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At what age can you start feeding mazurri diet?
The reason I ask is that I was under the impression very young crocs tend to feed on moving items (ie. insects/fish/live pinks).

Is there a scent to the mazurri that attracts them? do you starve them a little so they "eat anything in sight?" Throw it in and leave it?

Speaking of which - how long can it stay in the water before you need to remove it?

Mr. F

Well, really...any size is fine. They make pellet forms for smaller animals. I will say that not all species are necessarily willing to eat it and even within species that usually are...some individuals may not take to it immediately. My dwarf caiman (P. trigonatus) isn't fond of it. I've had a bunch of rescued alligators that will eat it, but find some individuals within the groups that refuse to do so, therefore, I have to provide them other items. I'm sure other Mazuri feeders can chime in on this too.

As far as how long to leave it in the water...I personally scoop it out after a half hour to an hour. Some shy species like the dwarfs may not want to eat immediately if you are watching, so leaving them alone a little bit might allow them to eat it. Alligators tend to eat whatever isn't tied down so they will usually get their fill rather quickly. Therefore, you might not even have to wait quite that long before scooping out the excess.

Chris

>>At what age can you start feeding mazurri diet?
>>The reason I ask is that I was under the impression very young crocs tend to feed on moving items (ie. insects/fish/live pinks).
>>
>>Is there a scent to the mazurri that attracts them? do you starve them a little so they "eat anything in sight?" Throw it in and leave it?
>>
>>Speaking of which - how long can it stay in the water before you need to remove it?
>>
>>Mr. F
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I started feeding my gator Mazuri at about a year of age, when I first heard about it and found a source that sold small quantities. He wasn't too interested at first-he had been feeding on insects, fish, and rodents up until that point. I just threw a few pieces in there and removed them after about 10-15 min. I offered the Mazuri first and followed up with the old standby if he didn't go for it. Maybe the third time they were offered, he ate them.

Of course, I'm on board with the theory that alligators eat anything that isn't nailed down...filters, rocks, anything dead...so it wasn't really hard to convince him to eat this stuff. Is it the smell? It could be. I think it was also the fact that he has a conditioned feeding response and this is what was offered as food at feeding time.

It's easy to feed and a complete diet, but it is the messiest stuff I have ever seen! Man does it mess up the enclosure! He eats it all, but it makes for a Mazuri stool that he climbs over and disperses through the water. But I ran into someone who switched his gators from Mazuri to hot dogs for that same reason...I'll stick with the mess.

The plan is to clicker train for the feeding response, and then introduce the mazuri.
He's on water changes now but I'll be switching to the submersible filter, hopefully that helps with the mazuri waste.

That's what I did (conditioning). The filters help, but be prepared for frequent filter cleanings.