This is just a bit of fun to judge the general consensus on the best enclosure for Komodo Dragons in the UK. I have added a few photos from the gallery to make it easier for members to compare the different exhibits. If anyone wants to make an argument for a particular enclosure, please feel free to do so. Also, I would encourage people to perhaps list the enclosures in order of what they determine to be the best. Birmingham WCP Chester Colchester Crocodiles of the World London Paignton Jersey Unfortunately, there are no photos of this enclosure in the gallery. It would be extremely useful if someone who has visited can describe the exhibit and give an evaluation on its quality.
Jersey, as far as I remember, only holds juveniles & moves them on before they get ‘big’, so probably shouldn’t be compared. Likewise, Paignton only holds one female so the enclosure, at present, is not set up for breeding, but unusually for a Komodo exhibit, it is high and encourages climbing.
Colchester has quite few exhibits for their dragons but all indoors (with glass roof I think), and they are all larger than they appear on the photo. London is all right but by no means excellent. I don't think Chester will be winning this one.
I am fairly surprised how well London is doing, I expected this to be between Chester and Colchester! I don't think London's outdoor exhibit has been used lately and it looks a lot bigger and more impressive in the photo than I remember, when was that photo taken?
I am quite impressed by the crocs of the world exhibit just going by the pics as I haven’t seen it in person yet. Given I assume there vastly small budget to the other big three in the list it looks very good in comparison to the rest. Go there you can tell me it’s tiny and far to small now.
Jersey moved it's last Komodo's out and I don't think they are planning to bring them back in as their enclosure was undergoing renovations to become a breeding room. That being said, I probably have a picture of their enclosure from 2017 or 2018
Given the zoo’s current overall footprint it’s a pretty decent exhibit imo - not too many bells and whistles (which you could say about most of the COTW exhibits, and I do have a soft spot for their Fishing cat area) but doesn’t need to be. Only issue is the windows are steamed up most of the time so difficult to get a decent photo!
The Crocodiles of the World exhibit was better than I expected it to be on my visit.It is very similar to London’s though slightly smaller and not quite as impressive.The number of zoos exhibiting the species has increased in Britain with Crocodiles of the World and Paignton both being(relatively)new.I think I will be voting for Colchester.
I found a photo or two of the Komodo dragon nursery, but it seems really quite small and I assume you already found those.
Why surprised it's a very good enclosure well designed for housing a solitary animal. This is what happens when the owner comes from a family of builders, who also help you build your new exhibits!
Well I am surprised by how well Chester and London are doing seeing as both places have lost dragons, due to the design of the enclosures, I think the enclosures have been altered to stop this happening again, but it should never have happened in the first place. Colchester is a fabulous complex for the komodo, as they can be switched round easily between exhibits, and it's nice to see them have the roof open on very hot days. Birmingham is a well designed exhibit for a single male, although the outdoor is a little small, but he is very well looked after by a very good herp keeper. Paignton may well be an accident waiting to happen, because the komodo can do the same thing, that the Chester and London animals did to end there lives.
I wasn't aware of the Chester and London incidents - can anyone fill me in? That's most upsetting to hear, and makes me consider voting for Colchester. The opening roof always struck me as a nice idea to give the dragons a taste of the fresh air without creating an enclosure that sits empty for most of the year.
If I remember correctly, at London the female attempted to scale the partition wall separating herself from the male (at the time) Raja. She then fell awkwardly. The exhibit hadn’t been open for very long either! I don’t know the story at Chester though.
Well it's not very flat is it and big komodo aren't brilliant at climbing a youngster yes, but they don't have a youngster
