Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Anyone know of a good vet in the Dallas area? I've taken my dwarf caiman to a vet in Rockwall that claimed to deal with them but didn't know anything about caiman after talking to him. If anyone has a vet they use it would be appriciated.

Dr. Roger Kendrick in Mansfield is recommended by many people. He used to work at the Fort Worth Zoo as their herp vet, and is highly knowledgable. You should call to make sure he can do caiman legally.

http://www.insiderpages.com/b/3722526359

You can also look for other vets at the following link:

http://www.herpvetconnection.com/

What's wrong with your caiman? I have a three foot long dwarf and maybe can be of help.

Thanks for the info. I have a 3 year old dwarf. He has lost some of the girth in his tail from not eating as much. He stopped eating mice (ate 1 out of the last 6) or raw meat. The only thing he will eat are the goldfish that don't have much neutirients in them. I tried throwing in some live crayfish but he didn't seemed interested. Water temps are normal and basking area is good, so I'm not sure what caused the change in eating behavior. Any thought's on other foods to try? i think I may have to try more live foods to get a reaction out of him.

I've only had that problem once. Mine wouldn't eat for a week or two, and I couldn't figure out why. I then checked, and saw the water heater was no longer working and had dropped the water temp. Soon as I put in a new one, he began eating again like normal.

Lately, I've been using frozen/thawed chicks alot, mainly because I get them cheap. The only problem is they're a little messier than rodents. The only other thing I've been using is mice or small rats occasionally. I used to do beef stew meat, but they kept raising the price, and I started getting the chicks. Be careful with goldfish. They contain copper sulfate, which cannot be passed through in reptiles. It is stored in the liver and kidneys, and eventually reaching a toxic level that can kill the animal. Unfortunately, they are still a common food source for many captive turtles and small crocodilians. Years ago, I had several various water snakes, all in separate enclosures. I fed them nothing but goldfish. It took about a year before the first one died, but within 6 months they had all died despite clean enclosures and plenty of food. It wasn't until later that I discovered that the goldfish were the main suspect.

Here's a link that talks about caimans not eating and the possible causes:

http://crocodilian.com/crocfaq/faq-7.html

And good luck! They're definitely cool animals!