Crocodile Tears

I am Vicki Lowing and have successfully kept crocodiles as pets for over 28 years now. I currently own two Freshwater Crocodiles, Johnie, a 23 year old female croc., and Fovian, an 11 year old male croc. who have also now become a breeding couple.

Due to licensing regulations, I am now required to enclose Johnie and Fovian inside a lockable enclosure in the room of my house they are currently housed in.

My animals are my life and I urgently need funding to build an enclosure inside my house for Johnie and Fovian.

If I don't meet the wildlife regulations by providing them with an appropriate enclosure, a larger pond and external heating for the water etc., I will lose Johnie and Fovian.

The new larger pond I've chosen is going to cost me $1,180 and the external inline water heater another $1,000. Then there is the cost of the materials needed to build the enclosure.

I have always prioritized the welfare of my crocs. and have considered the room I have kept them in as a lockable enclosure, however, it's been brought to my attention the room is not acceptable as an enclosure and I must therefore provide my crocs. with a lockable enclosure within the room.

This is an urgent appeal too as I have very little time in which to set up a new enclosure....... only 4 weeks !!

This is also an appeal to ultimately save my crocs lives...... if Johnie and Fovian were re-homed, either separately or together as a breeding pair, I am almost certain they would suffer from severe stress, especially Johnie, and could result in their demise. 

I have had Johnie since a hatchling and for 23 years now and like any much loved pet, she will stress when separated from me. And 23 years of age in a crocodile is comparative to 23 human years, so she is still only a young girl.

Johnie's lack of teeth is the result of her immune system being compromised for four years when she was a youngster, due to very high counts of toxic blue green algae cells contaminating the water supply to my property, which I was unaware of at the time.  This resulted in chronic infections of Johnie's tooth sockets and an eventual permanent loss of many of her teeth. During these four years, Johnie also suffered acute reactions to the toxins in our water and nearly died on several occasions.....I spent many hours constantly monitoring her signs and symptoms with many visits to my local vet for blood tests and investigations into the cause of her adverse signs and symptoms. I also spent many nights staying close to her and nursing her through the acute reactions as well as  praying for her to live and not die on me. Consequently as a result, we became very closely bonded and have remained so since.
Due to our water supply being so heavily contaminated with these toxins, I also nearly lost my son who became increasingly and acutely ill during the latter two years of this four year period and likewise, my horses and other pets also suffered severe reactions to the water.
When I eventually discovered myself, the toxic blue green algae cells in our water (through my own investigations of water samples using a microscope), I sold my property and moved to Melbourne, which is known for supplying good quality water.

So hopefully, you can now understand how much my crocs, and Johnie especially, mean to me......they're not just crocodiles or even "pets", but have become a part of my family.

So Please Help me to keep Johnie and Fovian here with me where they are well cared for (very much spoiled actually) and are content living with me in my home, as indicated by successfully breeding.