F10 Disinfectant

[PhilK]

G'day all - quick question about the dilution of F10 you use to clean your enclosures.
There's a dilution chart on the back ranging from weak to stronger depending upon what organism you want to kill - what do you normally use for cleaning down your enclosures?

 

[Ozzie Python]

i use the strongest mix, 8ml f10 : 1 litre water.

 

[Herp_Hunter]

I also go with the strongest solution- 4ml F10 for every 500ml water.
(P.s it's also good as a hand cleaner, to avoid cross-contamination ...are you using a misting bottle? )

 

[PhilK]

Only just bought some - it's pretty expensive through reptile places but I'm a vet so ordered it through work for cost price! I will be using it in a mister

 

[saintanger]

yep i use the strongest mix too, just to make sure i kill all nasties.

 

[disintegratus]

I just chuck a capful or two in a spray bottle, fill it up and hope for the best Seems to do the trick!

 

[Ramsayi]

Regardless of the mixing strength make sure you leave it in contact for the required length of time.

 

[junglelove]

Ive always used the 1ml and have never had any problems, even used that dosage in a vet clinic.

 

[Elapidae1]

I just chuck a capful or two in a spray bottle, fill it up and hope for the best Seems to do the trick!

Seems wastefull for an expensive product that would have been laboratory tested for it's safe and effective dosage rates.

Not even sure it's necessary seeing some of the large collections I know of that simply use hot water.

 

[jairusthevirus21]

strongest mix.... no point being half arsed... And i think two capfuls per spray bottle is more than enough.

 

[Snowman]

some people would be wasting their time and money. The effectivness of it is dependant on strength of solution as well as time spent in contact with the surface. To spray it on and wipe it off quickly will do nothing.

"Rapid kill times – less than 30 secs for gram positive bacteria, 60 secs for gram negative bacteria, Canine Parvovirus 20 mins.
Successfully tested against avian influenza (bird flu) viruses at a concentration of 1:500 in 10 mins."

 

[jairusthevirus21]

Its a pity you cant drink the stuff....

 

[Monitors_R_Us]

Cheap sites for f10 anybody? You can pm me if they are not a sponsored website.

 

[AirCooled]

With all the positives from F10 I call it dirt cheap,the love of my reps,the cost of vet bills,the piece of mind,etc.....

 

[disintegratus]

Seems wastefull for an expensive product that would have been laboratory tested for it's safe and effective dosage rates.

Not even sure it's necessary seeing some of the large collections I know of that simply use hot water.

It's not that expensive, considering how long a bottle lasts me. Even using it as "wastefully" as I do, it works out a whole lot cheaper than other branded "reptile cleaners".

 

[Snowman]

With all the positives from F10 I call it dirt cheap,the love of my reps,the cost of vet bills,the piece of mind,etc.....

I've only got 20 odd pythons and never used F10. Never had any vet bills either. It's over rated.

 

[Coastal_Girl]

Strongest mix. It kills IBD. We use heaps and also have the hand cleaner for before we handle our snakes. We also clean all our utensils in it as well as logs. Great Stuff

 

[Elapidae1]

G'day all - quick question about the dilution of F10 you use to clean your enclosures.
There's a dilution chart on the back ranging from weak to stronger depending upon what organism you want to kill - what do you normally use for cleaning down your enclosures?

I'm struggling to understand why a vet would even need to ask the question.
As a vet do you advocate keeping reptiles in as sterile as possible conditions?

- - - Updated - - -

With all the positives from F10 I call it dirt cheap,the love of my reps,the cost of vet bills,the piece of mind,etc.....

.

What are the positives other than piece of mind. Many people keep them problem free without F10 or vet bills and love their animals just as much

Strongest mix. It kills IBD. We use heaps and also have the hand cleaner for before we handle our snakes. We also clean all our utensils in it as well as logs. Great Stuff

I'd love some reading material on F10 killing IBD, this is new to me. if you can point me in the direction it would be appreciated.

 

[Marzzy]

I haven't used it yet cause haven't had the cash but as opposed to 24-25 bucks for a 600ml for a bottle of repti-clean. I know what's defiantly worth it.

 

[ChemicalEssentials]

Hi All,

Just a quick comment on dilutions and also on IBD.

Generally for reptile enclosures a 1:250 (4ml per litre) would be recommended as this will take care of all bacterial, fungal, and most viral challenges. Using a higher concentration will do no harm but will obviously cost more. The 1:125 (8ml per litre) dilution will, in addition to pathogens listed above, knock out the tougher non-enveloped viruses such as parvovirus and circovirus, and bacterial spores. And contact time is important - see the label.

Re IBD - from what I can gather the causative pathogen is not yet absolutely confirmed, but its believed to be a retrovirus of some kind. Please note that we do not have any specific test on IBD itself (in response to the comment from Elapidae1) which is hardly surprising given the disease pathogen has not been properly identified yet. However, as its assumed at this point to be retrovirus, it should in theory be easily killed by F10 - retroviruses are enveloped and not particularly resistant to disinfectants, as an example HIV which is also a retrovirus is killed by F10 at 1:200.

Last note - mixing F10 by the capful - wouldn't recommend it unless you've gone to the effort of at least measuring the capful and having a rough idea of what dilution you're ending up with. Fine to do it if you do know, but you may be using far too much (wasting money in this case) or you may even be using too little in which case you may not be getting the disinfection you're expecting. So if unknown at this point, try measuring what goes into a normal "capful" - you may be surprised!

Hope this helps,

Andrew Chalmers
Chemical Essentials Pty Ltd (F10 agents in Aus)