Finally finished...

It all started out almost 20 years ago, that we acquired this little girl. We've always been partial to crocodilians, of all kinds.   This was traded to us, as a Nile-Cuban hybrid, by a breeder in Florida.

We kept making larger and larger enclosures for her as she grew.   The last time we made an enclosure, we bought a 1000 gallon water tank, and built the enclosure around it.  We used flooring that is made from recycled materials, and is virtually indestructible.  We also designed it to have a feed door in the top, a wash-out in the side (for changing the water), and a door that could be opened out for when we built an outdoor enclosure for her to enjoy.  The more enclosures you make, the more you learn, and improve.

I wish we had a video camera for when we attemped (and eventually succeeded) to move her from the last enclosure to where she is now.  I'm sure now that a lot of what Steve Irwin did was staged, as it just is not that easy!   And after you move an animal from what seemed to be a large enough enclosure, you wonder how she ever managed in what now appears to be a rather tight space.  Our Yacare caiman is now enjoying that old pond, etc.

So the newest (and hopefully last) enclosure was incorporated into the side of the building with the idea that we would eventually build an outdoor spot for her to bask, etc.   That was about 8 years ago, and we've finally gotten around to getting the ouside done. We did toss around several ideas, and the final solution now seems so simple, we might have done it sooner.  But finances are always a concern, and none of this was inexpensive.   

I had thought of writing about this in stages, but if you saw the last photo, you might not have bothered with the original blog.  So here's the start of something big, and I do mean big.

I'm the one on the ground.  We're digging holes for the fence posts that will eventually hold up the platform, etc, for the croc to get out on and sunbathe.  Behind my "stand-up" help, you can see the hole that is the opening for the croc's indoor enclosure.  We had it sealed off with insulation, etc.  You can also see we have lots of rocks to contend with, when digging these holes, and one must get on their bellies to fish them out!

We had 5 holes to dig altogether.  We also had to get a jackhammer to chip away at part of the foundation that stuck out too far, and was in the way of the post holes next to the building.  Truly an all-day or two-, or three-day project!   We decided to make it a bit over 6 feet tall, so an average person could stand upright, and get in there if the need arose, and not be cramped. 

Then the flooring.  We decided that rather than have an outdoor pond too, we'd just have the one pond, in the shade, so she could adjust her body temperature as she saw fit. 

We elevated the floor because we have an outside drain for the inside pond, and this allows us easy access.  The two posts that you see close together are for the eventual gate that we put on, again for access.    The two pens you see in the background are for some small alligators that we also house.  They work out very well in the summer time.   Obviously they are not nearly as big as the croc.  Then we put on the chain link.

Travis puts up fence for a living.  We had nothing to do with that except bring him a cold drink now and then.  He also put up chain link across the top of the enclosure.  This is heavy duty chain link too, not what you'd find between your neighbor's house and your own.  Then he installed a gate.

We had a professional welder come and fix latches that would not be opened easily by anyone or anything.  But how cool would it be to put "professional builder of croc enclosures" on your resume?

If the next owners of this place want to keep a gorilla in this enclosure, they might be able to!  Or a rock band that needs to be kept safe from overzealous fans.    The floor is approximately 10 feet by 12 feet. 

Checking us out!

So now, the big day. We gathered around, took down the insulation and plywood door cover, opened up the plexiglass window from the inside...and waited...and waited...and waited... I hosed down the floor as I thought it might have been too hot for her, and thought running water might make her take notice and want to investigate. 

Half out!

The croc is totally enjoying her new enclosure, and she freely goes in and out during the day to cool off, warm up, whatever she wants.  She never went off feed, does not charged the chain link, and seems totally oblivious to our presence, although she does watch the dog intently, when the dog passes by!

I have to thank Travis, Shane, and Denney for all their hard work, and thoughtful suggestions.  And how do we know it's a female?  Our caiman, and alligator are large enough to bellow when she comes into heat.  Every spring.   Meanwhile, she never makes a sound.   

Siesta time.  Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.....

Year of the turtle

Yet again, we find another baby turtle on the highway. 

This time it was a llittle common snapper,  and that's a quarter beside him...didn't have a 50 cent piece handy.   He's a killer feeder on pellets and meal worms!

This guy was the closest we've found to a body of water, but still about a football field away.  The mild winter must have spurred early breeding, or early hatching of eggs that may have been laid last fall.   If we keep finding these guys on the road, how many more are crawling through the grass looking for a place to live.  And how many are becoming road kill and/or food for predators? 

It's all a cycle but, it's making us look intently at every little speck in the road for movement! 

S*S*D*D

Same situation, different day.

(Maryann here.)  If you've read all the other posts, you may remember last fall when I came home from work to find a snake bag on my desk.  It happened again today.  Of course I knew it wasn't venomous, because Dennis is not that careless to leave me a "present" which could hurt me.

The critter inside was this nice little Eastern Yellow-bellied Racer.  It was crawling around in the "sales area" of the shop.  Funny how these guys get in.  We always think we have all the holes in the building secured, but then we find an escapee outside, or something like this inside. 

Gotta keep your eyes peeled.

Wow...who would've thought we'd find a red-ear slider in the middle on a country highway, with no  pond in sight?   Of course we did find the big one in our driveway last year.  But this guy was way different.  As you can see, he's slightly bigger than a quarter.  Of course, from a distance it looked just like a small rock in the road, a common occurrence.  Passed over him, the shape was too perfect to be a rock and thought we saw him move.   Since we could turn around easily, we went back for a second look.  Yup...a live turtle!

We don't recommend endangering yourself if you "think" you saw a turtle, or snake, or whatever.  But if you're unsure, take a look, go back, you'll only regret it if you don't satisfy your curiosity.  And believe me, more often than not you're wrong, but when you're right, it's a thrill!  Of course then everything after that, for a while, must be a reptile, but with practice, you'll be able to differentiate.

Visitor of the day...update...

If you read about the black rat snake that I found on the road, and thought it might be saved, but alas had indeed been run over, and died on the way home, this is an update.  I saw a vulture taking advantage of the meal laid out for him/her.    This is what was left.

As you can see, this was in a rather grassy area.  Those birds must either have extreme eyesight or extreme senses of smell, or both, because there wass nothing else in that particular field, which is about 3-4 acres, to attrract their attention.   I opted not to keep any parts, but let the field mice finish off the carcass.

Visitor of the day...

Got home this afternoon to find this guy attached to the cement on the side of the house.   He appeared much more grey, and closer to the color of the cement than this photo would attest.  If you look closely you can see a few little green spots peeking through. Might be the same one who was quite green when attached to the screen on our back door last summer.

Then there was this unfortunate fellow.  I was going down the road and saw this rather large black rat snake in the middle of my lane.  I swerved, stopped, ran back and picked him up.  He was coiled as though daring someone to hit him.  He had his mouth gaping in a mad posture.  I thought he was just fine and darned lucky.  Unfortunately not so.  If you look at the middle part of his body you can see a slight irregularity where he had been run over. 

He never felt bad (meaning "squishy" for lack of a better term) or lost use of his back end and tail, but I guess the internal injuries were massive.  Just shows you that a snake that has been run over, even though looking well and acting fairly normal, probably will not survive. 

And he was "posed" in my pasture for this picture.  I figure he can be dinner for some hawk owl or vulture later today. 

Sounds...

For an interesting experience, especially if you have a variety of animals, go into your herp room, in the dark, and just sit and listen.

I did just that today, as I was putting some feeder fish in with our alligator snapper.  As most of the animals could not see where I was, they were doing various things.  One large sulcata tortoise was grunting.  Almost sounded like burping.  Our Yacare caiman was roaring, or rumbling, as he was calling out to our female crocodile.  He does that when, we assume, she's in heat, although we don't know where or when.  She never exhibits any signs, and they cannot see each other.   Today he was out of his pool.  When  he does it in the pool, you can see the water bubbling. 

Occasionally you'll hear the rattlesnakes rattling.  They flexing their muscles or are they seeing shadows?  Perhaps just dreaming?  Like when your dog whimpers and runs in it's sleep?    All in all, very interesting!