As a part 3 of my ongoing tank journal about housing a Spectacled Caiman and and American Crocodile together, Ive decided to dedicate today's update to tank cleaning. Why? Because, its done differently then other reptiles. Its closer to how one would clean a fish tank but not quite.
First of all spot cleaning a tank with these animals in it is very difficult. Its generally easier if your just housing Caiman's as they are more relaxed but add in the crocodile and its a whole different ball game. Why? Because the crocodile will come at your hand at least once. Its a feeding response, though I have had them also do it out of a defensive posture. As a result its not really an option. As such here is how I clean the tank on a weekly basis. Sometimes twice a week. I remove both animals first, at the same time. I do it at the same time because if you do either one first the other will jump out while your dealing with the first. I then set them in a large tub with a closing lid and set them off to the side. I then drain 99% of the tanks water by a siphon. At this point I go and hand sculpt their sand to reform their beach which is usually has eroded a bit or been dug into. I then clean out the filter. Now if you recall from a previous entry, my substrate is Zoo Med Repti-Sand (Black). This was not designed for aquatic use. As a result I have to take a few extra steps I might not normally take. One of with is fitting a screening material I cut myself into my filters intake just after the large matter removing sponge but before that charcoal filter to catch and bits of sand as the impeller on the pump does not like them at all. Also one has to be careful when adding water but Ill get to that later. Why do I us this? Because, both animals are prone to eating moderate quantities of their substrate. If I use reef tank coral sand the sharp edges can easily kill the animals in under a week. Same with tumbled glass beads. Generally every substrate I have found poses one of two risks to the animals, (some like anything made of glass poses both), the first being death by intestinal bleeding, the other being a serious blockage. These guys are really too small to open up if they ingest something way to large for them to pass. As a result I need something that is actually designed to be eaten by a reptile, and very very few are. Thus the Repti-sand. I could use large river stones way to big for them to eat sure but then you run into the problem of them wanting to rearrange the stones, sometimes quite forcefully, in a glass tank. I could glue the stones down true, but then I'm kind of committed to using this tank just for that aren't I?
After I have removed all the water and sculpted the sand back the way it should be and cleaned/re-screened my filter I go ahead and put in new water. The water I use is tap water with a chlorine neutralizing agent, plus 1 tablespoon of salt for each gallon of water. The salt will go a long way to help keeping any bacteria in the water down, and these guys are often found naturally not far off of salt water down here near river mouths and such. In fact I would go so far as to say it helps them a bit, but this is purely my opinion from observations and I have no data to back this up so take it with a grain of...you guessed it. I'm not using US tap water. This stuff doesn't have nearly the chemical load it does in the States. Adding new water also requires some forethought as if I just bring in my 5 gallon jug and pour it in it will stir up all the sand and leave a lot of it suspended in the water for up to an hour, meaning I have to delay turning the pump back on until most of it has settled. I get around this by placing a large reptile basking house in the tank and pouring the water onto its roof, thus stopping its fall and scattering it in all directions. This avoids the problem entirely. Once the water is up to the level I like then I get some paper towels and clean the glass inside and out, using Windex on both. "Wait did you just say you use Windex INSIDE the tank?!" Yes. I did. They are not in there and the tank will have about 10 more minutes to vent out before they do go back in. Ive asked people over the years and as of yet no one can provide me with anything showing a reptile was harmed or killed, or any animal actually, by any residue left by Windex. I don't put it directly in the water. I spray it on a paper towel then use that to clean the glass.
Now onto the tank accessories. The aquatic log needs to be cleaned. I take it out a day prior and let it bake in the tropical sun all day so it will UV sterilize, then on cleaning day I bring it in and give it a stiff scrubbing with a brush before I mist it with a 25/75 alcohol-water mix. After its totally dry it will be put back in. Same goes for the other things like fake vines and plants though they don't get the day long sun treatment. I don't bother leaning the sand and Ill tell you why. 1: Its a huge pain. Wet, there's about 100lbs of it in there and there is no practical way to do it. 2: I don't really need to. Remember, these guys spend 99% of their time in the water moving around. They stir up the sand in little bits 24 hours a day. As a result anything in the sand will eventually get filtered out. I don't worry about bacteria. These are not fish, nor sensitive animals like salamanders. Anything too big to get suspended in the water where the filter can get it is left sitting on top of the sand and with a quick swirl with my hand before I drain the water, all of that piles up in the middle of the tank where I can suck it up with the siphon.
At this point everything is done. All that's left is to creatively rearrange EVERYTHING! Why? Because, it provides them hours of stimulation as they go and re-explore their tank. The difference when they first go back in is night an day between rearranging it and leaving it all as it was last week. I also cycle different accessories in and out of the tank. I generally take the opportunity to occasionally hide, bits of food in the leaves and such. These guy's have amazing noses and they WILL find ALL of it within about 20 minutes. Even buried.
All that's left to do is place the girls back in, re-lock the lid, and replace the lights. Done. Total time? About 30 minutes.
First of all spot cleaning a tank with these animals in it is very difficult. Its generally easier if your just housing Caiman's as they are more relaxed but add in the crocodile and its a whole different ball game. Why? Because the crocodile will come at your hand at least once. Its a feeding response, though I have had them also do it out of a defensive posture. As a result its not really an option. As such here is how I clean the tank on a weekly basis. Sometimes twice a week. I remove both animals first, at the same time. I do it at the same time because if you do either one first the other will jump out while your dealing with the first. I then set them in a large tub with a closing lid and set them off to the side. I then drain 99% of the tanks water by a siphon. At this point I go and hand sculpt their sand to reform their beach which is usually has eroded a bit or been dug into. I then clean out the filter. Now if you recall from a previous entry, my substrate is Zoo Med Repti-Sand (Black). This was not designed for aquatic use. As a result I have to take a few extra steps I might not normally take. One of with is fitting a screening material I cut myself into my filters intake just after the large matter removing sponge but before that charcoal filter to catch and bits of sand as the impeller on the pump does not like them at all. Also one has to be careful when adding water but Ill get to that later. Why do I us this? Because, both animals are prone to eating moderate quantities of their substrate. If I use reef tank coral sand the sharp edges can easily kill the animals in under a week. Same with tumbled glass beads. Generally every substrate I have found poses one of two risks to the animals, (some like anything made of glass poses both), the first being death by intestinal bleeding, the other being a serious blockage. These guys are really too small to open up if they ingest something way to large for them to pass. As a result I need something that is actually designed to be eaten by a reptile, and very very few are. Thus the Repti-sand. I could use large river stones way to big for them to eat sure but then you run into the problem of them wanting to rearrange the stones, sometimes quite forcefully, in a glass tank. I could glue the stones down true, but then I'm kind of committed to using this tank just for that aren't I?
After I have removed all the water and sculpted the sand back the way it should be and cleaned/re-screened my filter I go ahead and put in new water. The water I use is tap water with a chlorine neutralizing agent, plus 1 tablespoon of salt for each gallon of water. The salt will go a long way to help keeping any bacteria in the water down, and these guys are often found naturally not far off of salt water down here near river mouths and such. In fact I would go so far as to say it helps them a bit, but this is purely my opinion from observations and I have no data to back this up so take it with a grain of...you guessed it. I'm not using US tap water. This stuff doesn't have nearly the chemical load it does in the States. Adding new water also requires some forethought as if I just bring in my 5 gallon jug and pour it in it will stir up all the sand and leave a lot of it suspended in the water for up to an hour, meaning I have to delay turning the pump back on until most of it has settled. I get around this by placing a large reptile basking house in the tank and pouring the water onto its roof, thus stopping its fall and scattering it in all directions. This avoids the problem entirely. Once the water is up to the level I like then I get some paper towels and clean the glass inside and out, using Windex on both. "Wait did you just say you use Windex INSIDE the tank?!" Yes. I did. They are not in there and the tank will have about 10 more minutes to vent out before they do go back in. Ive asked people over the years and as of yet no one can provide me with anything showing a reptile was harmed or killed, or any animal actually, by any residue left by Windex. I don't put it directly in the water. I spray it on a paper towel then use that to clean the glass.
Now onto the tank accessories. The aquatic log needs to be cleaned. I take it out a day prior and let it bake in the tropical sun all day so it will UV sterilize, then on cleaning day I bring it in and give it a stiff scrubbing with a brush before I mist it with a 25/75 alcohol-water mix. After its totally dry it will be put back in. Same goes for the other things like fake vines and plants though they don't get the day long sun treatment. I don't bother leaning the sand and Ill tell you why. 1: Its a huge pain. Wet, there's about 100lbs of it in there and there is no practical way to do it. 2: I don't really need to. Remember, these guys spend 99% of their time in the water moving around. They stir up the sand in little bits 24 hours a day. As a result anything in the sand will eventually get filtered out. I don't worry about bacteria. These are not fish, nor sensitive animals like salamanders. Anything too big to get suspended in the water where the filter can get it is left sitting on top of the sand and with a quick swirl with my hand before I drain the water, all of that piles up in the middle of the tank where I can suck it up with the siphon.
At this point everything is done. All that's left is to creatively rearrange EVERYTHING! Why? Because, it provides them hours of stimulation as they go and re-explore their tank. The difference when they first go back in is night an day between rearranging it and leaving it all as it was last week. I also cycle different accessories in and out of the tank. I generally take the opportunity to occasionally hide, bits of food in the leaves and such. These guy's have amazing noses and they WILL find ALL of it within about 20 minutes. Even buried.
All that's left to do is place the girls back in, re-lock the lid, and replace the lights. Done. Total time? About 30 minutes.
