Caiman do not eat

[steu]

hello,
a few years i keep snakes, lizards and other exotic pets. las week i'v got an opportunity to get a caiman crocodile. So i bought it and took home, but now i have a little problem. he does't eat at all! he's small (about 40cm), lives in the tank, temperature water 28 C, land 31C. i have offered him frogs, grasshopper, red mice, fish but seems like he is stresing. how i can make he to eat smf?

 

[arachyd]

They do a lot of hunting at night. Try covering the tank so it is dark for a few hours when you feed him. It might help.

 

[xBurntBytheSunx]

just out of curiousity...how is it possible to keep a crocodile as a pet?

 

[steu]

first of all sorry for my poor english, secondly thanks arachyd, i'll leave frogs and live fish in the tank with caiman for the night, count them and in the morning will see how much is left.. and about crocodile as a pet.. well, we all are crazy in some way.. someone keeps tarantulas at home as a pets.. someone keeps cobras.. i'v got 11 snakes, 4 iguanas, few birdeater spiders, scorpions and caiman ;]

 

[ZooRex]

just out of curiousity...how is it possible to keep a crocodile as a pet?

Well a camain is not a "crocodile"; they will not get huge. Depending on the species they usually top off at 4-7feet. They are still for advanced keepers and require large enclouse, but are a bit more managable then a saltie. Which can be found in the trade, which I to find a bit crazy. ~ Rex

 

[arachyd]

King Rex is correct. They don't get nearly as big as crocodiles. I've kept them in the past. Steu, plan on doing a lot of maintenance and water changes. They are possibly the messiest pet you can have (except maybe monkeys) and if they eat and water remains dirty for a day or 2 the stink is enough to knock you over if you keep them inside the house.

 

[JohnEDove]

While you are correct that not all Caimen sp (family Alligatoridae) get as large as family Crocodylidae sp it is also dependent on which species you compare.
Caiman crocodilus can reach 6 - 9 feet roughly the same as Crocodylus johnstoni and Crocodylus mindorensis.

 

[crpy]

right ,what spp. please:?

 

[JohnEDove]

C c yacare will reach 9 feet.

 

[crpy]

My old institution just got a black ciaman , shes soooo beautiful.

I know this will sound funny but throw a few bits of dog food in and will probably start to munch on then in its own time ime,then tong feed.

 

[JohnEDove]

Crpy has a great point here. If this animal has been in captivity for a period of time at the importer or is CB the odds are pretty good it has been being fed pellet/chunk foods rather than live.
You might try getting some Mazuri Crocodilian Diet. That is what we fed our gator rescues.

 

[Galapoheros]

Maybe if you put him outside in the sun for a while, heat him up a little, he might get hungry. I had one of those, they were popular here in the US in the mid 70's. I think I was about 10. It got out. I went down to the local creek to look for things and I saw it sitting on a sandy bank next to the water. I spent a very long time sneaking up on it. HA! ..it turned out to be a toy .