Increase Rescue Room Capacity Project

There is a growing demand for a facility to rescue reptiles and amphibians, and thanks to a generous grant from the James A. and Faith Knight Foundation the Great Lakes Zoological Society is growing to accommodate this demand.  This grant will allow us to double our capacity to take in surrendered reptile pets and improve our energy efficiency when it comes to regulating their environments at the zoo.  Currently we have 11 enclosures that we have allocated for rescue and adoption animals in our rescue room, and an ever growing waiting list of reptiles waiting to take up residence at the zoo before finding their new forever homes.  These enclosures are on open racks where the heating, lighting, and humidity devices are exposed to the ambient air in the room.  Particularly in the summer this poses a problem, as we are trying to heat the enclosures to ambient temperatures of around 80 plus degrees and high humidity, we are conditioning the ambient air in the room to 70 degrees and low humidity.  This presents a constant battle between our heating and cooling systems in the room and that of the enclosures.  Enclosing our racks and enclosures will help maintain the temperature for our animals and our guests.  
Our Rescue Room is currently under construction, so keep an eye out for when we announce its completion.     

All these new rescues will have ongoing care costs, so anyone wishing to contribute to the zoo can make a donation on our donations page.

Please also see our page about the Rescue Room, including other ways you can help.

Care Systems Projects

The world of Discovery Reptile Zoo has been open for over a year now.  We have rescued over 45 reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates.  Sixteen of these animals have been permanently added to our exhibit area for our visitors to enjoy and learn from.  Twelve have been adopted out, and seventeen need to find new homes.  To accommodate this growth, we are in need of upgrading many of our systems to meet the growing demand of animals in our care. Many of these projects include the following:

Water Heater Replacement sub project:  We need to replace our current standard water heater with an on-demand system that would heat the water we use to fill many of our ponds, as well as thoroughly sanitize our food and water dishes.  As our collection has grown, our standard water heater is not able to keep up with our need for large amounts of hot water usage.  Total sub project cost $3,380.

Reverse Osmosis and Fogging System sub project:  We need to install a reverse osmosis and fogging system.  To mist our enclosures with fresh, clean water we currently purchase distilled water.  This costs approximately $1,300 per year.  Since we regularly have to replace the humidifiers every 6 months at $45 per unit this adds an additional $540 per year.  We intend to install a reverse osmosis and fogging system to eliminate this cost. We estimate the new equipment will pay for itself in cost savings within seven years. Total sub project cost $12,159.84.

Heat and Humidity Control Systems sub project:  Currently we use many analog heat and humidity control systems. We believe we can improve our efficiency by upgrading these systems to digital controls that can adjust the temperature and humidity to a tenth of a degree.  Total sub project cost $1,875. 

 Together these three projects cost $17,414.84

Anyone wishing  to contribute to this project can make a donation on our donations page.