caimen for a snake person?

[michaelman25]

ok i have been in love with reptiles especialy crocidilians ever since i first saw the crocdile hunter(of all things) but i have never considered them becuz of obviose reasons(size, temperments, ect)

i found out about caimens quit a while ago but i had the same attitude about them as i have with gators and crocs(to big, to mean to advanced)

now i am wondering a few things about caimens:

are they very aggresive

are the hard to handle

whats the minimum size enclosure for a full sized (male and female if possible) caimen

what do they eat (i was told mice and raw meat but i don't trust my sources)

and finally

i have 1 year of experiece with 3 snakes so is that enough experience or will i need more


now i am sure that some of these questions are stupid but i would rather know if they are hard reptiles b4 i get i one

[michaelman25]

sorry for double posting but i have 2 more questions:

do they enjoy company or are the like other reptiles where they don't realy care

*stupid question but i have to know= are the bites from a caimen realy bad or are they moderate compared to say a full sized red tail bite*

[Ryan Pye]

It depends on the species for all those questions, but all crocodilians are for advanced/very commited herpers. They have special requirements and then the obvious - a mistake with even a dwarf camain can mean loosing fingers or worse. For answers on alot of what your asking check out www.crocodilian.com

That's where I learned the most before I got a p.palpebrosis (Cuviers Dwarf Caimen), that and I did some volunteer at a reptile zoo.

Ryan

[michaelman25]

ok


i was things about a specticuled(sp?) caimen or a dwarf but i don't think i'm ready after reading some things on that link

thanx ryan

[rwg]

Originally posted by michaelman25
are they very aggresive

are the hard to handle

whats the minimum size enclosure for a full sized (male and female if possible) caimen

what do they eat (i was told mice and raw meat but i don't trust my sources)

and finally

i have 1 year of experiece with 3 snakes so is that enough experience or will i need more


Agressive? Compared to what? Yes, they can and often are agressive.

Hard to handle? Depends on species, temperment and your experience. Small ones can be handled safely if you know what you're doing. A large spectacled will be hard to handle for most snake people.

Enclosure size: dont know for sure. Depends a lot on the species, but pretty frickin' big. Yeah they're smaller than gators and crocs, but even dwarfs may be 4 feet or more. They need enough water to swim in, some dry land to warm up on, water filtration, basking lamps, and possibly even water heaters.

Eat? mice and raw meat sounds about right. rodents, chicks, chicken, fish etc...

More experience? YES! It's not that you will necessarily fail, but it's kind of a crapshoot for the caiman. It may get too big for you to deal with. You may not be able to provide enough space. It may just be nasty from day one. Snake keeping in no way prepares you for crocodillians. A full grown spectacled could very easily disfigure you, and even a relatively small one could send you to the hospital. Not to be too negative, but you should put some volunteer time in with a zoo or private collector that has crocodillians before you even THINK of getting one. I feel the odds are pretty good if you get one now, it'll be in a rescue in a year's time. No offence...this is not a personal judgement. That's the pattern you see over and over.

[rwg]

Oh, I should have mentioned, keeping lizards is way better experience for crocodillians than snakes. Try getting an anti-social male tokay. If you can handle him regularily, not only will it give you valuable experience in keeping your fingers out of harms way, but he should tame down giving you an awesome pet along the way. If the tokay goes well, get yourself the meanest columbian tegu you can find. If you keep your fingers while handling him on a regular basis, you're doing pretty good. :)

[michaelman25]

well i am strongly against getting and animal and then givinig it to an animal shelter when it gets to big, thats why i asked instead of running right out and getting one like alot of ppl do


thanks you for the info and hopefully in a a few years i'll be a regualr in the croc forum but i am nowhere near ready as i know now

P.S. my mom didn't go for the caimen idea so it might be about 5 years b4 i can get one anyway seeing as any good breeder is not gonna sell a caimen to a 13 year old kid

[michaelman25]

o and i hope you don't think just becuase i'm a kid means that i want a crocodilians just cuz they look and act cool

i am a devouted pet owner and i have very long term plans for every single one of my pets

[snakers55]

Here is a great website http://crocodilian.com/crocfaq/

I also agree that you should start with some lizards.. Even if you raise a baby crocodilian up from a baby, and it never tries to bite you, what if it decides to when it's a few feet long?? Crocodilians have a bad bite, because they usually don't just bite down, they'll bite down, hang on, and lash from side to side, using their teeth to shred whatever is in their mouth. Read that whole website, and then come to your conclusion.

[michaelman25]

thanx

[KrokadilyanGuy3]

I use to tell anyone wanting to own a crocodilian to keep a few varanids and see how that goes, but truth is, no lizard will prepare you to owning a crocodilian with the many differences they each pertain. If you want a crocodilian, the only animal that will prepare you for one is a crocodilian. If you do not want to just get up one day and get one, an intelligent move, then the best way is to work with someone who manages crocodilians. If you're in Florida, Texas or Oklahoma I know several people that will give you a chance. If not, call up a local Zoo or breeder and see if they can point you somewhere.

Every crocodilian, even one animal from another of the same species will present a different 'attitude.' Some may be skittish while others are bold. Some may rather bite than flight and some may even test you. You will have to work with several animals to get most of the feels any one crocodilian may show.

Basically, most captive alligators are very docile and may not even twitch when you decide to move them. Females stay relatively small at 5-9 foot with 6-7 being the basic average. This would be my suggestion if you want an all out "Tame" animal. If size is more of an issue than I would go after either species of Dwarf caiman. These animals grow at a very slow rate and you could basically house one for many years in a 150-200g enclosure. The side effect of this animal is they are very aggressive, and a tad shy. Basically, you're playing with a miniature Nile crocodile. Or if you wanna go all out and impress your friends get a saltie.. heh..

As for the bite, yes it's pretty nasty stuff. Most of your alligators will normally just bite down and hold on to you, but normally release you after a few seconds. I've found this true of spectacle caimans when they manage to grab hold of my jeans while on top of them. Most of your caimans and crocodiles will try and remove your arm if they grab hold of it. So, don't get bit.

If you manage the animal properly and don't deny the obvious care, there's nothing wrong with having something because it's cool, why else would you have it? -Chicks dig turtles..

Zane