Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have my baby alligator snapper in a 20 gallon tank. I was told originally to do a 100% water change once a month. I just wanted a second opinion on how often you guys change your water and how much to change out at a time. Thanks a lot!

personally,i change water as needed.i only have 2 tanks with filters,1(a community tank with hatchling red-ears and 3 yearling musk turtles),gets changed only as needed,every other month or so.i add water as it evaporates,however.the other filtered cage is my spotteds,it gets changed every 2 weeks,simply because of the @#$@%$ algae build-up.if i let it go more than 2 weeks,i probably would'nt be able to see them through the green water.the other cages are 5 gal or under,so i don't bother with filters,simply changing as needed.sometimes every 3 or 4 days,sometimes weekly,depending on how messy they are.the ally was recently moved up to a 10 gal,so it only gets changed every 2 weeks.bottom line,if it looks dirty,change it.use dechlorinated water;bottled,treated yourself,or simply left to sit for a day or so before you use it.some turtles don't seem to be affected by chlorine,some do.better safe then sorry.as far as total water changes,i believe that partial changes are just for fish tanks,unless you have a serious habitat set-up,with fish and plants,etc.sorry for being longwinded,i guess i got carried away.
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1.1 cb spotted turtles (parker(f),stinky(m))
0.0.1 cb baby red cheek mud (pickles)
0.0.1 cb baby chiapas musk (chomper)
0.0.3 wc baby stinkpots (inky,blinky,&dot)
1.1 wc eastern mud turtles (george & jane)
1.0 cb eastern painted turtle (fred)
0.0.1 mississippi map (lil' dummy)
0.0.1 cb ally snapper (gamera)
0.0.2 red-eared sliders(kaelan's classroom pets,summer babysitting)
1.0 cb06 albino corn (rusty)
0.0.1 cb07 apalachicola kingsnake
0.0.1 wc halloween crab
0.1 irritating cat (sassy )
2.0 cb children (sidney,13 & kaelan,5)
0.1 wc wife (danae,age withheld due to fears for personal safety)

"my name is inigo montoya...you killed my father.prepare to die."

Many would say once a month isn't often enough, I choose to do 30-50% water change every other weekend with my snapping turtle getting 100% change due. You'd get away with doing a normal amount and now a complete water change if you have a large enough cage and a good filter. My common snapper is already 6 years old and nearly 14'' and some 25 pounds. These guys are known to produce more waste and in general can be more messy than other species. Even with filtration you need to replace the water to get rid of the nitrate.

Thanks a lot for the responses! I am thinking about doing a 100 percent water change every 2 weeks now. Is that okay or am I taking out too much water? Thanks again!

100% is ok just turn the filter off while your adding the new water and then add dechlorinater after yet prior to turning the filter back on.

You didn't say but if you feed him in another container then the water in the "home" tank will stay cleaner. I usually feed 2 small musks in another plastic container before I go to work and then put them back in their "home" tank when I get home.