Care
Environment checks
Four published values decide whether an enclosure works before any enrichment is placed: temperature, terrain mix, space and shelter.
These are the values the habitat panel checks continuously. They are also the ones most often copied wrongly from another species' build.
| Requirement | Verified value |
|---|---|
| Temperature band | Habitat temperature, per species |
| Terrain mix | Ranges per terrain type; checked on the painted surface |
| Space | Land area, shelter area or deep water area — separately |
| Water | Deep water area and salinity for aquatic species |
| Cover | Shelter area counts apart from land area |
- Paint terrain before releasing animals: repainting with animals inside costs time and welfare.
- Heaters and coolers are a permanent running cost, not a one-off purchase.
- Aquarium habitats replace land area with deep water area — check which one the species publishes.
FAQ
FAQ
Common questions about this topic.
Which value should I fix first?
Temperature: it is a single habitat value, checked continuously and cheap to correct.
Does terrain matter for exhibit species?
Not always — some exhibit records publish no terrain mix, and the species page shows the gap instead of an estimate.
Where are these values?
In the care requirements table on every species page.