# sterilizing vivarium



## scream-aim-fire (Mar 1, 2008)

anyone know how to sterilize a viv to make sure that there are no parasites living in it. the viv is all set up and planted and everything, just no frogs in it right now.


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## scream-aim-fire (Mar 1, 2008)

would the parasites living in the viv eventually die over time with out a host to live off of?


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

you can dump a whole lot of CO2 in the tank to kill all the living creatures in there, don't worry about the plants they will be fine.


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## scream-aim-fire (Mar 1, 2008)

yea i thought about that, using dry ice in water but i have read that co2 only kills off larger insects and stuff, didnt see anything about it killing off parasites. anyone know if this will work?


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

what specific parasite are you refering to?


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## scream-aim-fire (Mar 1, 2008)

im not really 100% sure i have any parasites in this viv at all, i had a breeding pair of auratus in the tank and both died ( one about a month before the other) recently after being in the tank for well over 6 months or longer, not sure if it was a parasite, stress, or what it was, i wasnt able to do a fecal on the frogs but i just want to sterilize the tank of anything bad before i put new frogs in this tank. it will probably be a while before i put more frogs in it so i have some time to put into sterilizing it.


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

personally, if you are worried about it, i would just tear the whole thing downa nd bleach it just to be safe, no point in taking a chance of anything else you put in there dying.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

Lungworms of the genus Rhabdias have both freeliving and parasitic forms... the free living forms can exist pretty much perpetually provided the conditions are okay. In addition, many soil dwelling organisms are very tolerant of CO2 and may survive a CO2 treatment. 

Ed


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## scream-aim-fire (Mar 1, 2008)

so ed is there anything else i can do with this tank to rid it of parasites, i really dont want to tear it down, tearing it down would be a job. the tank is covered in gs on 3 sides, the tank is about 2 feet tall and grown in pretty well. heres a link to the build http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/parts-construction/35643-started-new-viv-20gal-tall.html


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## Dragonfly (Dec 5, 2007)

Your concern is anything that could have contributed to the death of a former inhabitant (and unless you have a good reliable indication, such as the frog got caught in a spot it couldn't get out of... the concern is reasonable).

It just makes sense if the well being of a frog is your concern to do a tear down.


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## earthfrog (May 18, 2008)

If there is any possibility of chytrid infection, you need to sterilize all the tools, tank and surrounding environment as best as possible. The tank should be exposed to temps at 99 degrees Fahrenheit for three hours to ensure that any spores would die. This may kill some plants, but the precaution is better than not doing it and having more frogs die. 
Also, any instruments such as spray bottles, turkey basters, cups, etc, need to be boiled for fifteen minutes or so. 
You can buy bags to sterilize tools in the microwave if they won't go over well with boiling (and they don't contain metal). PM me for more info on this option.


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## Dragonfly (Dec 5, 2007)

What you put into a viv should be sterilized too. Without an autoclave, a pressure cooker is a very good tool for sterlizing, including the substrate. Boiling the coco huts too is a good deal. Don't put any coco huts into your microwave for sterilization. You can kill your family with the smoke from a burning coco hut, which can happen in less than a minute.


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## earthfrog (May 18, 2008)

Dragonfly said:


> What you put into a viv should be sterilized too. Without an autoclave, a pressure cooker is a very good tool for sterlizing, including the substrate. Boiling the coco huts too is a good deal. Don't put any coco huts into your microwave for sterilization. You can kill your family with the smoke from a burning coco hut, which can happen in less than a minute.


The bags I recommended do not allow the cocohut to catch on fire since they use water in the process which does not leave the bag. Boiling is fine, of course.
Is coconut husk toxic to burn, then?


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## Dragonfly (Dec 5, 2007)

the volume of smoke from the one i burned was toxic in the volume


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## scream-aim-fire (Mar 1, 2008)

well i guess im gonna start pulling plants out of the tank and sterilizing them, and ill start to break the tank down, anyone know if a 10% bleach dip will hurt tillandsias? ill sterilize all of the broms and the rest of the plants this way and i guess ill just start building my 18x18x24 exo and use the plants in there.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

earthfrog said:


> If there is any possibility of chytrid infection, you need to sterilize all the tools, tank and surrounding environment as best as possible. The tank should be exposed to temps at 99 degrees Fahrenheit for three hours to ensure that any spores would die. This may kill some plants, but the precaution is better than not doing it and having more frogs die.
> Also, any instruments such as spray bottles, turkey basters, cups, etc, need to be boiled for fifteen minutes or so.
> You can buy bags to sterilize tools in the microwave if they won't go over well with boiling (and they don't contain metal). PM me for more info on this option.


Hi Susan,

Has chytrid been confirmed to have a resting spore? The last information I have doesn't show a resting spore which means that a throughly drying the area and any materials will kill any chytrid contaminents in the materials or substrates. Disinfecting from coccidia or Rhabdias is more problematical. 

99 F for three hours is insufficient to ensure that chytrid has been eliminated, see http://www.int-res.com/articles/dao2004/57/d057p255.pdf 



Ed


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## earthfrog (May 18, 2008)

Ed said:


> Hi Susan,
> 
> Has chytrid been confirmed to have a resting spore? The last information I have doesn't show a resting spore which means that a throughly drying the area and any materials will kill any chytrid contaminents in the materials or substrates. Disinfecting from coccidia or Rhabdias is more problematical.
> 
> ...


So, four hours at 99 degrees Fahrenheit (37 degrees Celsius) kills chytrid---it's been awhile since I've reviewed the literature. I'm relieved to hear it doesn't have a resting spore. I think the boiling method for disinfecting for chytrid is still useful when there is any humidity in the air, so no one 'assumes' that the chytrid is dead just because the tools don't appear wet. Perhaps it would be better to tell them to bake the tools, or run a hot blow dryer over everything that has been used. What do you think?


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

earthfrog said:


> So, four hours at 99 degrees Fahrenheit (37 degrees Celsius) kills chytrid---it's been awhile since I've reviewed the literature. I'm relieved to hear it doesn't have a resting spore. I think the boiling method for disinfecting for chytrid is still useful when there is any humidity in the air, so no one 'assumes' that the chytrid is dead just because the tools don't appear wet. Perhaps it would be better to tell them to bake the tools, or run a hot blow dryer over everything that has been used. What do you think?


The zoospores are very intolerant of any drying and I have strong doubts that they are able to pull water out of the air like some bacteria. Simple air drying provided that is is given time to fully dry (and not retain moisture in core areas) is sufficient.


Ed


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## earthfrog (May 18, 2008)

scream-aim-fire said:


> well i guess im gonna start pulling plants out of the tank and sterilizing them, and ill start to break the tank down, anyone know if a 10% bleach dip will hurt tillandsias?


I don't know. You could contact a brom vendor and ask them.


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