Bacterial Illness and Cage Cleaning

[jk0801]

I would like to reuse a cage/perches/toys but here's a little backstory:
Back in April I had gotten a young parrotlet (maybe 7 months old) from a pet store and about a week after bringing him home he became extremely ill. After bringing him to a vet I found out he had a bacterial imbalance that the vet said my bird probably had since being at the pet store. Over the next couple days after getting medication I had to hand feed my bird and he quickly got so bad and passed away. It was absolutely heart breaking and me and my friends had been feeding him every few hours and kept him warm but it just wasn't enough. Being sick and in a new place must have just been too much for him. After contacting the pet store and letting them know about what had happened, I never even got a response back.

After some grieving, I am finally ready to open my heart to a new parrotlet (from a reputable breeder or rescue) and want to make sure that this bird is super healthy and I do all I can to ensure that it has a good and long life.

So long story short.... I was wondering if anyone had any cleaning tips for completely making sure whatever traces of bacteria are gone from this cage. I know birds are super sensitive to certain cleaning methods so I'd like to know what works for everyone else. Also if it is possible to clean/disinfect reuse any perches (rope or otherwise), toys, or anything of that nature or if it would be best to buy all new stuff.

Thanks!!

 

[birdle]

When my bird got a Clostridium bacterial infection the vet advised me to use a diluted water and vinegar spray and spray everything, soak it in vinegar then rinse and then bake what could be baked at like 125 degrees Fahrenheit and I am so sorry about the loss of your bird. next time be sure the store, rescue or breeder has a health guarantee those can be very helpful.

 

[jk0801]

Yes, I was told there was a health guarantee and they covered birds for 30 days but after reading the fine print on the website it said that they only cover illnesses if you take the bird to the vet within 24 hours of receiving it (which now I understand is most places) and they don't cover anything bacterial anyway which makes me feel like it happens a lot, especially with the small birds. Next time will be much different and i'm making sure I take all the necessary precautions to make sure I get a happy and healthy bird.

But thanks for the advice! I'll try that. Do you know approximately what the vinegar to water ratio would be or just wing it? (pun intended )

 

[JosienBB]

Welcome to the Avenue and I'm sorry for your loss.

F10 is a veterinary grade disinfectant and used by many on AA. F10 Biocare Disinfectant Concentrate - Discounted USA

 

[Macaw Lover]

Yep, just get yourself some F10 and use that. Vinegar ain't going to do a good enough job.

 

[birdle]

Well luckily for me my bird has tested negative for Clostridium since then and ain't gotten it again, so it did do a good enough job for me. I do have a bottle of F10 now but prefer to use vinegar.

 

[jk0801]

Oh wow, that whole website looks like it has a lot of good supplies!! Looks like i'll be perusing that for a while

Thank you for the suggestions, I really appreciate it! I'll definitely pick up some F10
I've tried cleaning with vinegar before and now that perch will forever smell like vinegar lol thats why I had asked about the ratio since apparently I used way too much last time

 

[Lady Jane]

Vinegar is a good cleaner but not bacteriacidel. Get the F10. So sorry you lost the little one. To be safe I would get new toys and perches unless they can soak in the F10.