Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I recently moved my baby American Alligator from his tank to a much, much larger setup. I have two 600 gallon swimming pools, one of which is completely filled with water and no substrate (make replacing water regularly a sinch) while the other one has a substrate of smooth stones, two area with large ones and the rest with small ones. I have a basking lamp set over one of the ovals of large stones and a heat lamp over one side of the water. I made a ramp that connects the two swimming pools so that he can climp back and forth. Now here is the problem: i know that he can climb the ramp both ways because i have induced him to do so with food, placing him on the beginning, etc. And when i put him on the land pool, the next morning he will be in the water, so he can go over the ramp that way. but i have NEVER seen him go from land to water and just bask. It's really worrying me because i know he needs to bask to stay healthy, but in weeks now i have not seen him bask. He seems very skittish about the new setup, even after some weeks. He still eats perfectly fine. My question i suppose is this: he will know if he MUST bask or risk hurting himself, so he WILL find his way up the ramp to the other side in search of basking areas? Or is it possible that he is so scared/stupid/whatever that he could just keep in the water side 24/7 and be sick. Like i said, i have UVA and UVB on the water side, but... i dont think it gets basking temps hot. Any input is greatly appreciated. I will post a picture of the setup as soon as i get my digital camera back..

"but i have NEVER seen him go from land to water and just bask."

should be:

but i have NEVER seen him go from WATER to LAND and just bask.

Blah, ONE more think.. all his life i've fed him whole, live mice, with goldfish thrown into his water as snacks for if he gets hungry. And he isn't quite the baby i described.. he's almost 3 feet.. so a juvenile.

arent 2 600 gal enclosures pretty large area? If your guy is only 3 feet, i bet he's pretty freak about being in such an open area. Give him time. He he needs to bask he will. There might not be enough temperature gradient on the land. Get a thermometere and get that basking spot up to mid 90's. That will promotoe basking. Plus if he hasnt eaten for a while, he doesnt really need to bask since there's nothing to digest.

Check temps, give a place to hide on the land, and give more time. as long s its alert and healthy dont worry. Eons of evolution wont just disappear because you moved it to a new cage.

>>I recently moved my baby American Alligator from his tank to a much, much larger setup. I have two 600 gallon swimming pools, one of which is completely filled with water and no substrate (make replacing water regularly a sinch) while the other one has a substrate of smooth stones, two area with large ones and the rest with small ones. I have a basking lamp set over one of the ovals of large stones and a heat lamp over one side of the water. I made a ramp that connects the two swimming pools so that he can climp back and forth. Now here is the problem: i know that he can climb the ramp both ways because i have induced him to do so with food, placing him on the beginning, etc. And when i put him on the land pool, the next morning he will be in the water, so he can go over the ramp that way. but i have NEVER seen him go from land to water and just bask. It's really worrying me because i know he needs to bask to stay healthy, but in weeks now i have not seen him bask. He seems very skittish about the new setup, even after some weeks. He still eats perfectly fine. My question i suppose is this: he will know if he MUST bask or risk hurting himself, so he WILL find his way up the ramp to the other side in search of basking areas? Or is it possible that he is so scared/stupid/whatever that he could just keep in the water side 24/7 and be sick. Like i said, i have UVA and UVB on the water side, but... i dont think it gets basking temps hot. Any input is greatly appreciated. I will post a picture of the setup as soon as i get my digital camera back..

Hi there:

I have had the same problem with some of the larger turtles I have kept. He is probably like my painted turtle; he basks while you're gone, but takes to the water in search of cover when you enter the room. I would recommend adding some pond plants on the waters surface to help him blend in. As the gator grows larger, it will probably not do this anymore. Keep the enclosure- 2 600 gallon pools- now that is a great setup!

DAVE

Thanks! About the running into the water when i approach thing.. i wish that were the case. You see, the ramp is fairly large and is like a pyramid over the sides of the pools. THere would never be enough time for him to climb the ramp to the other side before i saw him. What worries me is that he cannot SEE the dry pool when he's in the water pool. All he sees is a ramp going up. So he'd have to know to climb up the ramp, and THEN at the top he'd see the dry side. I worry that because all he sees is a ramp that looks like it's going to nowhere, he doesn't bother to explore. Another thing is that since he's so skittish, he's probably afraid to explore.

Hi there:

I might recommend lowering the dry ramp a little bit, so its slightly above the water line. That way he could see it was land easier. I wouldn't worry about it. If its perfectly capable of climbing from the water onto land, than perhaps it simply isn't a "land-loving gator." If you never see him on the dry area, I also might recommend placing a beneficial light above the pool to kill fungus while its in the water. Gators are nice because they usually don't charge at you like crocs (unless their defending their nest) and are also more hardy than crocs. Good luck!

DAVE