Disinfecting a cage for another chin

[kellylynnmarie]

Hi All. As some may know, I just lost my sweet boy, Splinter yesterday after a long battle with dental problems and other underlying issues. I had to separate he and his brother about a year ago and I had the double level Critter Nation, so they each got half. Now I have the second half open and want to get it back to my other sweet boy, Cotton. But I have no idea what I need to do in terms of disinfecting, etc. I already plan on just throwing away his house, toys, etc... But what should I use and do to disinfect his cage enough that Cotton can have it.

On top of the cage itself... can I keep any of the fleece items that were Splinter's? How do I disinfect those and get rid of any smells (because Cotton can be very strange when he smells Splinter)?

Any advice or tips would be great. I'm not in a huge rush to clear everything as I still can't pull myself to throw away the things he was using just yesterday... but when I'm ready... I'd like to be prepared to do it right so in case anything else was wrong illness-wise with Splinter that we didn't know about, it doesn't pass on to Cotton.

Thanks for your help!

 

[menagerie]

I clean cages using hydrogen peroxide and white vinegar. Get two spray bottles, one for hydrogen peroxide and one for vinegar. Spray one then spray the other (doesn't matter which is first), let sit then you can either rinse it off or just wipe it off. This combination is awesome and kills most germs and is non-toxic. For the fleece items, I would just add a bit of bleach in the wash water. You can also put vinegar in the rinse. This should any residual smell out of the fleece.

 

[3CsMommy]

Hot water wash with vinegar for the fleece, and the same with the cage, though the addition of peroxide adds another level of germ-killing, so by all means, if you have both, go for it. I'm sorry about Splinter. It's never easy to lose a fur kid.

 

[Cuddlebug]

For those of you who are mixing hydrogen peroxide and vinegar, the combination produces peracetic acid, which is not something you would want to mess with.

 

[kellylynnmarie]

Thanks for the tips. I'll stick to the white vinegar for the base/outer part of the cage for now since I'll be getting all new pans anyway!