NEW CAIMAN and muffin (pics)

[dean_h00]

check out muffin and my newest baby whos name has not been given yet. they are so cute together and are very fun to watch specially when crickets or other food is in the equation
muffin is on the bottom the new baby is on top
http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/3360caiman_friends_002-med.jpg
muffin is a little bit older than the new baby but is quite a bit larger must be my husbandry:) so the lil guy will be up there soon enough (muffin is at the bottom of the screen the new baby again is on top)
http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/3360caiman_friends_006-med.jpg
here is my new baby hangin out
http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/3360caiman_feeding_005-med.jpg
hope you enjoyed the pics

[Buddha]

nice pictures how ofter do you handle the caimens?

[dean_h00]

as often as needed really
for cleaning of enclosures feedings involving isolating one individual
and occasionally to keep them somewhat tame and used to me and people in general
which tallys up to probably 2 sometimes three times a week

[Bartman]

Sweet man, they look great! But I still cant get one lol

[BellyDraggers]

Great looking. congrats! Both look nice and healthy..

Scotty & Les

[ydnic]

Do they live together or seperate - what do they think about each other ? was there a quarentine period?

[dean_h00]

They live together and they are soo cute together too. They interact very well I believe they do better in pairs or even better in small groups because in the wild many animals prey on these little guys and they rely in safety in numbers, and mom (but mom is far away). Ive noticed ever since Ive had them together that muffin (my older caiman) has become a lot braver, he comes out more and displays more "croc qualities".

And about quarantine there really was no quarantine period other than my buddy originally took care of him for about 2 weeks because i was away so when i got back i was able to take him, knowing that he is doing well and there is no worries about him being with another animal.

[Lioness]

stupid question, i know..but how big do they get?

[dean_h00]

there is big controversy as to how large spectacled caimans get in captivity
Ive heard they can get as big as 8 foot but I am yet to see one that large that is truely captive (for life)
The majority of the ones I have dealt with and were a;lll around 6-8 years old are about 4-some almost 5 feet feet long.
I have seen wild specs at about 8 feet (on TV)
Id say that they ussually get to 3.5 feet in captivity on average(female) males will get a lil larger prolly around 4.5 foot average.
BUT KEEP IN MIND THERE IS A LOT OF FIGHT IN THOSE 4-5FEET.

[K1LOS]

Does anybody have pictures and dimensions of an enclosure for a full grown caiman? I have noticed i see lots of babies, but few adults. I would be interested in one, i'd have to convince the wife, but i imagine you'd need almost a full room for a proper enclosure of an adult.

let me tell ya, the house of my dreams would have one big basement...

Geoff

[Tim and Julie B]

They deffinately get bigger then 5 ft. My friends is over six with a lot of attitude. With the proper amount of room they will get there.

[dave68]

I agree with Tim, 3.5 or even 5 feet sounds pretty small to me for a mature adult.

Dave

[dean_h00]

I am just talkin out of experience and I hjave dealtt with quite a few adult and sub adult specs they no doubt have great potential for being massive beats but I am yet to see many at their full potential

[Rikki]

Sooo cute! :P

[KrokadilyanGuy3]

Caiman pond. (Not the same animal.)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v424/Palustris3/Crocodilians/128890536eevkwp_ph.jpg

This is Drop Off, came from Cali. I found this animal in a tubbaware container on my porch when I got home from school. I had no place to place the animal so I stuck her in this 8'Wx4'Dx2'T, big mistake when it came to getting her out..
She is about 4.5'
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v424/Palustris3/Crocodilians/128887412zijxgu_ph.jpg

Now, I'm no body special and I may not be the smartest when it comes to crocodilians, however, Dean is pretty much correct on size. 6-7' animals are not rare and definitely not unheard of, but in captivity not many animals are of this size, including Zoos. Biggest animal I've seen was topping 6.5' and that is just one animal out of hundreds I've seen in captivity (I've seen a few animals just shy of 6'). My biggest is 5' give or take..

3.5'-5' is in fact mature when it comes to being sexually mature.
Zane