Habitat - Indoor :: Kinda got a little worried about my baby..

[hoojib88]

So I have sand as my substrate and it's great but we're kinda confused on how to clean it.. I bought a crawfish to help but, ugh.. he's lazy. So I would like to know any tips on how to clean the sand without cleaning the whole tank. We don't have a python or anything because we're worried about it just sucking up our sand. Anyway.. What if your turtle eats the sand? I fed Captain Pockets some blueberries for the first time today and she loved them. She loved them so much that when part of the skin from one of the blueberries got down in the sand she started digging with her hands and mouth! OH MY GOSH! I got really scared and kinda angry.. Like how you do when your dog or cat does something wrong. ...... Help us..

[Chrisbarnett]

Okay well any siphon will do fine with cleaning the tank, you just have to keep the intake of the siphon a few inches away from the substrate at all times. Otherwise it will suck up the sand if it gets too close. For cleaning things like poop right off the sand, you can carefully put the siphon about 1/2" above the sand and it will pick up the poop and the sand will stay put because it is heavier. Sand is heavier in water than you think.

If your turtle eats it, the sand is such fine grain that it should pass through your turtles tract just fine. Don't worry, just watch for a few days to make sure your turtle is pooping.

[mat012]

I agree with Chris, you should use a vacuum or python. The sand wont get sucked up (well maybe some will but very small amounts if that happens). It is heavier than the debris. I can actually hold the vacuum quite close to the sand but mine is not as fine as Chris's. It has larger particles that are probably a bit heavier.

Alternately you can stir up the sand (turn off your filter) and then net out the debris. This will work too but the python is more efficient.

On the eating the sand -- as my mother used to say "this too shall pass..."

[hoojib88]

Phew!!! That's good!! Pongo is healthy she had a huge dump today it was huge!!! I've never seen anything so large come out of a turtle.. Maybe the sand helped...

[Chrisbarnett]

lmao. Good to hear she's healthy and happy.