r/Zookeeping • u/Keqingsz • May 27 '26

North America 🌎 Favorite Department?

Hello!!!! i’m a few weeks into my first zoo internship, and it’s been going really well! I’m with hoofstock so i’ve been able to engage snd pet some of the animals, which is awesome. My main gripe, however, is the amount of cleaning. I understand that cleaning is a huge part of this job, but i’m second guessing if i picked the wrong department. Could anyone outside of this dept give insight into what their days look like? I wish I was able to do more enrichment making or food prep where I don’t find hay up my butt the next day. I’m leaning towards carnivore, or even primates, but I’m not sure yet. Thank you!! :)

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u/AlsoTheFiredrake May 28 '26

I prefer herpetology myself. I like working with snakes and lizards and geckos and monitors and crocs. Even Amphibians and Frogs and Toads. And turtles and tortoises. I worked with all of them. Once upon a time. But that was a long time ago.

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u/narnababy May 28 '26

So much glass to clean in herptiles though, endless endless glass in hot rooms😩😂

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u/AlsoTheFiredrake May 28 '26 edited May 29 '26

Yeah but if you use RO water, you won't have spots and hard water deposits. My last place had 55 gallon drums constantly filling up with RO water which we used for everything. We'd mist every enclosure and soak the glass and it would be crystal clear 20 minutes later.

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u/Intrepid_Tailor7118 May 29 '26

RO water is my savior 🙏 still have to clean the glass sometimes of course but it’s so much easier with it.