Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,

I know that concrete pools generally make one of the best, if not THE best type of pool for crocodilians. I am kinda curious as to whether there are any safety risks for the croc in these? Would the bottom of the pool be rather rough for their skin, and cause any type of injuries possibly? I am just rather curious. I plan to build mine like that, but, I just want to get all possible problems in the air so I know how to work it.

Thanks for your time,
Stan

Stan,

Good question. It's very important that you have concrete with a smooth surface. You may even consider a special surface treatment that pool builders use. Otherwise, the crocodilian will suufer abrasions on its ventral area, or, more commonly, on the bottom of its feet. These can be difficult to treat and may become so large as to swell the foot with callouses.
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Israel Dupont
Winter Haven, FL

Yeah, I was a little curious about that. I know in alot of books/resources that you find, that concrete pools are mentioned. It would seem to me that it could be really rough and abrasive on the animals skin, in which if at least would cause some irritations. I wasn't sure if there was some type of treatments that some prefer to use over others that is non-toxic and safe to use for my gator. Thanks alot for the feedback.

Stan

To add to the commentary,

I have used both pool paint and painted on fiberglass resin to minimize the abrasive effects. A few other suggestions are to have an area where the Crocodillian can egress and slope this.

I installed 2 areas . I constructed brick steps in there so the caimen can get a foot hold and not tear her feet ont he crocrete.

The other feature of this coating is that it helps to water proof the concrete as it serves as a liner (but always install a polyetheylene liner before casting the concrete) . I used pool paint the first times. The concrete took an enormous amount of it. About 12 years after I did this I started loosing the pool paint . I applied a second treatment of the fiberglass resin after I had drained cleaned and removed much of the old rubberized pool paint.

I haope this helps.

Ed

Ed,

Thanks a bunch, that did help. Just out of curiosity, since I am currently just building my plans right now, would you happen to have an estimated cost, to how much it set you back for your greenhouse enclosure? I know mine will be much more, simply because I live in a much colder state, so I will need to add some things, but I need to know what my savings account will need to look like before attempting to put my plans into action. I have some contacts in different builder supply houses, so that will help, but either way, I know it's gonna cost.

Thanks for your help,
Stan

It was bout $2000 10 years ago, You need to draw up some plans and estimate the materials . I built it myself, you dig the pools put the steel mesh and pipe in and buy concrete by the yard . The rest is carpentry. You would hve to estimate the cost of a heater and tank.

Ed
to

Ed,

When you say tank, are you meaning like a hot water tank or something? Haven't considered that if so. If that is the case, why would that be? The body of water most likely is gonna be larger (well atleast for my gator) than what most hot water tanks will be able to sufficiently warm enough water for anyways? I understand that I will have to have some submersible heaters, in which I already know what I am going to go with for that purpose.

Just kinda curious as to what type of tank you are referring to.

As always, thank you,

Stan

Stan,

I would not recommend submersible heaters for larger enclosures. Larger crocodilians need better heating systems and the likeyhood of a small heater being ingested is great.

My recommendation? Follow the method posted a few times on these pages which uses elements from hot water heaters placed in plumbing pipe and connected via PVC. The water is pumped over the elements and back into the pool. The entire thing is simple and controlled by a waterbed thermostat.

It's cheap and very effective.
The Ultimate Guide to Crocodilians in Captivity

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CDieter
'Reason, observation, and experience; the holy trinity of science.'

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Chris,

Would this method also be in your book? I probably need to take another look in your book to see if this method is in there.

Thnx for your help Chris.

No not yet, but it will be in the next edition which will appear as soon as I finish this book Adam and I are wrapping up.

Although it may find it's way into that book also. Do a search on the forum for heaters. It's written by a regular forum contributor who goes by the handle 'berzerker' I think. I know his real name but that doesn't help for the post.

Perhaps he'll read this and post it again.
Ultimate Guide to Crocs

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CDieter
'Reason, observation, and experience; the holy trinity of science.'

to answer the earlier question to me. I was meaning LPG tank. If you have warm air above you reduce the heat loss from the body of water.

Chris is right the submersible heater is not going to keep up iwth the volume you would need to heat. The hot water tanks in series is a good idea. but always include GFCI on anything around water. These have saved my life atleast 3X over the last 20 years.

The other way is have a closed system with hot water circulating through coils to heat the water. This would have the advantage of less fouling . But it would require some soldering and a pressure r elief valve.

I used to keep the caimens in the garage and used the electric element in a metal can. (this was in the 80s and you did not have submersible heaters that were good or large). I used a 220V element and ran it at 110 V to reduce the watt rating by 4 so I would nt burn the element out. This is potentially lethal as you need a GFCI so you dont electrocute yourself or animal.

Best regards,

Ed

Hey there folks. Sorry about how long it took for me to get this posted. I have been overseas and just recently got back. Hope this helps.
The design of this heater will maintain 500 gallons of water at 80 degrees F. The animals will have no contact with the heater because it is not inside the enclosure, but it will require a pump to keep the water moving through the heater assembly. The cost is around $15 minus the thermostat. The list of supplies is small and all can be purchased at your local hardware store. Because of differences in each enclosure however, some prior planning will be required to determine what size fittings will be needed.
1. Heating element.
2. One lead pipe reducer.
3. One threaded connecting pipe.
4. One length of pipe.
5. One lead pipe “T” junction.
6. Pipe sealant or plumbers solder.
7. Miscellaneous fittings for connecting to pump and enclosure.
8. Thermostat.
The first piece is the heating element. This is a replacement element from a household water heater. The important thing is to check what voltage source is used in your part of the world. For those in the U.S. a 120volt unit is probably best. This piece may be a special order as most are 210volt. Minus the thermostat this is the most expensive part of the heater costing about eleven dollars.
The second item is the reducer. This is what the element is attached too. It should be threaded on one end to enable the heating element to screw directly into it, and be threaded on the other end to have the connector attached.
The connector is a length of pipe that is threaded on both ends. It is used to connect the reducer to the “T” fitting.
The “T” is the middle section of the heater. It should have three openings, one on each end and a third in the middle. This is what will allow the water to be directed back into the enclosure after it is heated.
The last piece of the heater assembly is a single length of pipe, which should be threaded on both ends. It is connected to the “T” across from the element and should be long enough to cover the end of the element. The opposite end will be connected to the water input.
The thermostat is from a waterbed. Most can be set to keep water from 60 to 100 degrees. These can be found at any furniture store that carries waterbeds, or from numerous sources online. It will consist of a controller, two electrical cords, a heating pad and a temperature-sensing unit. They can be as low in cost as $25 or as much as $100 and come in a variety of different designs. The one used on this application was around $40 and did a fine job.
To assemble, place a small amount of sealant or plumbers solder around the threads of each threaded piece and the screw them together, first the reducer to connector, then the connector to the “T” and finally the length of pipe to the opposite end of the “T”. All pieces should be snug but hand tightened is fine. When the sealant has dried screw the heating element into the reducer. To complete the heater assembly, connect whatever fittings are required to attach the water input and output hoses.
To connect the thermostat to the heater, locate the electrical cord that is attached to the heating pad. Cut the heating pad off the cord about an inch from the pad. Inside this cord there are two wires. Cut the cord length-wise two inches to expose these two wires, then strip about one inch off of each wire’s insulation. There will now be two pieces of exposed wire about an inch long protruding from the end of the electrical cord. Take the heater assembly and locate the two screws on the end of the heating element. Connect one of the two exposed wires to the positive screw, and the other wire to the negative screw. Plug the opposite end of this cord into the thermostat control. Next, locate the temperature-sending unit. This will look like a copper hose about four feet long. Place it firmly against the heater assembly and secure it with electrical tape. This will complete the entire water heater.
There are a few admin notes that go along with this design. Water must be continuously moving through the heater assembly, so make sure the heater is unplugged before the pump, otherwise the element will burn up and need to be replaced. Also, as with anything, make sure to keep the electrical connections dry as electricity and water do not mix. Hope this will work for some of you getting ready to build your next enclosures