Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have been researching getting a dwarf caiman but I still have a few questions. I have experience with spectacled caimans and enjoyed keeping them. They quickly however became too large for my space and I had to give them up. I have a fairly large walk in closet that I am thinking of converting to a caiman room. The closet measures 6' X 4.5'. I plan on putting a raised table 6' X 3' with a counter sunk pond liner @ 80 gallons filtered with a standard pond pump. The two exposed walls of the enclosure would have 1/2" plexiglass that slides into the track of vertical 3" braces for easy removal. It would be decorated with typical rock, plants etc. for a "natural" style of habitat.

Any who...
Would this house a (SAF) single adult female of up to 4'. Here's a quick sketch of the proposed room.

I think it will be adequate for a 4' animal - less than ideal but certainly better than most will get. Other than that it could be larger, it looks like a nice setup. My primary concern would be whether 18" will be enough sp(the remainder of the 4-1/2' width) will be enough space for you to be able to clean and maintain the cage.

BTW, I love the sketch, what software did you use to create it?

Bill

I think the space to access the cage will be OK. The plexiglass panels will slide straight up out of the tracks so there can be nothing seperating the interior of the tank for cleaning. I'm pretty skinny and as long as the caiman does not get to rowdy when I try to take him out it should be enough space. The pond will be drained for cleaning with a hose and out a nearby window.

Thanks for the compliment on the drawing. I used Adobe Illustrator to sketch it out. I am a graphic designer and use these programs daily. I needed an idea of what it should look like.

I plan on getting a juvenile dwarf caiman and let her grow into the enclosure so it will feel like her home instead of switching her from enclosure to enclosure. The ability to close the door and "seal off" her enclosure should give her the privacy she needs and keep the stress to a minimum. I don't want to get one if I am not going to be able to provide a good, happy environment for her. I gave up my spectacled caimans to a reptile collector with ample space so that they would be happier.

Have you looked into the $$$ of the plexi you want to use. A couple 6x3 (lxh) and 3x3 (wxh) at 1/2 will run more than just a couple hundred dollars.
Heres a good link with representative prices.
http://www.selectproducts.com/product/plexi.html. Other than that, You will also need a very good ventilation. An enclosed closet will get super humid VERY quickly and ruin drywall etc. My 8x4 cage with a 50 gallon pond makes my entire bedroom very humid, esp in the summer.

I will also have to say that 18" between tank and wall will NOT be enough. When you go to pull a 4 foot caiman out, it will be VERY tight, esp when it starts thrashing its tail. And if it is aggro, you'll have VERY little space to get out of the way of a hard tail smack or a nasty bite. Good idea for a tank but i'd look into something else.

>>I think the space to access the cage will be OK. The plexiglass panels will slide straight up out of the tracks so there can be nothing seperating the interior of the tank for cleaning. I'm pretty skinny and as long as the caiman does not get to rowdy when I try to take him out it should be enough space. The pond will be drained for cleaning with a hose and out a nearby window.
>>
>>Thanks for the compliment on the drawing. I used Adobe Illustrator to sketch it out. I am a graphic designer and use these programs daily. I needed an idea of what it should look like.
>>
>>I plan on getting a juvenile dwarf caiman and let her grow into the enclosure so it will feel like her home instead of switching her from enclosure to enclosure. The ability to close the door and "seal off" her enclosure should give her the privacy she needs and keep the stress to a minimum. I don't want to get one if I am not going to be able to provide a good, happy environment for her. I gave up my spectacled caimans to a reptile collector with ample space so that they would be happier.

Plexi prices

If you plan on keeping a hatchling (or young caiman) in this enclosure then be prepared for an animal that may very well refuse to eat. In my experience dwarf's are somewhat like shy snakes in that they need smaller enclosures with plenty of shelters if they are to do well.

First, that is a very impressive sketch; what type of software program do you use? I am putting together a conceptual layout for our new wildlife center and I need to put something together for a proposal I have to submit to our board.

Anyway, those dimensions should suffice albeit a bit on the small size for an adult dwarf caiman....but, as long as the caiman has the opportunity to swim in clean water and move about a little on land h/she should be fine. We are building a display that will measure 10' wide x 6' wide x 6' high for a single dwarf caiman. You didn't give yourself much room to work around, however, with the nice design of the cage AND if you have a good filtration system, you shouldn't have to move about too much (and these are animals that don't like to be handled).

Rob Carmichael, Director
The Wildlife Discovery Center - City of Lake Forest (IL)