Some folks have been waiting for the F10 product to hit the reptile market for quite some time.

We got our first order in this week, it is now up at our site, 3 different sizes. There are three main distributors for it in the U.S., Pro Exotics is one.

F10 is also offered by BHB and John Berry, and soon in other retailers and breeders as well : )

Some product info below. F10 is replacing Virosan/Chlorhexidine in the PE facility.

F10SC (super concentrate) veterinary disinfectant is an EPA approved hospital grade disinfectant. It is used in many of the world’s leading veterinary hospitals and zoological institutions as well as by leading reptile, avian and exotic pet breeders and keepers. F10 disinfectant is widely recognized as the most effective, safest and economical total spectrum disinfectant on the market.

F10 is non-corrosive, non-toxic, non-irritating and aldehyde free so has no adverse effects on people, animals, equipment or surfaces. It has been proven effective at safe concentrations against all types of bacteria, fungi and spores including MRSA, avian influenza, psittacine beak and feather disease, canine parvovirus, e.coli, aspergillus and a host of others.

F10SC Veterinary Disinfectant can be used in a wide range of applications — disinfecting cages, water bowls, floors, racks, shelving, perches and toys, food preparation areas, inside incubators, washing eggs and decontaminating hands. F10SC can also be applied as a fog or fine spray to mist rooms to eradicate airborne microbes and to stop cross contamination.

F10SC is active against bacteria, fungi and spores. It is an excellent product for achieving a high level of biosecurity effectively and safely as it poses no hazard to yourself and is completely safe to use in presence of animals when used at recommended concentrations.

F10 products are non- toxic, non-corrosive & biodegradable.

F10SC can be sprayed on and left to disinfect after cleaning with no need to rinse off. Unlike many other products F10 stays active providing an ongoing residual effect.
The recommended dilution rates of F10SC are:

* General disinfection at 1:500 (2ml in 1 liter of water)
* High level disinfection against bacteria, fungi and most viruses at 1:250 (4ml to 1 liter of water)
* For use against the most resistant viruses such as Parvovirus or PBFD at 1:125 (8ml in 1 liter or water)

We use F10 at Pro Exotics in the 1:250 dilution. That is a one liter water spray bottle mix with 4 ml of added F10 concentrate. Each bottle of F10SC includes a measuring pour spout.

I have heard of this product and it was only good things. Is there an odor? Do you wear gloves when using it or not? How do you clean water bowls? Do you soak them or spray and then rinse?

Thanks,
Dan

I'm very intrigued by this product. I think that I may have to give it a shot...

There is a slight non-offensive odor. In dilution, you shouldn't need gloves. Even the concentrate doesn't aggravate my skin.

The same active F10 ingredient is used in a wide range of products including hand soap, wet wipes, F10 cleaner (including a surfactant/soap) and hand gels. Those products will become available as they finish jumping through all of the EPA hoops. They sell them in Europe as well as other markets currently.

For full effectiveness, you are to spray the area/cage/surface and let sit for 10 minutes. Basically spray it on and let it air dry. You do not need to wipe it back off.

For water bowl use, I would soak the water bowls for 10 minutes as part of the washing/cleaning routine.

Thanks for the response. This is an exciting new product as I don't care for bleach because of the risks and the smell.

Dan

Great product!

I LOVE F10, but HATE the price

F10 is very good, been using it for a year now

i fog my reptile room once a week and use it to clean the tubs and bowls

if you get an RI ir really helps to fog the snake a couple of times a day and i used it to treat a snake that had a patch of scale rot from sitting in itw waterbowl too long

price is very reasonable when you buy the concentrate as it lasts a long time-I am only a hobbiest though with 30 adults and 30 ish holdbacks/grow ons

been using F10 for a few months already. the price is steep but at the standard maintenance dilution rate of around 1:500 it goes a long way. I highly recommend using a pump style garden sprayer to dispense any disinfectant. It delivers a fine mist that wil give you complete coverage without the wasteful overspray that a regular spray bottle gives.

I love F10. A few months ago I started a thread asking people about it. I eventually found it a some random place called mysafebirdstore.com. It was expensive, but I'm glad you guys have it now it is cheaper. It is a great disinfectant. It is also very usful in getting rid of RI's. Great product all around.

Anyone had it actually help clear up an RI? I used it on a number of animals with no success

Anyone had it actually help clear up an RI? I used it on a number of animals with no success

I have my doubts that F10 can eradicate an RI although people claim it can. I believe what it does is it helps keep other ever-present opportunistic pathogens in the reptiles respiratory tract at bay while the snake can deal with overcoming the RI which is already systemic and can't be "scrubbed clean" from the outside. It helps give the snake a helping hand in the healing process whilte it's immune system is already taxed. It's usually secondary invaders that kill a snake with an RI. F10 is not an antibiotic.

Sometimes I use virosan on a papertowel to clean off a BP who has just laid eggs. Can I do this with F10? Can I use it if I have a scratch on a snake by directly rubbing it on a snakes wound like I would with Virosan?

Thanks,
Bill

i use it to wipe off females who have just laid, i also use it on a piece of kitchen towel on eggs i have cut to keep them moist and nasties out.

with RIs it reduces symptoms while the baytril/ceftazidime kicks in

The 100ml container makes 25 one liter spray bottles at the hospital grade disinfectant level, or 50 one liter spray bottles at the general use level.

That is either 64 cents a liter, or 32 cents a liter. Not expensive at all.

If you buy the 200ml container, that cost is reduced to 50 cents and 25 cents.

I am waiting to get some comparison charts back from the manufacturer, but from the presentation they have given to BHB and I, F10 is a much more effective killer, on a much wider variety of "bugs". It seems to be a truly spectacular product.

It also does not go bad once you mix it. We are phasing out our Virosan sales completely and moving 100% to F10.

Anyone had it actually help clear up an RI? I used it on a number of animals with no success

Yes I have. This breeding season I had a female pin get an RI. I mixed the F10 into the water container of my zoomed fogger and fogged her for about 2weeks straight. There’s a technical term for it, but it’s a big word and I forgot it too. There was an episode on Snakebytes.tv about how to cure sick snakes that will give you a better explanation.

Heres that episode it start at about 2:50... so you can skip the other stuff
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJCnPfuqaBM

that word is called nebulization

I did that to no avail on a couple animals

Went through a lot of F10 real fast doing it too.

Just saying it didnt work for me, which Brian says it may not work as well. Obviously one cant expect it to work on every animal.

As a disinfectant I liked it a lot, though I cant help but wonder

What makes it any better than MUCH cheaper other Quaternary Ammonium compounded disinfectants?

I did that to no avail on a couple animals

Went through a lot of F10 real fast doing it too.

Just saying it didnt work for me, which Brian says it may not work as well. Obviously one cant expect it to work on every animal.

As a disinfectant I liked it a lot, though I cant help but wonder

What makes it any better than MUCH cheaper other Quaternary Ammonium compounded disinfectants?

I have been using Virosan for three years and I have never had a sick snake or a sick rat ever. I use Virosan for cleaning everything and it has been awesome. But if Pro Exotics is only selling F10 that will work for me. Those guys carry the best husbandry supplies. I will use the rest of my Virosan before buying the F10.

Bill

I had a young male breeder ball python develop an RI. I started treating him with the F10 and shots of tylan. After about a month of treatment with no improvement a friend suggested I just leave him alone for two weeks and all of a sudden he was fine. No signs of RI and back on food a few weeks later. Maybe it was the F10 but maybe not? Before I got the F10 I put a small amount of Listerine in the nebulizer and had great success so who knows!:dunno: