What is the deal with feeding hot dogs to crocodilians? I went to a tourist golf spot that I thought was owned my a respectable herper. A photographer had a ghastly little gator that was obviously underfed with stick limbs and little tail thickness. The 3-4 ft gators seemed to have varying degrees of snout 'strangeness' for lack of a better word. They just didn't look right...some were snubbed, just had a dwarfy look to them. I was glad to hear that the original owner had sold. I'd hate to think that someone I respected kept animals in such poor condition. I declined on the offer to feed hot dogs to the alligators.

I left and took my family and friends to another tourist spot that also featured live gators...and you could buy pieces of hot dog to feed. The gators looked better, but ridiculously fat from hot dogs. There are quite a few gator parks in our area that offer hot dogs as gator food.

I also spoke with a local 'wildlife educator' who was glad to get his gator off Mazuri and on to hot dogs since they were cheaper and cleaner. What am I missing with the appeal of hot dogs? Heck, I don't even care to eat the darn things myself! They can't be a good staple diet for young gators.

Any thoughts?

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