Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I got a 50gal rubbermaid tub recently and made it into a habitat for a hatchling american alligator If I use wood as a basking spot do I have to treat it/stain it and if so is there one thats safer than another? there's also a school of goldfish in his pool is this safe for them as well??

No you don't have to treat/stain the wood, and don't use treated lumber, either.

A tub that size should only be used as a "make do" (temporary), it's too small. Gators, in captivity, need aprox. 50% water/50% land mass, not just a wooden basking spot. You'll probably also need an aquarium heater to keep the water temperature up. I'm speaking from experience, I rescued a baby gator not too long ago and used a rubbermaid-type tub about the same size.

The former owner hadn't fed the baby gator at all, the whole month they had it. It was skin & bones. I had to force-feed it a rat pup because it could barely move. Took me a week and a half of experimenting with its setup before it finally got comfortable & came to life. Now its got quite a healthy body & attitude.

If you live near a bait shop (fishing) you can get more for your money by getting small shiners or large minnows. It could take a week or two for it to get settled in enough for it to start eating. They also like crickets (thrown into the water).

Below is a link to some pics of the setup I used. I used aquarium gravel to build up one side of the tub and placed a large rock on top of the gravel. I don't recommned using gravel, though. I used it because at the time, the ground was frozen and I couldn't dig up any dirt. I never fed my gator on the gravel, always in the water, and there wasn't any gravel in the bottom on the water side.

Click Here There is a link at the bottom of the page to some more pics.

Have a good one!
HH
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It is said that 1 out of every 4 people are mentally unbalanced. Think of your 3 closest friends, if they're normal, then it's you.

Oh I know this habitat is only temporary,I thought the wood would rot if not stained. also if the habitat is half land and water and the land area is wood why would this not work????

> > > I thought the wood would rot if not stained.

Yeah, it will if the wood will be in the water, but it would be many moons later. The gator will outgrow the tub before that happens.

> > > also if the habitat is half land and water and the land area is wood why would this not work????

It could work. When you said, "use wood as a basking spot," I envisioned a piece of wood just big enough for a basking spot, not as more of a land mass.
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It is said that 1 out of every 4 people are mentally unbalanced. Think of your 3 closest friends, if they're normal, then it's you.

I should have been a little more clear on the wood thing sorry thanx for the input..

LOL! That's OK!

And I didn't mean to insult your intelligence about the tub being temporary. We know it's common sense but I've seen a few people lacking that.

Have a good one!
HH
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It is said that 1 out of every 4 people are mentally unbalanced. Think of your 3 closest friends, if they're normal, then it's you.

forgot to say I have an aquaruim heater and the water temps around 80-82 and the basking area is also warm enough.... mine is healthy and eating well i'll try to get some pics up soon....

Stain doesn't protect the wood it makes it pleasing to the eye, sealants such as Polyurathane protect the wood.

In your case I wouldn't consider either, wood exspecially cypress rots slower than the animal is going to be in the temperory cage.

Best of Luck
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Jeremy

"I am become death, the destroyer of worlds" July 16, 1945 Robert Oppenheimer

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