Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, I m new to crocodilians in general, I've kept many large burms however...

I always wanted a caimin but had to wait until I had the room to buil a large enclouser... I now have a 14 foot buy 5 foot space avalible (new house) so I bought a nice male dwarf (12 inchs).

Well for the time being he's in a 40 Gallon breeder and he seems to be doing well, I ve left him alone now for a week and a half (until he eats) but he hasn't ate yet...

I ve offered a hopper mouse, twice for 4 hour intervals (wasn't intesested) and now for the last 4 days there have been 12 feeder gold fish in the tank... I left them in there for the 4 days just peeking in to see if there there...

Today I went in and counted them and there are still 12... any ideas on what i can try now?

Hi,

Dwarf Caimen are notorious bad eaters at first, but once you get them on track, they do just fine. You did the right thing by leaving him alone, but sometimes it takes a little more than that. A hopper mouse might be a bit too large for your 12 inch Caiman. You might consider going a size lower to a fuzzy and perhaps just give him a couple of them. Secondly, try Rosy reds opposed to Goldfish for nutritional reasons but for a 40 gallon breeder, you want to put ALOT in there. A dozen fish won't be enough to stimulate him. You want to have the population stocked heavily because they will brush against his legs and such thus causing him to chase them. Also, make sure that his area isn't too cool (or too warm for that matter). Is this a Cuviers (P. palpabrosus) or Schneider's (P. trigonatus)?

Hope this helps,

Chris
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www.herpfanatic.com

might try crickets they have never failed me