Extreme sports enthusiasts get all sorts of animals to surprise their guests and tickle their nerves. It’s not that they can’t be called domestic, some are even life-threatening. One of these is, if I may say so, the domestic crocodile, an animal that cannot be tamed, which is the main argument in favor of the purchase. What could be cooler than possessing the forbidden fruit?
Crocodile in the wild
Exotic at home
Many people eventually come to the conclusion that they want to have a pet at home. Most people prefer dogs, cats, hamsters, parrots and fish. However, there is a category of people who need to serve something original and exotic. Such people, as a rule, prefer to buy terrariums that contain interesting spiders, snakes, lizards, and frogs. Those who are allowed by conditions acquire crocodiles.
As we have already mentioned, crocodiles are usually large - up to 5.5 m; houses often contain caimans - animals from the alligator family, which differ from their larger relatives in size, smaller jaws, the presence of a bony abdominal shell and the ability to live in fresh water.
Important! When purchasing any exotic animal, you need to not only think about your pleasure, but also know what conditions are necessary for the pet. If your apartment or house does not meet these conditions, then you should give preference to another animal. It is not so rare for cases when improper environment and feeding led to the death of a pet.
In this regard, looking ahead, we note that a crocodile in the house needs not only a terrarium with water, but also a space with dry land where it can crawl and stretch its body.
In addition, when choosing an exotic animal, we recommend using the following recommendations :
- Be sure to familiarize yourself with the animal’s vital functions before purchasing.
- Buy your pet from reputable specialized stores. By buying them second-hand, most likely, you will support smuggling, and you will also have no guarantee that the animal will be healthy, it will not have to be treated for a long time and seriously, and it will not become a source of infection in your home.
- Think about where you will purchase food for your pet, since most likely the products will also be exotic and unavailable at any pet store.
- Imagine if you can feed a predator with other animals, for example, if you can feed it a mouse or a frog.
If you have thought through all the nuances of keeping exotic animals and nothing scares you, then we suggest you get to know the crocodile caiman better.
Description of appearance
On average, the length of an individual does not exceed 1.5 meters, the maximum recorded size of a dwarf crocodile is 1.9 m.
Adult crocodiles weigh about 18-32 kg, with females being 2 times lighter than males. Boys can reach up to 80 kg.
They are dark on top. The belly is yellow with black spots. Juveniles have lighter coloration and patterns on the head; there may be spots all over the body.
Due to their small size, reptiles are vulnerable to other predators. Therefore, they have a heavily armored neck, back and tail. As well as special bone deposits (osteoderms) on the abdomen and lower neck.
The muzzle is short and slightly flattened at the tip. This is where another name for this species came from - the blunt-nosed crocodile. The forehead is strongly sloping, and the top of the head is convex.
The jaws have 60-64 teeth.
The upper eyelid is covered with a bony shield.
There are short membranes between the fingers.
Crocodile caiman
Crocodile caimans belong to the class of reptiles, the order of crocodiles and the alligator family. They reach maximum sizes from 1.5 m (females) to 2.5 m (males) and weight up to 60 kg. The largest representatives of the genus grow up to 3.5 m and reach a mass of 200 kg. The smallest is the Cuvera caiman , not exceeding 1.8 m as an adult.
Their natural habitat is Central and South America. Reptiles spend most of their lives lying on the banks of rivers, lakes and swamps. They most often live in places with fresh water, but can sometimes be found near salt water bodies. They escape dehydration during the dry season by burying themselves in the mud. In pursuit of prey they can move at very high speeds.
Like all predators, caimans eat other animals, but, as a rule, do not touch humans. Their daily menu consists of fish, birds, small reptiles, amphibians, and insects. They themselves can become prey for crocodiles, black caimans, anacondas, and jaguars.
Did you know? To improve digestion, crocodiles swallow fairly large stones.
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Compared to their large relatives, caimans are somewhat calmer in character and more timid. However, females can be aggressive. When kept at home, these small crocodiles are docile in nature and do not require much care. They can be easily tamed. They grow quickly. If they are handled correctly and in the absence of careless actions, there is no risk of injury from them.
We recommend reading about such exotic pets as the iguana, leopard gecko, and chameleon.
If you raise a caiman from a small age, it will become practically tame, since it will not perceive you as food. The animal loves to have its sides and back stroked and scratched. When it sees its owner, it makes contact and attracts his attention. However, you should know that when keeping a couple, jealousy is possible.
If the owner is a man, then the male will be jealous of his mate and may show aggression if she pays too much attention to the person. And, conversely, when a woman approaches a male, aggression from the female will most likely follow. The latter cases occur much more often.
The average lifespan of a caiman is 40–50 years, but in the wild they can live up to 110–130 years.
Cost of a live crocodile
I wonder how much a real crocodile costs in Russia, with all its documents in order?
- Paraguayan caiman (jacare) sells from 40 to 60 thousand rubles.
- Crocodile caiman (spectacled) - from 60 to 80 thousand rubles.
- Mexican crocodile - from 80 to 100 thousand rubles.
- Combed - from 85 to 110 thousand rubles.
- Siamese - from 90 to 120 thousand rubles.
- Nile - from 280 to 320 thousand rubles.
- Cuban - over 400 thousand rubles.
Note that you can buy a pet on the black market several times cheaper. However, there is a high risk of the animal dying from a disease to which the individual’s immunity is not adapted, or the owner becoming infected due to other climatic conditions.
Conditions of detention
Next, we will tell you a little about the features of keeping crocodiles. Crocodile caimans are very good because they can forgive some mistakes in the conditions of their detention. Will uncritically affect their health:
- slight deviation in water temperature parameters;
- improper diet;
- short-term absence of ultraviolet radiation.
Aquarium for baby
A home for crocodiles should be more than just an aquarium. Only a baby crocodile can live in a large aquarium. For adult individuals, terrarium equipment will be required. The minimum volume of the aquarium should be at least one thousand liters. However, it can be temporarily placed in a 200-liter container. Sushi is a must. The water level in the aquarium should be at least 10 cm.
Animals aged four to seven years are considered adults. During this time, it is necessary to build a terrarium for them.
Chinese alligator, 2 m
In the Yangtze River basin, in China, lives a very rare species, of which there are less than 200 left in nature. This is a yellow and gray Chinese alligator
It once lived over a vast territory, but in recent years its range has declined sharply. The Chinese alligator leads a solitary life, spending most of the year (about 6-7 months) in hibernation. Having survived the winter, it loves to lie in the sun. It is not dangerous for humans.
What to feed the beast?
The diet of a predator should be as close to natural as possible. For young animals this could be:
- insects;
- little mice;
- shellfish;
- frogs.
A safer pet from the reptile class is the red-eared turtle.
It is recommended to feed babies every other day. The amount of food per week should be 10% of the crocodile’s weight.
Adult caimans will be happy to:
- fresh fish (without bones);
- whole ungutted chicken;
- rat;
- beef;
- crayfish.
They can be fed twice a week. The amount of food given in one week should be 5% of the animal's weight.
It is not advisable to feed a crocodile only fish; the diet must include foods containing vitamin B1. Digestion of food in the stomach of a reptile takes four to five days. A well-fed green monster is usually phlegmatic and behaves calmly.
When feeding a predator, safety precautions will be required. Giving food with your hands is strictly prohibited.
Important! Food must be served to the caiman either with special tweezers, or on a stick, or simply thrown in close proximity to the animal.
If you are taught to give food from your hand, the animal will begin to react to the hand as if it were a piece of food.
Sometimes reptiles refuse any product. In this case, you need to wait a little, skip one feeding - in a very hungry state, it will eat everything that is offered to it. Don't worry about missed feedings - in the wild, a crocodile can go without food for a year and a half.
Once a month, in order to avoid vitamin deficiency, the preparations “Reptimineral”, “Reptical”, “Reptivit”, etc. should be added to food.
After contact with the green predator, you should wash your hands well.
Feeding reptiles
Crocodiles eat a wide variety of foods in their natural environment. This could be grass, small rodents, larger animals, or birds. While keeping reptiles, they can also be given greens, fish, and poultry. Interestingly, you can feed them unplucked poultry along with feathers. Scientists have proven that crocodiles can go more than six months without food, and they swallow stones in order to better digest food. Small reptiles should be given worms, small chicks, crayfish, river snails, etc. If you are not sure that your pets are receiving a balanced diet, then you can always feed them with special vitamin complexes for predators.
Features of reproduction
Puberty in caimans occurs at the age of 4–7 years. The organization of the nest is provided by the female. In nature, she makes it from vegetation and dirt. It turns out to be quite large - with a diameter of 1.5 m, a height of 20–25 cm. If you are keeping a pair, then you must take care of the materials for the nest yourself, putting branches, grass, leaves, and moss in the terrarium.
Typically, one female lays from 15 to 30 eggs. Babies mature at a temperature of +30-32°C for approximately 82 days. The average size of newborns is 20 cm.
During the incubation period, females are especially aggressive. After the babies are born, they must be placed in a separate aquarium from their parents.
Did you know? The first crocodiles existed 250 million years ago. Initially, they lived only on land.
Whose meat is better?
One adult farmed crocodile can produce 150 to 200 kg of protein-rich meat, and the live weight of an adult animal reaches 500 kg. Today in Moscow, 1 kg of an exotic product costs 2,000 rubles. Perhaps after the country has its own crocodile farms, crocodile meat will become cheaper and everyone will be able to afford it. In the meantime, it is not available to all lovers of exotic cuisine.
In appearance, crocodile meat resembles chicken meat, and in taste it resembles fish, and its nutritional and energy value is the same.
Crocodile meat is prepared in the same way as the meat of other domestic animals. It can be canned, fried, boiled, stewed, smoked, made into minced meat and semi-finished products. One of the best dishes in Thai cuisine is crocodile meat stewed with ginger and onions.
However, before a crocodile is slaughtered for meat, a lot of time will pass, and a lot of labor and feed must be invested in it - crocodiles are only suitable for food at the age of fifteen.
Crocodile at home: pros and cons
So, we have considered all aspects of keeping a crocodile in the house. Let's sum it up and decide on all the pros and cons.
The advantages of the content include:
- an exotic animal always attracts increased attention, it is interesting to watch it, it often makes some discoveries;
- rare feeding;
- unpretentiousness;
- This pet does not require walking.
Cons of the content:
- despite its not too large size, the caiman needs a fairly large territory and a spacious terrarium;
- mandatory maintenance of the necessary, close to natural, conditions for a comfortable and healthy existence;
- since this is a predator, human injuries are possible;
- difficulty in obtaining balanced nutrition;
- nocturnal lifestyle of the pet;
- high price.
Important! When keeping a small crocodile at home, you must have a first aid kit on hand. Despite the fact that they show aggression quite rarely and only as a last resort, it still happens. A bite or scratch from a caiman is usually not a very serious injury. But they require immediate processing.
Factors influencing price
There is no single and clear set price for live crocodiles. The cost depends on a number of factors:
- Region of purchase. In a port city and in a place equipped with a large farm, for example, in Anapa or Yekaterinburg, reptiles are sold cheaper.
- Delivery, urgency. Depending on the speed of the transaction and the method of delivery, the seller may raise the price.
- Availability of vaccinations and related documentation.
- Purchase method. Individuals are offered cheaper on the black market. From breeders on a special farm, crocodiles are much more expensive.
- Type and complexity of content. For example, a Nile crocodile will cost more than a caiman.
In addition, the price is affected by the dynamics of supply and demand, legislative regulation of the acquisition and sale of crocodiles in the state.
Purchase
There are special farms and nurseries that breed and sell these exotic reptiles. There you can also learn about all the features of keeping an animal at home.
You can purchase a crocodile from breeders or special farms
Another way to purchase a crocodile is through an advertisement from private breeders. But in the latter case there are more risks. Before purchasing online, it is imperative to have a personal meeting with the breeder and talk about the character and preferences of the pet you have chosen.
