it'll be fine

Accepted Answer

3/30/2009 12:11:39 AM

LokisKafka

vinergar and water will shine a glass and also it evaporates and is safe for the inside.
so does alcohol on the outide only for a nice shine just rub alcohol on and when it turns foggy buff it in a circle with low lint fabric like an old pillowcase or a nifty lint free cloth.
spot cleaning is good with fragrance free baby wipes and they sell windex wipes
dish soap and water well rinsed is always good. Most dishsoaps contain oil surficants and fragrance some come with bleach already. I like seventh generations dishsoaps.
You can also rub some rainex on the outside of it to keep it looking primo and clear. Rainx is the stuff that makes water bead on a car windshield. It also helps with dirty repelling. i made a an answers thread before that had some good cleaning tips in it.

Member Comment

3/30/2009 7:22:03 AM

JohnJohn

My collared lizards drive me crazy with mess! They have a big beautiful tank, but they poop a lot and hop and crawl a lot. After a day or two, the glass seems covered with sand and smudges. I never seem to be able to keep it clean for long.

I try though. I use windex and just make sure I wipe it all away immediately.

I use windex on all my snake tanks too.

Member Comment

3/30/2009 10:01:09 AM

mack1time

Vinegar and water all the way!! Bleach works fine too for tubs as long as you rinse very well!

Member Comment

3/30/2009 12:05:01 PM

jbt123

I use antibacterial windex in/on all of my enclosures. Good stuff.:)

Member Comment

3/30/2009 5:07:43 PM

tmth

I use the green windex- made with all natural ingredients. I'd also recomend just going to Whole Foods or some other all natural food store and cruise down the cleaning aisle- pretty much anything thats all natural won't harm your reptiles.

Member Comment

3/31/2009 8:06:46 AM

BuddyB

I use a product called Maxima 256 Disinfecant Cleaner. It cleans everything (including windows) and kills staph, pseudomonas, viruses, fungus and mildew.
It can be purchased inexpensively in a concentrated formula.
Aaron turned me on to this product, and rumour has it that he baths with the stuff.

Buddy B

Member Comment

3/31/2009 10:22:05 AM

BuddyB

This is a link to for Maxima 256

http://www.petsupplies4less.com/Maxima-256-Unicide-1-quart--pr--005BLN25632

Buddy B

Member Comment

3/31/2009 11:34:20 AM

AAS

Windex or other glass cleaner, like others said, spray onto the towel, good ventilation until perfectly dry, just takes a moment with good ventilation.

Member Comment

3/31/2009 2:42:14 PM

halfwaynowhere

i like using vinegar and water for all of my animal enclosures. Works great for getting rid of odor, too!
I have also used Simple Green. A lot of brands are coming out with "green" cleaning products now. I use them in my house, but am still wary of using them in enclosures. Vinegar is cheap and easy.

Member Comment

4/1/2009 4:42:43 PM

xanaxez

all of these are great ideas for you to try. always remember when dealing with glass tanks,when they get dirty and the humidity is up then drops the water and dirt drys to the tank and after a few weeks it will begin to look horrible and smuged. when i used them i always washed mine very good with a spoonge and warm soapy water.. scrubbing it very well then drying it somewhat with a towel then letting it air dry to keep the water spots at a minimum. once dried i sprayed newspaper with windex and cleaned the glass then let air out for about 15 to 20 mins, leaving the tanking looking very bright,clean and streak free. newspaper is the best thing to use if you dont want those streaks on the glass lol.

Member Comment

4/3/2009 10:51:45 PM

TigerLilly

I use good old-fashioned bleach & water for disinfecting, followed by air/sun drying. For general make-it-shiny cleaning, gotta go with the vinegar & water!

Member Comment

1/17/2011 12:40:38 AM

abi21491

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