Maintaining a dirt-free terrarium is essential for the well-being of your leopard gecko. It’s good for the leopard gecko’s health and reduces the likelihood that your gecko’s terrarium will start to smell. However, not many pet owners know how to clean a leopard gecko cage.
Leopard geckos require daily spot cleaning, in which feces are removed, weekly washing of bowls and floors with dish detergent, and monthly deep cleaning, in which all surfaces are scrubbed. For easier cleaning and better health of your leopard gecko, maintain a daily-weekly-monthly cleaning routine.
Let’s dig deep into the intricacies of cleaning a leopard gecko’s habitat!
How Often Do I Need To Clean My Leopard Gecko Tank?
Although there are no universal standards for cleaning a leopard gecko terrarium, the routine schedule for your leo’s habitat is daily, weekly, and monthly. Following these guidelines will ensure that your reptile friend stays in a healthy and dirt-free environment.
Spot Clean the Leo’s Habitat Daily
It is recommended that you perform daily spot cleaning of the gecko droppings. These scaly friends usually defecate once they eat and are full. So, you must clean up the resulting feces every time you feed them.
Spot cleaning helps remove wastes before they start to decompose and give off an unpleasant odor in the tank. You can prevent feces from piling up in your pet’s cage by cleaning it daily.
Conversely, you’ll need to remove excess food from the tank. Dead insects might rot and produce a filthy smell.
Weekly Cleaning
The kind of washing you do weekly is a little bit involving and will need more time than the daily spot cleaning. It involves a thorough rinsing of the terrarium’s interior. While not everything is cleaned now, you might have to remove some tank accessories.
For effective cleaning, you may need to use a mixture that contains one piece of water and the other piece of detergent bleach.
You should clean the carpet weekly if you keep your pets in a tank with a carpeted substrate. Rocks used as substrates should also be cleaned, and old, rotting plants removed and replaced.
Monthly Deep Cleaning
Finally, comprehensive monthly cleaning entails removing all items from the tank, washing them, and disinfecting each surface thoroughly. This routine is mandatory if you want to prevent the spread of bacteria that could make your pet sick.
As far as deep cleaning is concerned, you have to spruce up every nook and cranny in the terrarium. You might even need to dig out an old toothbrush to ensure you haven’t missed any regions.
Simply, for a deep clean, you’ll need to:
- Take out the substrate.
- Take out all of the tank’s equipment and accessories.
- Clean all of the tank walls.
- Clean and disinfect the accessories or replace them with new ones
- Change the tank’s substrate and all its accessories and equipment.
How To Clean Your Leopard Gecko’s Terrarium?
You should follow various steps when cleaning your leopard gecko’s terrarium. However, you’ll need to gather a few supplies before cleaning. These include:
- A bucket or basin
- Cleaning brush and sponge
- Gloves and old clothing
- Warm water
- ½ cup of baking soda, disinfectant spray, bleach, or water paste
Once you have all the cleaning supplies ready, you can now spruce up and tidy up your leo’s terrarium in the following steps:
Step 1: Take your leopard gecko out of the cage and place it in a separate container
To clean a leo’s tank properly, you’ll need to remove it and place it elsewhere. If the washing involves using chemicals, you should take your gecko to another room.
Ensure that the temporary container where you put the leo has adequate ventilation and that its floor is lined up with paper towels.
Step 2: Remove all accessories and decors and place them in a separate container
Next, you should get food and water dishes, stone decorations, hides, plants, and the substrate out of the terrarium. All these items should be placed in a separate container. You also need to unplug all heating and lighting essentials inside the cage.
Step 3: Tidy Up, Scrub, and Clean the Tank with a Brush and Sponge
Since the cage is empty, much cleaning should focus on the glass walls. You can use a sponge to clean the soft surfaces and a brush to scrub off notorious stains. Remember to use baking soda, diluted bleach, or water pastes to remove stubborn stains such as poop marks on the glass walls.
Also, cleaning disinfectants will go a long way to kill bacteria or germs inside the cage. Lastly, you must rinse the tank with warm water to eliminate all materials used during cleaning. Once the terrarium is sparkless and clean, rub down each nook and cranny with a dry cloth. This will help dry the tank and remove all remaining marks and stains.
Step 4: Wash the Accessories, Decors, and Substrate
Once you’re done with the tank, you should focus on indoor accessories. Water dishes and feeding bowls should be cleaned with hot water without chemicals.
If you have hiding spots such as rocks or wood piles, clean them with hot water to kill all the germs. You must also replace or clean the substrates.
Step 5: Bathe Your Leopard Gecko
It makes no sense to clean the entire tank and return the lizard to it without bathing it. Dip your leopard gecko in warm water, ensuring that the water is below knee level, so the lizard does not drown.
Gently clean the leo’s skin using the soft brush, taking care not to injure them but being diligent enough to wash off all the dirt and debris. Once clean, pat the leo with a soft towel for it to dry.
Step 6: Return the Accessories to the Terrarium
Once everything is clean and dry, carefully return it to its place, starting with the substrate. Then add the decorations, other accessories, and the feeding and water dishes.
Plug in the lighting and lighting appliances and ensure they are working correctly. After that, take your clean gecko and place it on the warmer side of the cage to regenerate the heat lost when bathing.
How Often Should I Change My Leopard Geckos Substrate?
The frequency of changing the substrate will depend on the type of substrate used in the terrarium. Here is a guideline on when to clean or change different kinds of leopard gecko substrates:
Reptile Carpets
Being the most preferred substrate by leo owners, reptile carpets are a safe, attractive, and excellent substrate for geckos. Essentially, this substrate should be cleaned as per the recommendation on the package. Usually, they are cleaned weekly and should be replaced after 3-4 washes, which is basically after a month.
Paper Towels
Paper towels are synonymous with leopard gecko owners that have juvenile or baby geckos as pets. They are soft and don’t irritate the leopard gecko’s skin. They make it easy for owners to spot feces and won’t cause impaction. Paper towels should be removed once wet or soiled. You’ll need to remove the entire paper towel lining 1 or 2 times per week.
Newspapers
Also ideal for baby geckos and juveniles, newspapers are safe, soft, and easy to find. However, they must be replaced once soiled or wet as they can easily lead to the growth of pathogens such as bacteria and fungi. However, the entire newspaper cover must be removed 1 or 2 times each week, whether soiled or not.
Tiles
Tiles are another fantastic option since they are durable and easy to clean. Tiles must be spot-cleaned daily and deep-cleaned outside the leo’s tank monthly.
Stones and Slate
While sand is not an ideal substrate for leopard gecko terrariums, larger stones and slate are preferred as they can’t be accidentally ingested. You must spot clean stones and slates daily and wash them thoroughly out of the cage every month.
FAQs About Cleaning a Leopard Gecko Tank
How Can I Ensure that The Tank Is Dry After Cleaning It?
Leaving your leo’s terrarium wet after cleaning can lead to fungal and bacterial growth. Therefore, ensure that you dry it with a paper towel or a soft and dry cloth. Additionally, you must air-dry the tank to reduce incidences of pathogen growth. However, please don’t put it under direct sunlight.
How Do I Safely Clean Stones and Slate Substrates?
First, you need to dip the stone in hot water and rub them with a brush or sponge. Then remove them in the water and dry them with paper towels.
How Often Should I Clean My Wooden Leopard Gecko Terrarium?
As mentioned, any leopard gecko tank should be spot-cleaned daily, light-cleaned weekly, and deep-cleaned once every month, and wood tanks are not an exception.