Join our zoo community

Exotic reptiles kept outdoors in Europe

Discussion in 'Europe - General' started by DesertRhino150, 9 Sep 2018.

  1. FBBird

    FBBird Well-Known Member 10+ year member

    Joined:
    15 Oct 2010
    Posts:
    3,629
    Location:
    Dorset, UK
    No way would resident Herring Gulls allow that these days.
     
  2. Vision

    Vision Well-Known Member 5+ year member

    Joined:
    29 Aug 2015
    Posts:
    1,091
    Location:
    Antwerp, Belgium
    I thought so as well, but I did see the door open to their outdoor enclosure in August 2017! Didn't see any of the animals outdoors, but one of them was lying in the door between the indoor and outdoor enclosure. My guess is that the door is closed most of the time, but opened on days with very good weather? I was also under the impression that they no longer had access outdoors, so was very surprised to see the door opened last year.
     
  3. gorst

    gorst Member 10+ year member

    Joined:
    18 Jul 2013
    Posts:
    22
    Location:
    Serbia
    Belgrade zoo keeps Cuban crocodiles and American alligator outside during summer. They kept White-throated monitors and Green iguana outside also… and there is a pool full of Red-eared sliders - ex pets.
     
  4. DesertRhino150

    DesertRhino150 Well-Known Member 10+ year member

    Joined:
    15 Jul 2010
    Posts:
    2,856
    Location:
    Essex
  5. FBBird

    FBBird Well-Known Member 10+ year member

    Joined:
    15 Oct 2010
    Posts:
    3,629
    Location:
    Dorset, UK
    Borth Zoo used to have outside access for their Spectacled Caimans, which bred. Thrigby have outside acces for their American Alligators.
     
  6. Dassie rat

    Dassie rat Well-Known Member 10+ year member

    Joined:
    18 Jun 2011
    Posts:
    5,590
    Location:
    London, UK
    London Zoo has Galapagos giant tortoises in an outdoor enclosure and had a Chinese alligator in the old penguin pool.
     
  7. Jarne

    Jarne Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    31 May 2020
    Posts:
    840
    Location:
    Belgium
    La ferme de crocodiles in Pierelatte (France) keeps at least three non-European species outside: Nile crocodiles, Chinese alligator (no visible indoor enclosure) and African spurred tortoises.
     
  8. gentle lemur

    gentle lemur Well-Known Member 15+ year member

    Joined:
    8 Sep 2007
    Posts:
    4,983
    Location:
    South Devon
    I think that enclosure was originally used for a fairly large American alligator.

    I don't know if London or Chester still let their Komodo dragons sun themselves in their outdoor enclosures. I did once see the old crocodile monitor outside at Chester in 2014. I also remember seeing a rhino iguana in the old beaver pen at Regent's Park on a warm summer day perhaps 20 years ago (the site of that old pen is now part of the lemur walk-through).
     
    DesertRhino150 likes this.
  9. Kifaru Bwana

    Kifaru Bwana Well-Known Member 15+ year member

    Joined:
    25 Jan 2006
    Posts:
    12,407
    Location:
    Amsterdam, Holland
    Bristol Zoo have their rhino iguana in an outdoor/indoor yard (just as an example).

    Pierelatte - Chinese crocodile species in outdoor as temperate species (with hibernation preferably in an outdoor enclosure).
     
  10. gentle lemur

    gentle lemur Well-Known Member 15+ year member

    Joined:
    8 Sep 2007
    Posts:
    4,983
    Location:
    South Devon
    How did I forget that? :oops:
     
  11. Jarne

    Jarne Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    31 May 2020
    Posts:
    840
    Location:
    Belgium
    Artis in Amsterdam also allows their rhino iguana together with their Aldabra giant tortoises outside, and Blijdorp and Duisburg have respectively Galapagos and Aldabra giant tortoises with outdoor exhibits.

    I guess the Australian water dragons comes from Pairi Daiza? Because they are no longer kept outside since a couple of years (even out of the collection I think).
     
  12. Kifaru Bwana

    Kifaru Bwana Well-Known Member 15+ year member

    Joined:
    25 Jan 2006
    Posts:
    12,407
    Location:
    Amsterdam, Holland
    I have in recent years never seen the Galapagos (hybrid/crossbred) tortoises out on the lawns.
     
  13. Jarne

    Jarne Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    31 May 2020
    Posts:
    840
    Location:
    Belgium
    I think I have seen them once on the lawn a couple years back (2015 or something like that). I did forget however that the outdoor enclosure is also gone now, and I'm not sure wether it is planned to return or not.
     
  14. Kifaru Bwana

    Kifaru Bwana Well-Known Member 15+ year member

    Joined:
    25 Jan 2006
    Posts:
    12,407
    Location:
    Amsterdam, Holland
    It is still there, just never used ....
     
  15. Ned

    Ned Well-Known Member 10+ year member

    Joined:
    20 May 2009
    Posts:
    1,347
    Location:
    .
    Noah's Ark Zoo have a large outdoor enclosure for their Aldabra tortoises.
    Budapest have (had?) an outdoor enclosure for crocodilians.
     
  16. Jarne

    Jarne Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    31 May 2020
    Posts:
    840
    Location:
    Belgium
    I thought it was destroyed in favor of the lemur enclosure, but I guess that will be in the next fase of "Eiland-hoppen" then.
     
  17. Haasje

    Haasje Well-Known Member 5+ year member

    Joined:
    7 May 2018
    Posts:
    109
    Location:
    Leiden
    At the moment, there is still an outside part of the enclosure for the Galapagos giant tortoises at the Rotterdam Zoo (Blijdorp). Although they rarely use it by them. I only saw it used ones, last year. The part of the "Eiland-Hoppen" project will be realised upon its place.
     
  18. DesertRhino150

    DesertRhino150 Well-Known Member 10+ year member

    Joined:
    15 Jul 2010
    Posts:
    2,856
    Location:
    Essex
    I was just looking around this morning and found an interesting post about the outdoor reptiliary at London Zoo - as mentioned, it seems to have been essentially a mix of European and British species with only one exception that I could notice.

    A guide from 1935 lists the following species (I will include the old taxonomic names here):
    1. Great green lizard, Lacerta viridis major - I think a synonym for the Balkan green lizard, Lacerta trilineata
    2. Green lizard, Lacerta viridis
    3. Glass snake, Ophisaurus apodus
    4. Eyed lizard, Lacerta lepida
    5. Wall lizard, Lacerta muralis
    6. Grass snake, Natrix natrix
    7. Aesculapian snake, Elaphe longissima
    8. 'Dark green snake', Coluber gemonensis
    9. Northern viper, Vipera berus
    10. European pond turtle, Emys orbicularis
    11. Spanish terrapin, Clemmys leprosa
    12. Painted terrapin, Chrysemys picta
    13. Edible frog, Rana esculenta
    14. Common frog, Rana temporaria
    15. Several species of newt
    Other sources also mention slow worms, smooth snakes and a big dark green snake that is possibly the green whip snake, Hierophis viridiflavus.

    The open-topped display did have many problems, especially with predation. In one incident, all the small lizards were eaten by a flock of cattle egrets that the zoo allowed to fly freely while in at least one case a domestic cat jumped into the enclosure (in this case it was attacked by the large dark green snake and had to be retrieved).

    Several other British zoos had similar reptiliaries for native reptiles - mentioned are Bristol, Edinburgh, Whipsnade and Dudley (the latter apparently might still survive, as the listed enclosure now used for meerkats).

    More information, including photographs of the London Zoo reptiliary, comes from this link:
    The Outdoor Reptiliary in Britain. 1. London and Other Zoos