How to live with exotic pets!
7It may seem a fairly ordinary suburban bungalow but behind the net curtains, Chris Weller shares his home with some rather interesting housemates.
The retired civil servant is single which has enabled him to convert his dwelling to accommodate his 6 ft monitor lizard, an iguana, and an impressive 4 ½ ft caiman.
Chris not only has a special dangerous wild animals license but has spent around £20,000 converting the loft of his home into his living space with most of the ground floor including the former dining room and conservatory into a dedicated habitat fit for his various reptiles.
Hector, a 12-year-old, 6ft-long Asian water monitor is somewhat of a lounge lizard. Indeed he spends much of his time relaxing in front of the TV. Chris explains that he is restricting his diet to avoid over-feeding him since he has no reason to hunt for his food. Hector’s quarters also include an inviting plunge pool.
Perhaps the most impressive member of the household is Caesar.
Caimans, like all other members of order Crocodilia, are amphibious carnivores so not the most straightforward pets to keep. Mr. Weller bought him in 2007, as a one-year-old when he was only 1ft long but now at four, he is already 4.5ft in length but could reach 7ft as a fully mature adult. Caesar’s quarters incorporate two rooms, one in which he has his own dedicated pool. Chris installed a cat-flap device to allow Caesar to move between rooms. Although the crocodile can push the flap himself, for safety reasons and the additional shutter is usually in place to control his movements.
Additional safety features include extra door locks and a CCTV-style monitoring system. Chris is well known to the neighbours and indeed invited them to an open day when he got his license so that they could see that the animals were well cared for and the environment was safe and secure; indeed he is still quite an attraction for local families who are keen to visit and is known locally simply as the crocodile man.
The biggest reptiles namely Rocky the Iguana, Caesar, and Hector are kept apart, although they can watch each other through a glass door. They don't show any aggression, but they are wary of each other. Despite Chris’s love for his reptiles, he is cautious about recommending this type of pet to the ordinary person; they need to offer a very special environment and a lot of care and dedication, which he obviously has in heaps.