Spectacled Caiman being picky eater

[Nikki Gervais]

Hi all,
I have had my caiman a few weeks now and although I finally got him eating he is not taking the food on his own. He must be teased with it and then when he strikes at it, it's in aggression and sometimes if I'm lucky he will swallow it.

I was told to do this by a friend who has experience with crocs but I know it stresses him out and I hate doing it. I love him and I have read the croc FAQ over and over trying to figure out what to do.

If I leave the food in the cage he will not touch it either. It just goes to waste. He has a hiding spot and proper temps and everything I just don't know what to do anymore.

I have tried fish and mice. All he does is hiss and growl and when I tease him to eat as instructed he slashes at it thinking he's attacking me. I think he is just going to get more and more aggressive if I keep doing this because it is literally teasing him with an apparent purpose. :( Only he doesn't understand why his mom is all of a sudden pickin on him. :(

Opinions anyone? Please help.

[crochunter]

I had the same problem with mine try feeding it some crickets then work your way up to bigger items.

[jason h]

hey nicky ,seriously i would put the food item just at the waters edge on the land,feed at night and have him in a place where there is no other movement if he knows for sure there is no onwe around and its dark he should take it ive had minea long time now and he still wont eat when there is someone in the room and he wont eat if its during the day,any distractions in the room will put him off.

[Dom]

Jason's right on that one .. When I had dificulties feeding that little guy and he would not eat for me I simply left a small rat over night on a rock .. HE always grabbed it overnight when he fel secure ..

How big is that tank he is housed in .. I beleive maybe it could be too big? (he went off food for me when i house him in a long tank...)

Take care

[Ontario_herper]

After a while of that tease feeding they usually come around and start eating on their own with no teasing.

Try putting a few more hiding spots in with him. In addition, a few plastic plants spread around the cage may help.

I wouldn't worry about making him more aggressive by tease feeding. He'll be plenty agro whether you do or not.....

[Nikki Gervais]

Thanks for your responses everyone, his tank is about double his length (40 inches or so) with half water and half land. There are plenty of live plants being kept in his tank and I have the land area covered with astroturf, I am debating whether to use forest floor or not to make it look more natural, but then he could swallow peices when feeding so. I left it on land (the food) and he never ate any, I will keep trying and I am going to try live crickets at his next feeding. I may also try live small mice, ones that are too small to do any damage but will move enough for him to show interest. Anything to get him feeding. I am going to try a few more things and I will let you know how it goes, thanks for your responses. :)

[Cobra_Fangs]

This time of year Crocodilians start slowing down their feedings. Mine due it every year. My 4.5 foot gator can normally eat about 4-5 lbs of turkey. Now she is lucky she eats 1 lb. In about 2-3 weeks she will shut down all together.
Here is a shot of her. She is among my other 5 crocodilians.
http://reptile-lair.netfirms.com/gator_side.jpg
Here is a photo gallery of all the crocodilians I rescued. I do not have them all. I placed some of them. Crocodilian Photo Gallery (http://reptile-lair.netfirms.com/crocodilian_photos.htm)
Hope you enjoy!!!:D
Will W.

[HyGhBr|d]

wow nice gator

[Nikki Gervais]

OMG that gator is adorable! Wow you are so lucky to get to handle one! To bad they dont go in Canada at the same price as in the US.

[lance]

awsome lookin gator there cobra fangs