I agree with you 100%. I haven't received any bites from these 2 but have had a couple of close calls.. Once, after having my hands also cut from the osteoderms, I thought I'd try gloves, which caused my grip to be a little more loose on the caiman.. I had a towel on the females head and went to remove it with my right hand and she struck sideways with a burst of energy, grabbed the side of the glove and I felt the pinch in my finger but wasn't hit by any teeth. I would in no way what so ever try to move these guys or the Osteolaemus without having their mouths taped shut. They can almost reach their heads back and grab your hand if its holding onto their tails if your grasp is not tight and arms held firm. A 56" male such as yours would definitely require 2 people at least to tackle. I can definitely appreciate your frustration with seeing so much interest in the dwarf species. Alligators are fairly placid usually and larger spectacleds are even easier to work with compared with the trigs. I see tons of baby palpebrosus and trigonatus (even spectacleds for that matter) advertised for sale here in Ontario, but it is VERY rare that you will meet a person keeping one that has outgrown a 100 gallon aquarium. One bite even from a juvenile and the animal is discarded. Another peeve of mine (which I'm sure is a very common feeling) are those who inquire about how to tame their caiman or alligator. What happened to your big male?

Matt

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