Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello, I'm raising an American croc which is about a year and a half now and is about ready to go into a new bigger enclosure but was wondering if anyone could give me some heads up and maybe some pictures of custom made enclosures just to give me an idea of what to look for. I had plans of building a large warehouse outdoors fitted with UV lights on timers and heaters on thermostats for those cold days but was wondering if i needed to put in any reinforcement underground around the enclosure in case it tries to dig out from under? I had an idea of maybe making his pond raised above ground with a clear view window to watch him when hes in the water but I'm still sketching out my design does anyone have any ideas?? Thanks...

Honestly
We use concrete formed enclosures with rubber/plastic lining. Basically we form the enclosure in concrete and then coat it with "Rhino Liner" type roll on coating. Nice this is that the coating comes in different colors so you can paint it to what you like. We put a lip on the edge of the layouts so that they don't drag to much sand/dirt into the ponds (will happen no matter how hard you try to stop it). This prevents the ability to dig out and makes for a nice solid enclosure that is easy to clean.

Right now I have to
2 A. Miss at 8'
5 A. Miss at 3'-5'
1 C. Nil at 9'
1 C. Croc at 6.5'
and
6 A. Miss/C. Croc 2'-3'

Never have any probs with digging. They can dig in the sand/dirt all they want. They hit concrete and stop.

On the topic of heating, sorry should have posted in the other reply.

We use solar and wood burning. Solar is easy and works pretty decent until it gets in the to single digits or lower. The wood burner heats our entire building to the point of discomfort (for humans). Wood burner is inexpensive to get and pretty much free to operate. Solar is a basic design I found on the web. email me and I can send you enfo on it (combatxmma@yahoo.com). For the water I use a tankless water heater and thermostat. It is attached to the central filter system and when the water temp drops below 80 deg it kicks in and pumps hot water in the main return lines bring all of the enclosure pools up to an acceptable temp. I set it to 80 deg so that there is room for the time it takes to get them all back up to temp without putting the animals at risk from the drop in temp.

I have the water pump set on solar, very simple set up and got the panels from harbor freight. Using an invertor to switch from 12v to 110. The pump run about 10hrs a day and goes through a pool (Sand) filter. I set the pipes for easy access and the return lines run along the walls about 2' off the floor.

no matter what you do you are still going to have to go in daily and check things out. things break, things have hiccups and have to be attended to. You have to clean on a regular schedule. I have wooden crates to hold the big ones, while i clean. After a while of getting them used to going into the crates, for food, you will find it is SO MUCH EASIER. I use chainlink fencing for the side walls of the enclosures, on the sides not against the actual exterior walls.

Wow sounds like a really nice set up i never thought about using solar panels for heating sounds very convenient but in my case i don\'t think i can cement any walls were i will be building his enclosure i have two 10\' x 12\' aluminum sheds i was planning on converting into one big shed and building the enclosure inside i may have to relocate the enclosure in a few years so i don\'t think cement would work out for me =-? ...

Sounds like a nice setup, any photos? These are indoors correct?

>>Honestly
>>We use concrete formed enclosures with rubber/plastic lining. Basically we form the enclosure in concrete and then coat it with "Rhino Liner" type roll on coating. Nice this is that the coating comes in different colors so you can paint it to what you like. We put a lip on the edge of the layouts so that they don't drag to much sand/dirt into the ponds (will happen no matter how hard you try to stop it). This prevents the ability to dig out and makes for a nice solid enclosure that is easy to clean.
>>
>>Right now I have to
>>2 A. Miss at 8'
>>5 A. Miss at 3'-5'
>>1 C. Nil at 9'
>>1 C. Croc at 6.5'
>>and
>>6 A. Miss/C. Croc 2'-3'
>>
>>Never have any probs with digging. They can dig in the sand/dirt all they want. They hit concrete and stop.
-----
CDieter
'Reason, observation, and experience; the holy trinity of science.'

Yes they are indoors
Well you know we've have made several changes over the years to our rescue facility. This is the latest set up and has worked the best. Some tweeks here and there, but, overall inexpensive and effective.

Yours is looking great. Some nice big specimine. Do you keep them outside all year round?

I think you have seen our outdoor enclsures. The 20' round pond with 8' of lay out space. I posted pics a while back.

here is a pics from a couple years back

Give me a lil bit and I will get some new ones up

sorry here is pic

Some pretty artistic gators you have there.
My pools are cinder block/concrete also and I have tried a number or things to waterproof them. How do you like the rhino lining? Where did you get it and how is the application?
Is your wood burning hot water heater the same brand as CDs?
Do you have any pics of the plumbed heater.
Thanks D.C.

Hey Danny, i saw this coating over at my local hardware store you can coat cinder blocks with to make them water proof they even had this little display with a fountain it looked like it works good. I was thinking of using rhino lining also for my own set up but i have a friend who housed a water monitor and used that rubber lining for his tank and his monitor scratched and ripped some of it which created small leaks, although i don\'t think crocs have as long and sharp nails to do that.

No the monitors are much sharper. But the crocs are way heavier and they are constantly hauling in and out of the water. I was worried about wear and tear. Do you remember the name of the stuff you saw?
Thanks D.C.

I know what he is talking about and no it wouldn't work. It scrapes off to easily, has a horrible smell, and leaves the concrete to rough of a finish.

I tried the rhino lining as a test and it worked great. So that's what I switched too from plastic sheeting and plastic tubs. Yeah a little more expensive to begin but worth it in the long run.

Yea i've never used that product before but i've seen it and it looked interesting to try. Hey Poeman im thinking of purchasing one of those 200 gallon tubs to house my croc in for the next few months while I build his new enclosure but was wondering if u had any ideas of how i could divide the tub so i can have half dry and half water? i was thinking of maybe cutting half of another plastic container kinda like one of those plastic rubbermaid trash cans and either riveting it in the middle and coating the entire edge with some of that rubber cement they use for fish tanks =-?

I dont quite remember the name of the product but it came in a large paint like container

That pic is a scan from a pic. The pond in that pic is a water tank cut in 2. it worked for a summer before building a new setup. all of the clutter you see there, blame my buddy for that, is gone now. I like the rhino lining. tough as nails and easy to clean.

Yes they are kept outdoors year round. Outside of a large warehouse I am unsure how to keep them indoors given the number we have and the size they are attaining.

It isn't without it's difficulties but it is interesting to see them in the various seasons.

CD

>>Yes they are indoors
>>Well you know we've have made several changes over the years to our rescue facility. This is the latest set up and has worked the best. Some tweeks here and there, but, overall inexpensive and effective.
>>
>>Yours is looking great. Some nice big specimine. Do you keep them outside all year round?
-----
CDieter
'Reason, observation, and experience; the holy trinity of science.'

I bet you have some real difficulties. Our C. Nile is pardon the french "hell on wheels" on the good days. I can't imagine how some of your big ones get. The A. Miss are realitively easy in comparison, although the nice slice on my hand wouldn't be proof of that. (got it taping a mouth shut and like a dummy not wearing gloves)

Not to bad most days, our enclosures are really big so you can move around allot inside the actual pen which limits most contact. As an example one of our main Nile pens is over 7000sq ft and houses an adult pair. Lots of room to move around for them and us.

Another enclosure is tighter simply because it was meant to be a grow out pen and the animals have just about grown out of it. All our other have plenty of room.

>>I bet you have some real difficulties. Our C. Nile is pardon the french "hell on wheels" on the good days. I can't imagine how some of your big ones get. The A. Miss are realitively easy in comparison, although the nice slice on my hand wouldn't be proof of that. (got it taping a mouth shut and like a dummy not wearing gloves)
-----
CDieter
'Reason, observation, and experience; the holy trinity of science.'