Crocodile turns orange after eating filter

MELBOURNE, Sept. 27 (UPI) -- An Australian woman whose 8-foot crocodile turned bright orange after eating the water filter from its tank does not appear to be otherwise affected.

Tracey Sandstrom, owner of Roaming Reptiles in Melbourne, said Snappy the crocodile turned a bright orange color after making a meal out of the water filter and causing the pH levels in its water to shift, the Melbourne Herald Sun reported Monday.

"Snappy's pretty territorial and he attacked the filter one day and a few weeks after that, I noticed he was orange," Sandstrom said. "It doesn't seem to have affected him at all. He's still got a healthy appetite … and [is] doing everything he always does."

Grahame Webb, a crocodile expert from Darwin, said he examined pictures of Snappy and the reptile appears perfectly healthy.

"Our guess is that it is something in the water such as iron or tannins from leaves or some red algae that oxidizes when it dries," Webb said. "It seemed significant to us that the tongue was not colored, or the inside of the angle of the jaw, which are more likely not to dry, whereas the skin would dry when they bask."