Greetings

[Kurt]

Paleosuchus get up to four feet in length and even though they are the smallest of the crocodilians, they are pound for pound some of the meanest SOB's on the planet. Last Tueday I saw a pair of adult dwarf caiman housed with some alligators and a nile crocodile. Of the critters in the enclosures, I would only trust the alligators.
Also that night my knee was about four inches from the business end of a cobra. Now that gets your blood pumping.

My understanding is that you need to cool fire-bellies to get them to produce eggs.

[FrogSplash]

that sounds like a walk in the park, especially after having to deal with a female tokay gecko. now thats a mean little package. maybe if i can sell my ball pythons, i can fund a massive firebelly project n one of my 55g breeders provided it doesnt go with the snake

[Kurt]

A tokay can't tear your limbs off.

[FrogSplash]

hehe a caimen isint really on my wish list. i dont want the responsibility of taking care of a true beast. the biggest i'd ever be willing to go is some type of monitor or a green iguana. those at least are more reasonable than a croc

[1beataway]

A friend of mine has an alligator. It's crazy. I tell her she's going to need to give it her bathtub.

[Kurt]

Be mindful that crocodilians are illegal in a lot of states including Massachusetts and now, New Hampshire. Unfortunately, they are still legal in Rhode Island. So, all people have to do is drive over the border and buy an alligator or even a crocodile. Stores in RI are not likely to ask where a customer hails from. Why lose a sale, huh?
Unless you live in Florida or some other warm place, where you can keep an alligator in a backyard pen, keeping one is just not realistic or fair to the animal.

[1beataway]

She bought it at a reptile expo. Cost her $75, I think. It was an impulse buy. The seller told her it would be fine in a 20 gallon tank, and would grow like a few inches each year.

Last time we went to the expo, the price had dropped to $50, or 5 for $225.

So it was an impulse buy, and she didn't really know all the info she should have learned first, but now she's trying to do the best she can for it.

In the pet store I work at, many of my customers buy goldfish for their pet gator. It use to surprise me, but now I've heard of so many people having them.

[Kurt]

Unfortunately, most alligators sold in the pet trade die within a year of purchase. Those that survive past that get to die a slow death, living in cramped quarters, that stunt their growth. Those that manage to out grow their living hell end up on gator farms, where they eventually will end up being made into belts and shoes. A very lucky few might end up in zoos and similar institutions, but keep in mind they can only take so many.

[1beataway]

So far my friend has had the alligator for 10 months. She didn't start it in a 20 gallon though; it's in a 50 gallon. But it's tripled in size since she got it. She talks about buying a house where she can have an area for it, but truthfully I'm not sure if she'll be able to handle it when it gets full-size. I want to be optimistic; she seems determined to do the best for it.

But, it is a shame that so many people here have gators. I thought it was interesting that the sign actually said "Or 5 for $225."

[FrogSplash]

some people have even gone so far as to convert there basement into a gator room. might be ok for dwarf caimen or other "small" croc/alligator, but if your to have a realistic chance you need to have a proper miniature ecosystem set up in your backyard

[1beataway]

Yeah, there are a couple here who have them in their basement. Crazy.