American Alligator husbandry questions.

[hungba]

I have a in ground concrete pond and wanted to put a caiman in it. Im sure the neighbors would have loved that and the wife was already against it. In the end I now have a very nice Koi pond with lily pads and a few other plants. I still think it would be interested to own a caiman. Maybe I can find one of these croc tubs.

LOOOL! You ended up with a KOI POND WITH LILLIES!!!
I'm sorry, just found that funny. No offense.

[artgecko]

I can totally understand wanting something, but not being able to quite meet the space / care requirements. Realistically, your current housing situation would probably not work for supporting the sheer weight and humidity from an indoor pond that large.. Even with an air exchanger for the humidity, I can't even begin to know what you'd have to do structurally support that much water (this would even be an issue with a house with a slab foundation).. Water weighs about 10lbs per gallon, so a 500 gl pond would be about 5000 lbs.

With that in mind, I've got a couple suggestions that might solve the giant housing issue and the permit issue.

What about a crocodile skink? They have the appearance of a crocodillian but not the size or massive enclosure requirements.

Also, consider Chinese and Australian water dragons. They have a semi-aquatic lifestyle and are active, but stay a much more manageable size, while still needing a large enclosure.

All three of these offer you aspects of the caimans / alligators either behaviorally or appearance-wise, but in a much smaller and more manageable package. With either of the water dragons, you'd still want to provide a large nice looking enclosure with a large water element, but it would be a lot less in volume than what is needed for a caiman.

I also agree with the suggestion of finding a herp rescue or similar organization that works with large lizards and crocs... You could get hands on experience and enjoy them without having to foot the bill for permits, food, or setup. Plus, volunteering with them would basically be like getting a care course for free and you'd find out just what you'd be getting into and if it is what you think it would be or what you really want.

Good luck!

[JoshSloane]

Wait is this thread a joke? I thought we were all just playing along with this kid, but I am starting to think he is serious about getting an alligator in a trailer park. Sounds like the headline of a major news story.

That thing will shred his appendages, and anyone else's who is dumb enough to be around him.

To the OP. DO NOT GET AN ALIGATOR. Even a dwarf caiman is going to be much more than you can handle in a trailer.

Having beardies doesn't prepare you at all for this responsibility. If you want something bigger get a savannah monitor, and maybe work your way up to a water monitor. Even salvators are not appropriate for the majority of herpers.

[D1C]

This cannot be real can it?

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[JoshSloane]

This cannot be real can it?

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No way right?

[D1C]

No way right?

He's has to be trolling....he's gotta be

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