Gator

[Bry]

Seriously, some of you people need to just stick to inverts.

 

[Beardo]

Seriously, some of you people need to just stick to inverts.

Amen. :wall: :?

 

[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.

I seriously envy you. I would love to have an alligator as a pet. I tried to obtain a permit from the Wildlife Division here in Utah. They are totally against the idea. I've even considered moving out of state to be able to have one. For the alligator itself, they are fairly cheap. Like $50 for a juvenile and $125 for one that's 3-4 feet. They are beautiful creatures. I absolutely adore them. I am really into the Nile Crocodile though. That's where I got my alias, "Niloticus" it's the scientific name for the Nile Crocodile - crocodylus niloticus

Niloticus

 

[Wisdom16]

To everyone who wants a gator,

You do know that these aren't a "good" pet. They would rather eat you that look at you. If your not cautious, a 2' gator could take off a few fingers without you having time to react. I suggest you take the gator back or donate it to a zoo. Zoos and research facilities are the only people that should be able to keep crocodilians IMO unless someone has the proper facilities to house the animal. A full grown gator would need a pond to swim and hunt in.

I agree with what Bry said.

 

[fluffy]

i think its just to say ''oh i have a gator'' just to look cool in front of your friends,there not cool,even the dwarfs hit 5-6ft or more and thats quite hard for most single people to handle safely on their own and those jaws can do you some serious damage and even if you think its tame they will turn and cause you serious harm.
do you have space in your home to house a 8ft+ animal that will need a large area of water to be comfortable and probably need access to a lot of bigger animal items such as rabbits and stuff(i would imagine an alligator would be quite an expensive animal to house and keep correctly) and it really is a lifelong commitment as some can live quite long(up to 40 years plus)
its not something you can keep in your bath and bring out only to show people
they are sold because people will buy them but in the long run i bet they get dumped in ponds causing havoc on wildlife etc
imo if your not prepared to give it a home for all its life don't buy them
lee

 

[Wisdom16]

Even when the gator gets full grown, it's going to need large amounts of food. I think people buy these animals as an ego-trip to impress friends and so they can prove they are couragous, but in reality it is going to come back and bite them in the ass........literally.

 

[jarrell]

i agree wat idoit wants a gator for a pet. if you want a pet get a dog. if you mean intresting species to observe these would be amazing. of course only experinse herpers should even think of getting a animal that can get that big. they arent casual pets. actually i never herd of a casual pet. wat is a casual pet. if you got the perms and you know what your doing i say go ahead.

 

[Bayushi]

in my case, i bought the gator from the petshop to save it from the horrible conditions it was being kept in. thankfully the shop was closed down a month later for the same reasons i bought the gator.

I kept him until he was just over 4 or so feet. his final home is the woodland park zoo in seattle. So stop by and Say hi to Evenrude if you are in the area.

I do agree that most people buy gators for some macho ego building reason, but that is not the case with everyone who owns one.

 

[Kid Dragon]

Hi all,

Thanks for sharing care tips. My gator is Alligator mississippiensis. While I have over 1000 hours of gator handling experience, I had no baby gator feeding experience. My gator is 18 inches, and I have him in a 75 gallon tank. I've been feeding him Mazuri turtle food (which is what they recommened at the gator farm), along with the following: crickets, superworms, crayfish, pinkie mice, anole lizards, ghost shrimp, thawed catfish, and thawed squid. I have a heat lamp over the land area, and a uV light source.

The gator is for educational display purposes. When he gets near 3 feet, I'm trading him back to the gator farm for a baby.

While american alligators are probably the most docile crocodilian species (dwarf caimen are very aggressive), my baby gator has started to associate me with food and strikes at the glass if I walk by the tank. When I pick him up, he calls for his mother.

 

[Kid Dragon]

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 agree that gators make terrible pets for most people for the same reason large snakes aren't for everyone...they get too big for most people to handle.

I'm not a teenager, and in the state where I live, you have to have gator handling experience before you can get a permit to legally own one. My gator handling experience came from working at an outreach program at a zoo.

 

[Beardo]

If you have so much experience working with Alligators, why are you asking for advice on how/what to feed yours on an invertebrate message board? I call BS.

What kind of example does it set for other herpers when you get a Gator and then justify it by saying "Oh, once it gets too big for me, I'm just going to pawn it off on someone else"? Thats pretty crappy IMO. If you can't care for the animal, DON'T BUY IT.

 

[Kid Dragon]

If you have so much experience working with Alligators, why are you asking for advice on how/what to feed yours on an invertebrate message board? I call BS.

What kind of example does it set for other herpers when you get a Gator and then justify it by saying "Oh, once it gets too big for me, I'm just going to pawn it off on someone else"? Thats pretty crappy IMO. If you can't care for the animal, DON'T BUY IT.

David,

I have gator handling experience (show and tell), but not gator feeding experience. I was looking for successful diet ideas on this forum, and I got nice positive feedback from people which I appreciated.

It is very common with alligators for educational purposes to grow them for "free" for gator farms and exchange them for babies and begin again. Your entitled to your opinion of "that's pretty crappy", but its a nice business arrangement for both parties, in my opinion its "pretty smart".

I can care for the animal, enclosure was inspected, and I have a permit. If you object to people using this "invertebrate messageboard" for vertebrate tips, why are you reading and posting in the vertebrate section? Why do you feel compelled to second guess my age, intentions or expertise? You judge without knowing the situation or person. I call that BS.

Thanks to everyone that contributed in a positive fashion and shared a common interest.

 

[Beardo]

Once again....if you don't know how to care for an animal BEFORE you obtain it, you have no business owning said animal. Shouldn't learn about a Gator's diet before getting one? Thats pretty much common sense when getting a new animal.....or at least it is for those of us responsible enough to acknowledge the duties of caring for a living animal.

What kind of "educational purposes" are you going to be using your Gator for? Having a couple of buddies over and saying "Hey, look how cool I am...I have an Alligator!" is not what I'd call "educational."

 

[Schlyne]

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 know of Rusty Reptile Rescue, and I don't think they take in the really big lizards.... I know they've taken in burmese pythons before, and have a couple that will probably end up as permanent residents.

Kid Dragon: Do you need a seperate permit for educational use?

As for Bubba, I would consider he and Lucky to be very special cases.

 

[Kid Dragon]

Once again....if you don't know how to care for an animal BEFORE you obtain it, you have no business owning said animal. Shouldn't learn about a Gator's diet before getting one? Thats pretty much common sense when getting a new animal.....or at least it is for those of us responsible enough to acknowledge the duties of caring for a living animal.

What kind of "educational purposes" are you going to be using your Gator for? Having a couple of buddies over and saying "Hey, look how cool I am...I have an Alligator!" is not what I'd call "educational."

Hey David,

I knew enough about the diet of a baby gator to keep it healthy, I was looking for ideas from others on what has worked for them.

If you really have no clue what educational purposes means, I'm not going to take the time to explain it to you. I don't know you so, I'm not going to judge you. However, towards me you have acted like a jerk for no reason. I'm sure you have plenty of good qualities that aren't apparent from your posts on this thread.

If you don't think people should care for gators thats your opinion. I have one, and he's spectacular.

 

[Kid Dragon]

Kid Dragon: Do you need a seperate permit for educational use?

QUOTE]

Not a seperate permit, just one, a Class III permit.

 

[Psycho]

Jesus reading this post made my eyes hurt..you will always get a mixture of advice when it comes to gator species...I will have to agree with what people say about "Gators dont make good pets", So far my society had to rescue 3 american alligators, when you think about it thats pretty sad because most likely they were perchased over the internet. I honestly think there should be laws in every state pertaining to proper housing and handling of gators.

Zoo's these days will not take in "hand over's" from the general public.

I feed my gators chicken breasts battered in calcium, Chicks and on rare occasions rodents. watch out how much you feed them or they will become quite big too fast and before you know it you will have a 8 foot gator lookin at you in the face ready to rip it off..

I know this is pertaining to gators but this could happen to you if you do not "respect" this species(please do not watch it if you have a weak stomach)
http://www.geocities.com/sheboyganherpsociety/chinese_steve_irwn.wmv


-Rob

www.sheboyganherpsociety.com

 

[Kid Dragon]

Psycho,

That guy gets my vote for the dumb arse of the year. I guess all you can say is at least he didn't stick his head in the crocs mouth.

My gators is tiny, 18 inches. The gator farm I got him from suggested Mazuri Freshwater Turtle Food. I was questioning this strategy since I thought gators and turtles diet aren't too similar. However, Mazuri just came out with a Crocodilian diet, and comparing the ingredients in it to the turtle food isn't that different...so I think the tip was better than I originally thought.

I am ordering the Mazuri Croc food, but I will continue to feed my gator the turtle food until it runs out. Both contain fish meal and porcupine meat. The croc food is 5% higher in protein.

I do trust Mazuri products for exotic animals, they do their homework researching the nutritional needs, and use quality ingredients.

My gator is currently eating catfish, crayfish, crickets, lizards, pinkies, and superworms in addition to the turtle food.

Jesus reading this post made my eyes hurt..you will always get a mixture of advice when it comes to gator species...I will have to agree with what people say about "Gators dont make good pets", So far my society had to rescue 3 american alligators, when you think about it thats pretty sad because most likely they were perchased over the internet. I honestly think there should be laws in every state pertaining to proper housing and handling of gators.

Zoo's these days will not take in "hand over's" from the general public.

I feed my gators chicken breasts battered in calcium, Chicks and on rare occasions rodents. watch out how much you feed them or they will become quite big too fast and before you know it you will have a 8 foot gator lookin at you in the face ready to rip it off..

I know this is pertaining to gators but this could happen to you if you do not "respect" this species(please do not watch it if you have a weak stomach)
http://www.geocities.com/sheboyganherpsociety/chinese_steve_irwn.wmv


-Rob

www.sheboyganherpsociety.com