Smallest croc

[Kurzix]

Heres a question for ya.

IF I were to get a croc or gator, what kind will stay relitivly small, and just how small is it, and what size tank would be optimal for it.

not knowing much about crocs except they get big, live a long time, keeps me from getting one. Maybe if a certain breed stayed small enough :)

[jason h]

hi well the dwarf caimans are the smallest croc you'd be able to purchase they reach around four feet, here is a great web page that is very iformative and can help tremedously when thinking of a croc spiecies it is almost the only croc care sheet on the web period LOL!! hope you injoy it,
http://crocodilian.com/crocfaq/

[Dom]

Even some caimens get way too big .. The only trully readilly available caimen is the Spectacle and he has a reach of about 5 feet for males and 6 for females ..

The smaller species such as the Cuviers Dwarf and the Schneiders dwarf do not get to big (around 3 to 4 feet) .. they are available but a bit harder to find .. more expensive too.

The only problem with caimens is their dispositon.. Caimens are generally vicious by nature because of there much much smaller size! To bad they all can't be like gators.


And realistically, there is NO TANK or aquarium that could hold a full grown crocodillian .. so you are looking at a man made enclosure for any adult but u can defenetly house juviniles .. keep in mind .. sometimes they can grow as fast as a half an inch per week..


Amazing animals but defenetly not for everyone!

Dom

[tex_01]

i will have to agree with dom on that on. My best suggestion would be a Cuviers Dwarf.

Aaron

[lance]

awsome thanks for all the info folks

[anothermonkey]

Way back in September Dom wrote:

"Even some caimens get way too big"

All crocodilians get a lot bigger than most people realize. The power, agility and sheer energy of a "small" 4 foot caiman needs to be experienced to be believed. These animals are smart, for reptiles, and deserve very large enclosures. The size of the territory coupled with available cover also influence the relative aggression displayed by an animal.

Dom also wrote:

".. The only trully readilly available caimen is the Spectacle and he has a reach of about 5 feet for males and 6 for females .. "

While the Spectacled Caiman is the most commonly available, it's not really the best choice for most people. Sexual dimorphism in crocodilians tends towards larger males, not larger females...so count on about six feet for a male, five for a female...and this species can get even larger than this, make no mistake about that. That's why I don't think they're a good choice.

Much better to choose Paleosuchus palpebrosus, but they're not any friendlier, and males over five feet are not as uncommon as one might think. Babies can be hard to acclimate, count on a high parasite load and possible difficulty feeding.

Dom says:

"The smaller species such as the Cuviers Dwarf and the Schneiders dwarf do not get to big (around 3 to 4 feet) .. they are available but a bit harder to find .. more expensive too."

Expense of the animal should not be your primary consideration. It will eventually cost you much, much more to house properly. This is also an animal that may outlive you, so again, why worry about an initial difference of a couple of hundred dollars, when faced with the long run? Speaking of which, what happens when you change jobs, living arrangements, careers, spouses...have kids...leave school/go to school etc. etc. -- what happens when you're old and have a big, ornery croc? I'm not saying don't do it, just some stuff to take into account before you get one.

Dom wrote:

"The only problem with caimens is their dispositon.. Caimens are generally vicious by nature because of there much much smaller size! To bad they all can't be like gators."

I've seen some MEAN gators, and even a supposedly tame crocodilian is not the least bit trustworthy, just on principle. Kind of like lawyers. ;)

A crocodilian poses problems no other reptile does. The very BEST place to learn about it, is of course the Captive Care FAQ on www.crocodilian.com, which someone else has already posted the link to.