Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a 24" Alligator m. that appears to have ingested a small rubber suction cup that it dislodged from the filter two days ago. The object is 1/2 to 3/4 inches in diameter. If I understand crocodilian anatomy correctly, the sphincter controlling passage into the small intestine is too small for the object to pass through, so it is still in the stomach. Is there a chance he will regurgitate it at some point? He did pass wastes today in his water, so everything is Ok at that end.

The picture enclosed shows some of the items that I have retrieved from my gators/ cages. Many of the animals I get are from very different places and different owners, but I am always amazed by what comes out of these guys. I have sent back 3 keys, two on rings, back to the original owners.
Most gators are capable of either passing through or spitting back up things that fit in their throat. Gravel and rocks are normal. The two hose connections came from a 37” and 39”, both animals coughed them up a week apart. Same original owner.
The little bowl passed through a seven footer and cause minor bleeding from his backside. A year and a half later he still gets a major erection as he’s removed from his cage. I think he’s a little sensitive back there.
The suction cup in the center of the picture is about the size of the one you are talking about. I watched a 30” female pass it. She was away from all the other animals and shaking at first. The cup passed with her bowl movement. She’s doing fine. Another gator tried to eat it.
I find that they seem to pass items within two/three days of a large feeding. That bowl was in him for a year it came out after a meal of three whole Tilapia. Sometimes they have to grow a little to pass it.
Notice the red item (it’s hard like a dog’s Kong Bone) in the middle. This was retrieved from the body of dead 4 & 1/2 footer. It was jammed in the small intestine blocking most it. The flesh was growing around those little fingers. The animal could not pass nor cough it up. This gator came from a small public zoo, and I assumed its lack of appetite came from the travel and new cage. My mistake, it lost more weight and died.
The gators stomach muscles flattened that nylon elbow. The previous owners knew the gator ate the elbow and they were scared it might die. They brought it to me two months later after a life long diet of nothing but mice. I feed fish and mazuri pellets with calcium supplement to new animals from that kind of diet. After being with me 47 days, this 31” animal passed the flattened elbow in the picture. Look at the mouse hair still sticking out the ends. Animal is fine.
If crocodilians are kept in a pond or muddy enclosure, one will never know what goes in or out. Zoo animals eat things and die all the time. All my animals are kept in clear clean cages for the first six months to remove any chance of sickness or disease, before allowing them contact with others.
Good luck with your little guy. If it’s starts to lose weight or the feeding response slows down, I would take it to a vet for an x-ray. Best to be safe than sorry.
Bob_B

That is a really great post and very interesting all the way around.

Thats quite a collection of items!
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CDieter
'Reason, observation, and experience; the holy trinity of science.'

Thank you so much for your help and information. I'll keep an eye on this little guy. I'll have to feed less mice (ahem) and try switching over to pellets.

May I use your post and photo to share with my science students? Also, may I ask where you are located?

Thanks,
Laura

Please, go ahead and use the photo and the post. If it will help the survival rate of "pet" alligators, I'm willing to help.
I'm from the midwest. It's amazing to see how many cold blooded animals live (well maybe exist) in cold climates.
I wish everyone who ever thinks about getting a crocodilian would read a book first or at least read back this forum a few months and see the headaches that come with housing/rearing these animals. Too many of these beautiful creatures are stuck in tubs in a garage or basement and forgot about. Maybe you can teach your students to be aware of animal needs before they buy them. Sorry if I sound like I'm on a soapbox, but I just brought home an alligator that for the last seven years has lived under a ladies kitchen table, got stuck in a bathtub of water once a month, and was fed nothing but boneless skinless chicken breasts (her quote:"it's healthy for us humans so it must be good for alligators" she was serious). This poor thing has some serious health problems; it's only 39" long. And the lady who owned it said she did her best to take care of her "darling". This "darling" can't even hold itself up on four legs. The bones are like rubber. I am amazed this alligator has survived this long. I am a little upset that people could be so ignorant and uncaring.
Thank You for letting me blow off a little steam and calm down. There are a lot of good concerned reptile owners out there, but the few who won't learn cause the most problems. Good luck with your students. Open their minds. Bob_B

Thanks, Bob.

I'm in Fl (obviously) and the problem we have here is that people think you can just pluck one out of the wild. When I do an educational community event, I hear so many stories of people who know someone who has one. I just keep reminding them that it's illegal and they make terrible 'pets'.

It's very hard to find captive care information. I have a book that is fair at best. Understanding that a gator is not a true lizard, I still try to apply lizard keeping principles regarding calcium requirements, general husbandry regarding cage size, etc. I did purchase Mazuri pellets. I had been alternating between F/T fuzzy/hopper mice, ground meat with supplements, organ meats, and whole bait fish.

I'll defer to my Fl counterparts here but many alligators in Florida are kept legally. The permit system the state has established allows individuals to keep them once certain standards have been satisfied.

Although if it's anything like here in Texas many are kept sans permit.

As for the diet the Mazuri is a complete diet. You can just use it. We are moving almost exclusively to it this year with our Niles. Otherwise you can't go wrong with whole animals.
website

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CDieter
'Reason, observation, and experience; the holy trinity of science.'

Yes, they can be kept legally, with a Class III permit and for educational purposes only. However, that does not allow them to be removed from the wild. Fl has varying permits for hunting, collection from the wild, transportation, keeping, farming.

Sorry, I posted and wasn't very clear about the conversations I had. I was referring to gators kept sans permit and collected from the wild because someone found one at a lake and thought it was cool. I was not referring to responsible ownership.

Try to find a copy of: "The Ultimate Guide to Crocodilians in Captivity" a book by Christopher T. Dieter. This book explains everything a person wanting a crocodilian for a companion animal would need to start with. It explains specie,care,problems,food,housing,laws, and some reasons to own and for not owning one (though I could add to his list of excuses why they got the animal), plus a lot more. Once you read this book I suggest going to CROCODILIAN.COM for direction of even more information. There is a lot of information out there, one just has to ask or seek. Before the internet, reptile owners had to look in public Libraries for information, usually encyclopedias. Most of that was out of date before it was printed. It's great to see books done by intelligent authors. One of the best places to get books on reptiles was the Chicago Hepetological Society Book store or library as publishers would send copies to them for review. Now with the internet, everybody has a wesite with pictures and repeated information so don't believe everything that someone tells you. This forum is a great place to learn. Even the animal owners here disagree on different subject matters. I've been following this forum for years and just these past few months decided to start communicating with them. As far as the food diet, remember the animals themselves vary their intake with whatever they find. Some good some bad. Diversity is the key. That's what's good about the professional prepared foods, they have lot's of different stuff in them. Helps us out with the limited food animals we can feed to them. Good luck with your gator. Bob_B