RussellsViper
Member
Hey i am currently assisting in designing a reptile house. Does anyone have any hints or tips or relevant experience in working in a reptile house and what suggestions do you have in rekation to dedign, maintenance etc. Thanks
Reptile house design
- Thread starter RussellsViper
- Start date
chrisbarela
Well-Known Member
Reptile houses have the same built in problem that aquariums have, in that they are usually a series of tanks built into the wall in a row. What happens is that guests tend to get "tank fatigue," speeding past the exhibits, pausing only long enough to find the animal. Tank, tank, tank, tank...
I have found that if you can break the experience up for the guest - different shaped tanks and different size seem to help as well as different animals - snake, lizard, amphibian is better than snake, snake, snake, snake... Multi-species exhibits give variation while telling a story about a specific habitat as opposed to a specific animal.
Keep an element of surprise with your design. Think of ways to display animals in ways you would normally see them in the wild - for instance: San Diego Zoo's rattlesnake exhibit in the Elephant Odyssey is at ground level, so the rattlesnakes are often at your feet. This creates a very different feeling in guests - the same feeling you would have had you come across a rattlesnake on a path. It's a little unnerving and unexpected.
Bring elements out into the guest space - rocks, trees, etc. Themeing areas in the guest space to look like the environments that you are displaying go a long way into making it feel immersive.
Spend some real time in the design of each habitat - make each exhibit look like it was lifted out of that specific animal's environment. Don't rely on just tossing some leaves and branches in the tank! Try to make each exhibit tell a story. And whenever possible try to hide the keeper access!
Murals in the background of tanks rarely work unless you have a really talented artist... I would try to have the themeing cover the back wall or use a photo.
I like how LA Zoos new reptile house gives each tank a "cul-de-sac" so that you step into a space to view the animal. It prevents seeing the next tank in your peripheral vision.
An example of a first rate reptile house is MOLA at the Fort Worth Zoo. Each exhibit is well thought out. There are multi-species exhibits and small intimate exhibits.
Good luck! Hope this helps. And remember there is no such thing as a boring animal - just boring exhibits!
I have found that if you can break the experience up for the guest - different shaped tanks and different size seem to help as well as different animals - snake, lizard, amphibian is better than snake, snake, snake, snake... Multi-species exhibits give variation while telling a story about a specific habitat as opposed to a specific animal.
Keep an element of surprise with your design. Think of ways to display animals in ways you would normally see them in the wild - for instance: San Diego Zoo's rattlesnake exhibit in the Elephant Odyssey is at ground level, so the rattlesnakes are often at your feet. This creates a very different feeling in guests - the same feeling you would have had you come across a rattlesnake on a path. It's a little unnerving and unexpected.
Bring elements out into the guest space - rocks, trees, etc. Themeing areas in the guest space to look like the environments that you are displaying go a long way into making it feel immersive.
Spend some real time in the design of each habitat - make each exhibit look like it was lifted out of that specific animal's environment. Don't rely on just tossing some leaves and branches in the tank! Try to make each exhibit tell a story. And whenever possible try to hide the keeper access!
Murals in the background of tanks rarely work unless you have a really talented artist... I would try to have the themeing cover the back wall or use a photo.
I like how LA Zoos new reptile house gives each tank a "cul-de-sac" so that you step into a space to view the animal. It prevents seeing the next tank in your peripheral vision.
An example of a first rate reptile house is MOLA at the Fort Worth Zoo. Each exhibit is well thought out. There are multi-species exhibits and small intimate exhibits.
Good luck! Hope this helps. And remember there is no such thing as a boring animal - just boring exhibits!
As chrisbarela said, few reptile houses avoided the boring "row of tanks" design.
Best houses have semi-open exhibits for turtles, crocs, but also large lizards. There are even walk-through areas for tortoises, iguanas and small lizards and frogs. Rangers in Denmark and I think Budapest even have walk-in rooms with some free-roaming non-venomous snakes.
For small species, best examples join multiple glass tanks into larger habitat exhibits, like Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. They can be linked into one with decorations in visitors area. At best a visitor walks though small simulated habitats with reptile exhibits set inside them.
Always most important is careful design. With reptiles and amphibians, you can recreate fascinating, detailed little habitats, with little rainforests, deserts, bushland, wetlands etc.
Rather different approach is in Sea Life Centres, which have small tanks in different shapes: half-bubbles, pillars, overhead, see from above etc.
In design and maintenance: off-exhibit keep it open, avoid any narrow spaces and holes where runaway reptile can crawl into or escape through. In exhibit be able to precisely control temperature and humidity, avoid drafts and lack of ventillation. Reptiles are sensitive to just few degrees of temperature difference. Set staff doors to exhibits above the ground to minimize escape risk. For smaller but escape-prone or agressive species, good is the ability to divide exhibit into half with plastic sheet etc. during cleaning.
And another - for visitors, ability to hold and touch presentation reptile is most interesting.
Best houses have semi-open exhibits for turtles, crocs, but also large lizards. There are even walk-through areas for tortoises, iguanas and small lizards and frogs. Rangers in Denmark and I think Budapest even have walk-in rooms with some free-roaming non-venomous snakes.
For small species, best examples join multiple glass tanks into larger habitat exhibits, like Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. They can be linked into one with decorations in visitors area. At best a visitor walks though small simulated habitats with reptile exhibits set inside them.
Always most important is careful design. With reptiles and amphibians, you can recreate fascinating, detailed little habitats, with little rainforests, deserts, bushland, wetlands etc.
Rather different approach is in Sea Life Centres, which have small tanks in different shapes: half-bubbles, pillars, overhead, see from above etc.
In design and maintenance: off-exhibit keep it open, avoid any narrow spaces and holes where runaway reptile can crawl into or escape through. In exhibit be able to precisely control temperature and humidity, avoid drafts and lack of ventillation. Reptiles are sensitive to just few degrees of temperature difference. Set staff doors to exhibits above the ground to minimize escape risk. For smaller but escape-prone or agressive species, good is the ability to divide exhibit into half with plastic sheet etc. during cleaning.
And another - for visitors, ability to hold and touch presentation reptile is most interesting.
Zoofab
New Member
If you are designing a reptile house you MUST be well versed in modern reptile husbandry. In the last 20 years there have been amazing advances in reptile care and husbandry, allowing species that were previously difficult captives to be able to thrive and achieve basic life-cycle events. Unfortunately many of these breakthroughs have yet to be fully realized by most zoos! Do not do the animals and the public the disservice of perpetuating antiquated husbandry and exhibit design.
A few of the basic advances of modern reptile husbandry include a new understanding of temperature gradients and methods for measuring temps, understanding surface temps is mandatory for decent reptile exhibit design.
In addition you need to have a good understanding of substrate needs as they relate to species. Substrate composition, depth and drainage etc. as well as a solid grasp on how to heat and retain humidity in reptile exhibits. Dehydration and gout (caused by long term dehydration) are the #1 killers of reptiles in captivity and the reason so many species have failed miserably in the past. Open topped or screen topped enclosures are a death sentence for reptiles in captivity. Please do your homework and do not repeat the mistakes of the past.
"New information has come to light man".......
Best of luck with your design.
Ben Aller
Primary Visionary
Zoological Fabrication
A few of the basic advances of modern reptile husbandry include a new understanding of temperature gradients and methods for measuring temps, understanding surface temps is mandatory for decent reptile exhibit design.
In addition you need to have a good understanding of substrate needs as they relate to species. Substrate composition, depth and drainage etc. as well as a solid grasp on how to heat and retain humidity in reptile exhibits. Dehydration and gout (caused by long term dehydration) are the #1 killers of reptiles in captivity and the reason so many species have failed miserably in the past. Open topped or screen topped enclosures are a death sentence for reptiles in captivity. Please do your homework and do not repeat the mistakes of the past.
"New information has come to light man".......
Best of luck with your design.
Ben Aller
Primary Visionary
Zoological Fabrication
RussellsViper
Member
Thanks guys. The zoo is based in australia. So i will need to look up sone of the reptile exhibits you mentioned. Thanks alot.