PICS!!! Baby Gator!!!

Finally he/she arrived this morning after traveling over 1,000 miles since 6pm yesterday. I opened the box and heard the little barks comming from the little canvas bag. Anyway it's been a long time comming. LOL the box said "live turtles". Sorry here it is......

First shot as she came out of the bad mouth open and ready to go.
http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/x...r/100_1491.jpg

Went right to the basking spot to catch some heat.
http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/x...r/100_1492.jpg

She is so tiny. Right at 11in.
http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/x...r/100_1493.jpg

http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/x...r/100_1496.jpg

So far this is my favorite shot. She is not too camera friendly right now. Maybe when she gets used to her new home. I love her eyes.
http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/x...r/100_1495.jpg

She is just too cute!

Aww, very cute little girl. :D Keep us updated with pictures as she grows.

Cute. It's kind of hard to always judge by the photo on the size, but I know the caiman about that size are actually harmless as far as biting goes.

What a cutie!

Why did the box say Turtles if it was a Gator?


See....Im not gonna judge but....

this is why the hobby is where it is right now. Shipping "turtles" that are really gators....IDK just seems odd to me.

He/She is awesome! What are the plans for when it gets bigger? I imagine you have to be very commited to the long haul to pull the trigger on getting a gator. What kind of enclosures do they need as they grow?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Patrick Long

Why did the box say Turtles if it was a Gator?


See....Im not gonna judge but....

this is why the hobby is where it is right now. Shipping "turtles" that are really gators....IDK just seems odd to me.

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The LIVE TURTLES was probably just printed on the box, by the box maker, I have received feeders and it says live turtles printed on the side

I dont know why the box said live turtles and dont really care too much.

Well the average growth is supposed to be a foot per year. The 55g tank will work until spring of next year when I finish the setup for the outside/inside habitat. I have designed a quite large "doggy door" to seperated a fenced in area in the back yard with a 12'x8' in ground gator pool. An inside the house goes to a climated controled seperate room.

I am stoked and will have to post up pics of his home when the time comes. The zoo would be jealous, although I am only accomitdating one and not a few dozen.

Very cute! How difficult was the process in your state to get a permit to keep him?

Does missouri even need permits for crocodilians??

I'm pretty darn sure I don't need a permit in MN.

I wish I had the space for an indoor gator pond.

No permits are required.

The law states "According to Missouri's Exotic Animal Law, dangerous animals are listed as tigers, lions, leopards, jaguars, margays, cheetahs, mountain lions, bobcats, Canadian lynx, jaguarondi, wolves, hyenas or coyotes. Also mentioned on this list are dangerous, deadly and/or poisonous reptiles that are over 8 feet in length. In order for an individual to possess, buy, sell or transfer any of these animals, the said animal must be properly registered with the Missouri County Law Enforcement Office where the animal resides. The only exceptions to this registration are animal refuges or sanctuaries, veterinary hospitals, research laboratories, zoos, circuses, educational institutions or scientific research institutes"

So untill she reaches 8ft I am good, UNLESS it is amended before then. But the same laws applies to my burms as well when they reach that age. But NOBODY I have talked to that owns exotics have ever followed this. But it gives me plenty of time to look into it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rebel750

No permits are required.

The law states "According to Missouri's Exotic Animal Law, dangerous animals are listed as tigers, lions, leopards, jaguars, margays, cheetahs, mountain lions, bobcats, Canadian lynx, jaguarondi, wolves, hyenas or coyotes. Also mentioned on this list are dangerous, deadly and/or poisonous reptiles that are over 8 feet in length. In order for an individual to possess, buy, sell or transfer any of these animals, the said animal must be properly registered with the Missouri County Law Enforcement Office where the animal resides. The only exceptions to this registration are animal refuges or sanctuaries, veterinary hospitals, research laboratories, zoos, circuses, educational institutions or scientific research institutes"

So untill she reaches 8ft I am good, UNLESS it is amended before then. But the same laws applies to my burms as well when they reach that age. But NOBODY I have talked to that owns exotics have ever followed this. But it gives me plenty of time to look into it.

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Hence the ban that is in play.

Cute little girl you have though

Also, since it says Poisoness reptiles, do venumous ones count?

Im not by any means trying to find loopholes and evade things. Most of them probably arent even aware of the law. There are irresponsible people in all hobbies and yes unfortunately it adversly effects the ones who do choose to play by the rules.

And yes exact wording does mean ALOT if the issue arises. Who determines if a 10ft gator in your living room floor is dangerous or not. Hell Im married and she is more dangerous than a full grown gator and I dont have to tell the law I own her lol!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rebel750

No permits are required.

The law states "According to Missouri's Exotic Animal Law, dangerous animals are listed as tigers, lions, leopards, jaguars, margays, cheetahs, mountain lions, bobcats, Canadian lynx, jaguarondi, wolves, hyenas or coyotes. Also mentioned on this list are dangerous, deadly and/or poisonous reptiles that are over 8 feet in length. In order for an individual to possess, buy, sell or transfer any of these animals, the said animal must be properly registered with the Missouri County Law Enforcement Office where the animal resides. The only exceptions to this registration are animal refuges or sanctuaries, veterinary hospitals, research laboratories, zoos, circuses, educational institutions or scientific research institutes"

So untill she reaches 8ft I am good, UNLESS it is amended before then. But the same laws applies to my burms as well when they reach that age. But NOBODY I have talked to that owns exotics have ever followed this. But it gives me plenty of time to look into it.

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are you sure it doesnt mean animals that "can" reach 8 ft not ones that can but just are not up to that size yet?

I did ask the County Sherrif this a few months ago, his exact words,

"when and if it changes, the law is black and white"

He would not elaborate, so until 8ft you're good to go. Registration itself is free but as in other states they must be implanted and vet records proprly documented and maintained(costs the same as dogs, but I found a good reptile vet already for the burms). They treat it just like a dogs getting vacs and chipped. And yes she does require shots on an annual basis.

Very cute! It would be neat to have one, but I like to own pets that won't eat me :P

I know in Iowa, at least a few years ago, you could have gators without a permit/license of any sort. A small pet shop in my home town will sell them to anyone. Apparently there is someone there who has several gators and once they are adults he sells them for their skin......

And that's also how the laws work around here for size too. In Iowa City you can't own a snake over 8 feet, but the pet stores sell red tails like crazy, and they don't bother to tell buyers that the snake is illegal once it's full grown. I've had a chat with them about this, but you know how that goes :rolleyes:

People who buy and ship reptiles have plenty of old boxes they reuse..

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rebel750

Im not by any means trying to find loopholes and evade things. Most of them probably arent even aware of the law. There are irresponsible people in all hobbies and yes unfortunately it adversly effects the ones who do choose to play by the rules.

And yes exact wording does mean ALOT if the issue arises. Who determines if a 10ft gator in your living room floor is dangerous or not. Hell Im married and she is more dangerous than a full grown gator and I dont have to tell the law I own her lol!

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Hmmmmmm :rolleyes:

That is awesome. Don't see many of those around lol

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

Cute little guy, baby gators are really fun. I'm kind of on the fence about this though, I know several people who are succesfully keeping adult gators. One friend of mine had his female gator (Who he's had for over 10 years and who has the run of the house) lay a load of infertile eggs in the crawlspace under his water bed. She's doing fine. I was also over at a friends house a couple of days ago who has an adult gator living in a gated off room just off of her living room. Both of these animals are very well kept and healthy and are very well mannered around people because they've been well trained... On the other hand, I'm also a member of my herp societies adoption committee where we often get in gators that are around 2-3 feet that are often not in the best of condition or health because people just don't know what the heck to do with them when they outgrow the aquarium they bought when they were babies. They're definitly not a casual pet are quite a bit of work and take a lot of time to train. It does sound like you've put some thought into this and have a plan in place for the future so I'll wish you all the best luck. They can be a very rewarding life long companion.

:gj:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kleb68

People who buy and ship reptiles have plenty of old boxes they reuse..

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Where the heck did that come from? Bumping a 9 month old thread to comment about spare boxes?

Anyway, maybe we can get an update from the OP. The little guy should be a few feet by now.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kleb68

People who buy and ship reptiles have plenty of old boxes they reuse..

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Do you look at time stamps on threads? Or do you just look for super old threads an bump them for no reason lol :confused::confused::confused:

:O what do you do with it when he gets giant? what do you feed him when he's older? people u don't like? :P