Hello. I am in the process of curing my two gliders from a stomach parasite. I Understand it's BEST to clean your cage (sanitize & sterilize) daily while this healing process takes effect as to prevent re-infestation.

I see many people use steam cleaners as an alternative to bleach cleaning. I purchased a portable "Shark" cleaner... Just have a few questions.

1. At what temperature do these surface parasites/bacteria die?
2. How long should I blast a stream of steam at a particular area to kill whatever is on it?
3. and the most important one.. Can someone find me the specs for the portable shark steamer? I need to find out the exact temp of the steam that comes out and if it is hot enough. I put a basic cooking thermometer in front of the nozzle and it read only 150-170 at most. I doubt this is enough to clean whatever is on the toys & cage.

edit: Returning this steamer tomorrow morning. Does not get NEARLY hot enough. You can put your hand inches away from the nozzle and it feels hot, but not as hot as even a hot shower. And even CLOSE to being hot enough to kill bacteria. Stay away from this product.

Wait wait. You are not ever going to be able to kill all bacteria. And they won't make a product that is going to zap someone's skin off. The Shark is a very good steam cleaner and does a great job for what it does. I use mine often and love it. Are you dealing with giardia? If so, while its a lot of work to take care of it, there are some relatively simple things to do to clean things.

Def agree with aimee. STeam cleaners are a great easy way to clean a cage. I dont have a Shark but mine doesnt get hot enough to to classify as a hot shower and when im done I find a pile of poop and food on the floor afterwords. Unless you pay a grand or so, most steamcleaners are going to be iffy when heating up. Sometimes mine gets warm and sometimes it gets really hott. Now what would I do? I would spray it down with a cleaner first and let it sit while the steamer warms up. Then steam clean it for extra measure. Try using some vinegar water or cage cleaning spray before steam cleaning it.

Guys, he is talking about sanitizing to treat a PARASITE. I think that the bacteria is not so much of an issue. Treating for a parasite is much different than just using a steam cleaner to clean.

It is funny, because I have been working on a post about this on TSS for a week or so. I'll just copy and paste it here.


Here is what *I* do.

I move the gliders to a smaller cage. They will survive a few weeks in a smaller cage and it cuts down the chances that I am transferring something around the house.

I also put that cage in a room in my home that does not have carpet. Usually, I keep gliders with a parasite in a smaller travel size cage in the bathroom.

I also remove ALL fabric items from the cage except the pouch they are in. Only plastic items otherwise. I keep two sets of toys for the gliders during this time and use them every other day.

Each day, I fill the steam cleaner (I have a wagner) and turn it on. I fill a stock pot with water and put it on to boil.

I bring with me the clean toys, a clean pouch and two empty plastic bags to do my cleaning.

I put a button down shirt over my clothes and I use those slip on shoe covers from the hospital. But, you can also use a pair of slippers or shoes that you just keep in that room.

I then remove everything from the cage (including the gliders in their pouch). I put the glider's pouch in a day tripper and then I move the small cage into the bathtub. I put everything else into a plastic bag (except the wheel, which I leave in the cage). I spray the cage down with a strong bleach solution (usually like 25% - 50% bleach) and let it sit. I also spray down the wheel. After letting them sit for about 5 minutes, I return to the cage and rinse it with hot water from the shower. Then I run over the entire cage (ESP. the bottom grate) and wheel with my steam cleaner.

I wipe them down with a towel and throw the towel in the washing machine (which is in the bathroom). Otherwise, I would put the towel in a plastic bag for carrying to the washing machine.

I then transfer the gliders to the clean pouch and put the dirty pouch in the plastic bag with the toys. I put their clean pouch and their second set of toys in the cage and then repeat this cleaning process with the day tripper real quick.

I am now finished with their cage.

Then I remove the button down shirt and shoe covers. Shoe covers go in the garbage and shirt goes in the wash with the towel. Then I run the steam cleaner over the floor.I then take the plastic bag with all the toys in it to the kitchen. I put the toys & pouch in boiling water to sterilize them and then lay them on a towel to dry so they can be used tomorrow.

I start the washing machine and when it is full of hot water, I add 1/4 - 1/2 cup bleach and run the cycle. I put the pouch, the shirt and the towel in the dryer to dry and lay them out for use the next day.

It sounds like a lot of work, but it really isn't. It does not take that long to clean a smaller cage. Usually, the ones I use during this time are 18X18X36 inches.

Sometime during this time, I also clean their regular living cage by spraying it with a strong bleach solution and letting it sit then steam cleaning it twice.

Using this method, I have never had a glider or group of rescues test positive for a parasite when they return for the follow up testing. I have never worried about how hot the steam gets. It has proven to be sufficient to do the job thus far.

how do you sanitize the pouch? Boil it? I Figure the bleach would ruin the color of the pouch.

As I said above, I boil the pouch. But, personally, I could care less if the color of my pouch is ruined. I am much more concerned with the health of my gliders than the appearance of my replaceable pouch.

To kill parasites, there are certain solutions vets usually use... some parasites can survive high temperatures since they make cysts.

I can't submerge my cage in bleach.. can I wipe it down with soaking sopping wet sponge with a bleach solution so its more or less wet on all sides? Then rinse and dry.

From above - you don't HAVE to submerge the cage:

Just wanted to say that Alex has been doing a great job as a glider daddy and Val has been ENORMOUSLY helpful to him (shocker Val, shocker haha). Alex, follow the plan that Val wrote out above, and you should be good. If anyone is going to know how to kick a parasite, it's Val lol....

I'm going to text you now to see how things are going....