Smelly old tank

[willpash]

Hi, first post here, what a great site though, love reading it.

We've got two bearded dragons, about a year old, one is growing much quicker than the other so I've decided to separate them for a bit to see how the smaller one goes.

I picked up a tank on Gum Tree pretty cheap, it's a good size and all the electrics work, the thing is it stinks. The poor snake that had been in there before must have had it tough.

I've scrubbed the tank interior (painted plywood), left a packet of bicarb of soda in there for a fortnight, sprayed and scrubbed with various kitchen cleaners until there isn't a stain in there but the odour remains, not quite as bad, but it's never going to get into the house unless my wife leaves me.

Any tips on this? Will a lick of new paint solve it? Or more drastic action required?
Thanks

 

[Chris1]

i'd sand it back and repaint,...poor previous resident.

 

[user 30368]

I find F10 gets rid of stinky snake smells in my wooden vivs.

 

[Bluetongue1]

Sounds to me like the wood has not been properly sealed and has absorbed wastes. Either you have joins that are not sealed or whatever the paint is that has been used is not an effective sealant. Whichever, I would strip the paint off (paint stripper is relatively painless) and give the exposed timber a good going over with a strong household bleach. Then give it a thorough scrub and rinse with hot water and a couple of days of sunshine to thoroughly dry out and lose the bleach smell. 3 or 4 coats of polyurethane will totally seal the timber surfaces while the joins should be caulked with aquarium silicon or silastic, to completely seal the internal surfaces of the viv. You can paint over the surfaces if you want. Properly sealed surfaces can then be washed with household bleach or something like F10 and all odours will disappear with the one cleaning effort.

Blue

 

[wildthings]

I agree with blue, sounds like you have done all you can to get the smell out, it might be that it was not done right in the first place and you'll be better off in the long run to just sand and do it properly, you really don't want this issue to deal with every time you clean it out, and it'll make your wife happy LOL

 

[Woma_Wild]

Not an expert by any means but odours are usually a sign of bacteria.
I would clean it out with bleach, give it a good rinse and leave outdoors to air out.
Once the odour has gone, I would do as advised above- sand it back and if you want it left plain, seal it, roof, floor and sides.
You can use a good fish pond sealer following instructions on can. Let it cure then give it a good rinse.
I use Crommelins Clear Pond Sealer.
Actually, I'd do this to any second hand timber enclosure. Who knows what nasties are harbouring in them.

 

[willpash]

Thanks everyone, great advice and will keep me busy this weekend. Will let you know how it goes. Cheers!