owning caimans

[BOWSER11788]

anybody have an or keep them,in the FAR future i was thinking of owning a small one, does anyone have any advice or anything.

[blackcrystal22]

Usually people keep them outdoors in an outdoor enclosure so they can have proper space and water for swimming.
Even for the smaller species, they need a pretty good amount of space to be happy, so living in warmer climates is important even for smaller species.

[joepythons]

anybody have an or keep them,in the FAR future i was thinking of owning a small one, does anyone have any advice or anything.

Make sure they are legal to keep in your area

[BOWSER11788]

its legal to keep in my basement, lol yea guess i'll be goggling reptile laws. the house im building will have a full big basmet so i was thinkig 17x14, idk yet, i was just wondering if any forum members had any, since there isn't a thread dedicated to them

[MTovar]

anybody have an or keep them,in the FAR future i was thinking of owning a small one, does anyone have any advice or anything.

I love caimans. There is MUCH to consider for the care of a caiman. Even the smaller species (paleosuchas palpebrosus & paleosuchas trigonautus) need room. Before I was married I kept both these dwarf species as well as a spectacled that I kept on loan for presentation purposes. Im my opinion, they do not make good pets. BUT! If you can devote a room for a Terrestrial enclosure with a well filtered flowing water portion for one of the 2 smallest species of crocodilian...go for it.

Here is an article I wrote for the cold blooded news several years ago:

http://webspinners.com/coloherp/care...ther/crocs.php

Hope it helps. Things have changed since then with some really nice large tubs now. But in the end I really like room and pond set ups for personal collections. Kids just love to see them when they get larger too. Great educational value! If you do, no matter how tame...keep that mouth secured.

- Mark
Edit: My Curviers Dwarf (p.palp) spent equal time hiding in vegitation on land than the water hides available. They travel hence the lack of web-feet. Water is still a must (must have great filtration unless you change the water daily imo).

[BOWSER11788]

thanx, yea, for some reason im in love with the big moniters and caimans, also were do you find animals you can keep googled laws but just new added stuff came up. I wonder if they are like turtls here in NC, every where you go you see turtle supplies but its illegal to BUY not own them, if that makes sense.