Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I recently aquired a 3 foot american alligator. I have kept other crocodilians and have read C Dieters book and feel I am capable of caring for this alligator. The previous handler had him in an undersized habitat and I want to build him a better home for now. In C Dieter's book in the pictures it showed a habitat that had a white basking area, what is it? Can I paint or seal plywood? I am thinking of building a 5 X 4 water area a couple of feet deep and a 3 X 4 basking area. Will this work for a year until I can build a better place in our cellar? Any suggestions?

The photo in CD's book is made of cement and was poured into the basement of a house. The cement works very well but has to me maintained to keep it looking that clean as the irregular surface tends to collect algae.

You could use plywood if you put a nice thick coating of epoxy paint on it to seal the water out. Some people will build a form using wood or styrofoam and then build the surface using fiberglass resin. This works very will if you want to create a custom formed shape.

Bill

Do you feel the 45mil pond liners will work for the swimming area? How would you heat 300 gallons (I don't like the glass bodied heaters).

Thanks again
Mark

As for the plastic pond liner, it will depend on the individual gator as to whether it will last. I have one alligator that will periodically rake her teeth repeatedly in the same spot - eventually tearing a hole in the plastic (I want to say about 60 mil). The others never did that.

As for heating, some people place a heating devise inside the enclosure by protecting it and the cord in some way. Others pump the water to an external filter (such as a sand filter) and heat the water there.

Bill

Thanks Bill.

Hello,

Where did you find Chris Dieter's book? I just looked at Amazon.com and couldn't find it.

Thanks!

Rob

>>I recently aquired a 3 foot american alligator. I have kept other crocodilians and have read C Dieters book and feel I am capable of caring for this alligator. The previous handler had him in an undersized habitat and I want to build him a better home for now. In C Dieter's book in the pictures it showed a habitat that had a white basking area, what is it? Can I paint or seal plywood? I am thinking of building a 5 X 4 water area a couple of feet deep and a 3 X 4 basking area. Will this work for a year until I can build a better place in our cellar? Any suggestions?

Redbeard,

I did a search on "The Ultimate Guide to Crocodilians in Captivity" and bought through Barnes and Noble. I don't like using Amazon as they want too much personal information IMHO. It was $14.95 plus $3.95 shipping and handling and it was here in a couple of days.

Thank you!

>>Redbeard,
>>
>>I did a search on "The Ultimate Guide to Crocodilians in Captivity" and bought through Barnes and Noble. I don't like using Amazon as they want too much personal information IMHO. It was $14.95 plus $3.95 shipping and handling and it was here in a couple of days.