Built my caiman tank today

[davo]

yea, it would be a bit of a pain trying to keep a pest free ecosystem i guess. i couldnt chance it when i used to keep snails and land hermit crabs and had to just change the soil every so often

 

[dacox]

im not sure i agree with your statement.. where is he gonna get a dish/ bowl for it when its bigger

Serving tray, big plate, rubbermaid lid, etc. How big of meals do you think he will be eating? Or, like I said, you could feed by hand or from tongs.

... and impaction problems result from either accidental ingestion or intentional ingestion resulting from improper husbandry. In the latter case, it is the husbandry which must be addressed, not the choice of substrate. Providing an improper substrate does not get to the root of the problem. Yes, it can solve impaction issues, but some other error in husbandry, which at that point is obviously affecting the animal, is still going unaddressed.

There should not be any problem keeping any herp on soil. If it is maintained and spot cleaned on a regular basis, there is no need to worry about creating a "living system that will decompose waste." Just take the waste out. It would be naive to think that anyone could create a fully functional, waste decomposing, ecosystem in a typical herp enclosure. No matter what the substrate, enclosures need to be spot cleaned to remove the waste, no matter how densely planted it is. If this is done on a regular basis, there should be no waste build-up.

I do agree though, if soil is used, the enclosure needs to be totally waterproof. Even if you don't use soil, it would still be a good idea to fiberglass the inside or cover it with FRP board since it will be housing a caiman and it will no doubt cause wear on it.

rayman-

I have seen crocs kept successfully on grass too, and they seemed to be happy on it.

 

[cockroach]

more pics, looking good so far