Nocturnal House Update

It is official, our new exhibit for 2012 will be called the "Nocturnal House." Work has been going at a pace to try and get it ready for the Easter school break, and I thought you may like to see some pictures of how it is developing.

 The site of the Nocturnal House is situated at the back of our Lecture Theatre, and has previously only ever been used as a space to store things. First job was to clear it all out and see what was left.

Once the layout had been designed, it didn't take long for our maintenance team to get all the stud work in place and you could really begin to get a feel for how it was going to work out.

 It wasn't just the inside that needed work, we had to create new access points for the public and keepers to see the new enclosures when finally opened.

Boarding and ceiling went up to give the enclosed feel, and enclosure sizes were worked out and put in place.

 A lick of paint before wiring to prevent the animals gnawing out of their new homes.

And how the outside currently looks. Of course, much more is still to do. Glass needs to be put in place, exhibits need to be designed and fitted out, lighting needs to be put in place as well as signage... but hopefully all will be ready for the opening later next month.

All the keepers have been on Bat Care courses to be able to correctly look after these specialised animals, licences to allow us to keep them are currently being applied for, and we already have a few bats lined up to put on display.

Edible dormice, or Glis glis, have been at the centre for a while now and I am sure they will appreciate a change of scenary when they enter their new home and we are hopeful of some educational Common Dormice, which can not be released to the wild, to find a permanent home here.

We have a lovely family of hedgehogs which have been housed off display for a few years now which will make home in the new hedgehog enclosure.