Quote:
Originally Posted by crocdoc
Having worked in a few zoos and zoo type facilities, the three main issues (listed in order of greatest to least influence) are:
1. Display. Most reptile displays have a large window in the front, with basking lights installed above the window so that they are out of the public's view. It is very hard to maintain high basking temperatures at those sorts of distances, so trying to keep an attractive, naturalist display while meeting the needs of the animals is not always easy. I have worked in one facility that managed this, but only with massive metal halide lights and tissue heaters above the display window.
2. Red tape. In most zoos, for a keeper to make a change it usually must first get approved by several other people, from senior keepers up to the curator and often the vet. Given the status quo, trying to convince everyone that a really hot basking spot is the way to go is often trickier than it would seem.
3. An (for lack of a better word) inertia based on the 'but we've always done it this way' principle. Monitors seem to do okay with low basking spot temperatures because they can linger in sub-optimal conditions for a long time. It may take years for the effects to become obvious and even then the connection between the basking temperature (mainly because they'd always been the same) and the untimely death is not made (as per this thread). Unless one has had experience with monitors living with hot basking temperatures, in which case the behaviour differences are immediately visible.
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I don't know anything about the way that zoos are run, thank you very much for clearing that up for me. I totally understand all of this, and it makes a lot of sense that this is the way that it is in zoos. Or for that matter any other company, business, etc. It would probably be a massive undertaking to re-structure the enclosures and displays in order to rectify the 'low basking temp' situation that zoo monitors are facing. It's kind of one of those things where you say 'where to start?'. I think that the older that Wayne's Savs get, the more clear the message will be. Video evidence is a great way to show people the differences. Another good thing to think about is getting the new Savs checked out by a (hopefully the same one) vet that dealt with Chomper. I know that as a private keeper, Wayne's 'in your face' approach to proper husbandry really helped me make the right decision. While Chomper was a great lizard, LF and Cera are WILD. They act like the Savs you see on documentaries. I feel like that was enough for me, and will hopefully be enough for BOTH zoos and private keepers to sit up and take notice. Thanks again for that information, it was very helpful.
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