Gator

[Kid Dragon]

I have a baby gator (with proper permits) in a 75 gallon tank. So far I've fed him anole lizards, pinkie mice, crayfish, thawed squid pieces, crickets, and Muzzuri turtle food. I've been told to avoid feeding him goldfish.

Does anyone have baby gator experience that can share successful/healthy diet? I was told baby gators should eat daily.

 

[ilovebugs]

just curious

how does one go about getting a permit?

 

[8 leg wonder]

No personal experience, But any growing reptile should be fed every day or two. crocidilians are garbage cans and should eat just about any thing you put in front of them ie. inverts, rodents, chicken, and some prepared reptile foods. good luck with you new pet. BTW what sp is it. when it is an adult you should be able to get away with feeding it once a week or so

 

[nightbreed]

Holy crap, a Gator very cool
I agree with what 8 leg wonder said, it should eat pretty much anything, and when its older it will be a great way to dispose of a body

 

[Beardo]

But any growing reptile should be fed every day or two.

Not exactly....you certainly don't want to feed snakes every day or two...and there are plenty of other reptiles that wouldn't do well on such a frequent feeding schedule.

IMO, if you have no experience with an animal or group of animals, you have no business handing out care advice.

I am of the opinion that Alligators make terrible pets. They get way too big for 99% of the people who own them to care for and house properly. I'm guessing that the person above who owns the Gator is a teenager who has little experience with reptiles. This is unfortunately a common occurrence and the animals often end up dead or abandoned.

 

[ilovebugs]

Not exactly....you certainly don't want to feed snakes every day or two...and there are plenty of other reptiles that wouldn't do well on such a frequent feeding schedule.

IMO, if you have no experience with an animal or group of animals, you have no business handing out care advice.

I am of the opinion that Alligators make terrible pets. They get way too big for 99% of the people who own them to care for and house properly. I'm guessing that the person above who owns the Gator is a teenager who has little experience with reptiles. This is unfortunately a common occurrence and the animals often end up dead or abandoned.

well, he did say "No personal experience"

 

[Beardo]

Go back and re-read the posts. You've got them mixed up.

Kid Dragon did not say "no personal experience".....8 leg wonder did. Kid Dragon owns the Gator.

 

[ilovebugs]

Go back and re-read the posts. You've got them mixed up.

Kid Dragon did not say "no personal experience".....8 leg wonder did. Kid Dragon owns the Gator.

thats who I was quoting, sorry, wasn't clear.

 

[Bayushi]

few years back i had a gator. I fed it twice a week usually mice but i mixed in chicken breasts and the occassional fish, frog, or lizard. Never fed him goldfish, it was usually pumpkin seed fish or small small mouth bass(living by a lake helped).

Once he hit around 3 feet in lenght i feed him once a week either 2 mice or 1 medium rat. At 4 feet he was getting large rats weekly plus or minus a couple days...(usually plus a couple days maybe fed him every 10 to 12 days on average)

anyways hope this helps

 

[Niloticus]

I have a baby gator (with proper permits) in a 75 gallon tank. So far I've fed him anole lizards, pinkie mice, crayfish, thawed squid pieces, crickets, and Muzzuri turtle food. I've been told to avoid feeding him goldfish.

Does anyone have baby gator experience that can share successful/healthy diet? I was told baby gators should eat daily.

You can feed it a variety of foods. They can eat insects and frozen animals like rats and chicks. When they grow larger, you can feed them horse meat or frozen rabbits and chickens. They have a very low metabolism like tarantulas do, they convert food easily into muscle and energy. They probably don't have to be fed everyday, but I suppose if you want it to grow faster and larger it wouldn't be a bad idea. I would avoid goldfish, their skin may harbor toxins from the water.

Niloticus - "lila4321@hotmail.com"

 

[Bayushi]

just remembered something. provide it with basking place use a light for it. if you use an aquarium heater they sometimes lay on it and get burned.

 

[Galapoheros]

Not exactly....you certainly don't want to feed snakes every day or two...and there are plenty of other reptiles that wouldn't do well on such a frequent feeding schedule.

IMO, if you have no experience with an animal or group of animals, you have no business handing out care advice.

I am of the opinion that Alligators make terrible pets. They get way too big for 99% of the people who own them to care for and house properly. I'm guessing that the person above who owns the Gator is a teenager who has little experience with reptiles. This is unfortunately a common occurrence and the animals often end up dead or abandoned.

I would keep a baby for a while but, passed a certain size, what do you do with it? I did see an extremely rare exception on a TV program. Maybe some of you saw it. This guy kept an 8' gator in his basement. He would take it to schools for educational purposes. The kids would touch it. He never would muzzle the gator. He said it had never tried to bite anyone and he had had it since it was a hatchling! He even let his 3(?) year old kid ride it in the front yard! MAN!, that just didn't look right. I wouldn't expect any other gator to have this personality. One in thousands. Even though it looked crazy to me, this guy seemed like he knew what he was doing. I'll never forget that TV show.

 

[galeogirl]

I've never kept crocodilians myself, but I've had the good fortune to know experienced keepers who did and got to spend some time with several species. Definitely not a casual pet, more of a lifestyle choice. Even caimans and dwarf crocodiles require extremely large setups as adults and their care and feeding can be expensive.

I've handled crocs that were relatively docile, and there were a few that I wouldn't set foot in the same room with. Even the docile ones are large, powerful predators with the potential to be dangerous.

Would I love to own some? Oh heck yeah, crocodiles are the main reason that I ever got interested in exotics to begin with. Would I own one without first doing major research on its lifetime care requirements and ensuring that I could easily meet those needs? Heck no.

I've been out of the reptile loop for awhile. Is anyone doing rescue with large herps nowadays? I've always thought that someone should. If anyone wants to give me the land and facilities, I'd do it.

 

[AfterTheAsylum]

I have a little gator (Jesper), he is about 2 feet long. Here's what I do... I feed him 1 or 2 mice every feeding day (Saturday) and then throw in 6 minnows and 6 crayfish too. If he is still hungry, he will have accessible food. And yeah - no gold fish (something to do with the chemicals). Also, you can't feed it other reptiles, (my bugger ate a snake when he was "playing outside". I feed him mice, crayfish, minnows, small lobsters, roaches and crickets... yes, crickets. It is kind of funny. As anyone with Ts knows, you will always find crickets on the floor. I threw one in the tank one day and my gator loved it. If I figure out how to post pics, I will put some pics of Jesper eating - I even have a video of him eating a mouse.

When he is around 3 feet, there is a place in Cincinnatti, OH that will care for him as long as I donate $50.

I do not recommend Gators. If anything, get a pygmy Caimen, they don't get bigger than 3 feet.

 

[Galapoheros]

I have a little gator (Jesper), he is about 2 feet long. Here's what I do... I feed him 1 or 2 mice every feeding day (Saturday) and then throw in 6 minnows and 6 crayfish too. If he is still hungry, he will have accessible food. And yeah - no gold fish (something to do with the chemicals). Also, you can't feed it other reptiles, (my bugger ate a snake when he was "playing outside". I feed him mice, crayfish, minnows, small lobsters, roaches and crickets... yes, crickets. It is kind of funny. As anyone with Ts knows, you will always find crickets on the floor. I threw one in the tank one day and my gator loved it. If I figure out how to post pics, I will put some pics of Jesper eating - I even have a video of him eating a mouse.

When he is around 3 feet, there is a place in Cincinnatti, OH that will care for him as long as I donate $50.

I do not recommend Gators. If anything, get a pygmy Caimen, they don't get bigger than 3 feet.

I like that approach. That's probably how I would do want to do it too. I used to have Caiman when I was about 12. That was years ago. It got out. I looked for stuff in a local creek almost every day. I saw a little alligator looking thing on the shore of the creek on a sandbar. It was the Caiman! I got on my hands and knees. Snuck up on it reeeeaal slow. It didn't move. I was surprised I was getting so close to it. When I got about five feet away, I realized it was just a toy....dammit!

 

[fangsalot]

I would keep a baby for a while but, passed a certain size, what do you do with it? I did see an extremely rare exception on a TV program. Maybe some of you saw it. This guy kept an 8' gator in his basement. He would take it to schools for educational purposes. The kids would touch it. He never would muzzle the gator. He said it had never tried to bite anyone and he had had it since it was a hatchling! He even let his 3(?) year old kid ride it in the front yard! MAN!, that just didn't look right. I wouldn't expect any other gator to have this personality. One in thousands. Even though it looked crazy to me, this guy seemed like he knew what he was doing. I'll never forget that TV show.

yeah that gators name is bubba. he does appearances in a few reptile shows across the country(sometimes with mark oshey)thousands of people come up and pet bubba,its crazy!

 

[Galapoheros]

I've never kept crocodilians myself, but I've had the good fortune to know experienced keepers who did and got to spend some time with several species. Definitely not a casual pet, more of a lifestyle choice. Even caimans and dwarf crocodiles require extremely large setups as adults and their care and feeding can be expensive.

I've handled crocs that were relatively docile, and there were a few that I wouldn't set foot in the same room with. Even the docile ones are large, powerful predators with the potential to be dangerous.

Would I love to own some? Oh heck yeah, crocodiles are the main reason that I ever got interested in exotics to begin with. Would I own one without first doing major research on its lifetime care requirements and ensuring that I could easily meet those needs? Heck no.

I've been out of the reptile loop for awhile. Is anyone doing rescue with large herps nowadays? I've always thought that someone should. If anyone wants to give me the land and facilities, I'd do it.

I've thought about do something like this. I live on about two acres right now. But it's in the city and I'm tired of it. I don't need to be here anymore and I like it natural and quiet. And I want dirt. Austin area is black clay and rock. Would like to grow some of my own food and have big tortoises walking around. And outside facilities for chameleons, etc. Yea, it's fun to dream about. Dreams keep you going. A little house in the middle of about 20 acres. That would be rockin! I've been looking east of Bryan Tx. Still gets cold though in the winter there. Come ooon global warming! Just kiddin.

 

[Crotalus]

Do you have place for it when it gets big?

/Lelle

 

[defour]

I do not recommend Gators. If anything, get a pygmy Caimen, they don't get bigger than 3 feet.

If you double-check, you'll find that this isn't true.

Steve

 

[ilovebugs]

Do you have place for it when it gets big?


/Lelle

eh, bathtubs work grrrrrrrrrrrreat