From walking a crocodile with a harness, sharing a bed with one and communicating telepathically – it’s safe to say Vicki Lowing loves her crocodiles.
She owns five of the man-eating reptiles and keeps them all in her suburban three-bedroom, one-bathroom home in Melbourne’s western suburb of Rockbank.
Since her youngest, Johnnie, was left on her doorstep as a hatchling 22 years ago, the 60-year-old animal lover has developed an unimaginable soft spot for the species.
Vicki Lowing (pictured) owns five crocodiles and keeps them all in her suburban home in Melbourne’s western suburb of Rockbank
Vicki can’t imagine a life not catering to the highly specific care requirements of her beloved crocs
Johnnie (pictured) was hand reared and has adapted the traits of any other household pet
Oftentimes she’s woken in the early hours of the morning to them banging about in her living room-cum-crocodile sanctuary, begging to be fed.
She happily obliges and now finds it hard to imagine her life not filled with the highly specific care requirements demanded by the scaly beasts.
‘If they’re hungry at two or three in the morning, I’ll get up and feed them,’ she told VICE.
Ms Lowing said her two adult freshwater crocs, Jovian and Johnnie, will happily let themselves into her bedroom occasionally too.
With the two adult pals living in an aquarium set up in her lounge room, her two baby freshwater crocodiles in the bathroom and her large saltwater croc outside, Ms Lowing has become accustomed to having limited space left for herself.
Looking after 33 animals is a full-time job for the retired woman, with a variety of snakes, nine species of lizards, two turtles and five birds also depending on her.
Since her youngest, Johnnie (pictured in a harness), was left on her doorstep as a hatchling 22 years ago, the animal lover has developed an unimaginable soft spot for the species
Oftentimes Vicki is woken in the early hours of the morning to them banging about in her living room-cum-crocodile sanctuary, begging to be fed
She said all her critters had been ‘homeless’ before she took them under her wing, and ‘they just wouldn’t survive’ if she sent them into the wild.
‘A lot of people have just gotten sick of them and don’t want to look after them anymore,’ Ms Lowing told Daily Mail Australia.
‘When I get an animal it’s for life, and I treat the, like they’re my own child.’
While she enjoys a close relationship with Johnnie, her hand-reared companion, she said she still needed to be respectful of not crossing their instinctual boundaries.
During feeding time, Vicki must be careful not to look her crocs in the eye, as doing so would present a threat and could cause them to lash out.
Having been raised by Vicki alone, Johnnie (pictured) has taken on human-like characteristics
As a young croc, Johnnie (pictured) enjoyed being taken on walks with a cute pink harness
‘They seem to be comfortable with it, if they can mate and breed, well I must be doing something right,’ she said.
Taking care of the 33 animals of all different varieties kept in her home has consumed Vicki’s living space and entire life – but she wouldn’t have it any other way.
‘I’ve sacrificed my life for them. Animals have always been my life and without them I think I wouldn’t have a life,’ she said.
Vicki keeps the ‘smaller’ of her clan – the freshwater crocodiles – inside the house, utilising her bath tub and a large aquarium in the centre of her living room space.
Taking care of the 33 animals of all different varieties kept in her home has consumed Vicki’s living space and entire life – but she wouldn’t have it any other way
Young Johnnie could even wiggle into the passenger seat of Vicki’s car
Vicki keeps the ‘smaller’ of her clan inside the house, utilising her bath tub and a large aquarium in the centre of her living room space
In the backyard is her biggest, her saltwater crocodile, Jilfia – who she claimed cried after being scolding for eating one of her live chickens.
‘I had to apologise to her because she was only doing what was natural. They’re very confused crocodiles, they try and do something that’s instinctive to them and I yell at them.’
Vicky has retired from work and has been financially strained by supporting her animals on a pension alone.
She has set up a Go Fund Me page to help fund the construction of a large insulated outdoor area for Jilfia.
When Johnnie was younger, he would sleep on the bed with Vicki, Vicki’s ex husband, and the cat
Her saltwater crocodile, Jilfia, lives in a larger tank in the property’s backyard, but Vicki is working on building her a larger enclosure
Vicki has retired from work and has been financially strained by supporting her animals on a pension alone
She has set up a Go Fund Me page to help fund the construction of a large insulated outdoor area for Jilfia