Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok I know What I to feed a gater. Like goldfish and mouse. But what is really the best to feed them

Variety, and never goldfish (to any crocodilian) and mice/rodents should be used sparingly.

Hi Matt,

I don't think I agree that mice/rodents should be used sparingly. In fact I think they can be the staple item of the diet. Whole animal diets are hard to better.

>>Variety, and never goldfish (to any crocodilian) and mice/rodents should be used sparingly.
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CDieter
'Reason, observation, and experience; the holy trinity of science.'

Yes can you say why you think limit the mice and rodents? Iagree also some other things and the variety but mice are a good whole prey I think?
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Tom
1.2.0 Leopard Gecko (dot, spot, casper)
0.0.1 California King Snake (booboo)
0.1.0 Sulcata Tortoise (tank)
0.0.2 Russian Tortoise (tito and lulu)
0.0.2 Red Ear Sliders (bernie and ernie)
0.0.3 Painted Turtles (larry, curly and moe)
0.0.1 Western Soft shell (Squirt)
2.2.0 Bearded Dragon (marshmellow,Bubba,Sparkles,Alfredo )
0.0.1 Savannah Monitor (beef)
1.0.0 Peachfront Conure (kermit)
0.1.0 Love Bird ( KIKI )
1.1.0 Dog (layla and Rosco)
2.1.0 Crazy Cats (babe, sabastian, tinkerbell)
0.1.0 Lion Head Rabbit (daisy)
0.1.2 Ferret (jordan RIP, Cosmo and Izzy)
0.2.0 Guinea Pigs (lilly and petunia)
0.0.1 White Tree Frog (dumpy jr.)
0.0.2 Fire Belly Newts (spork and blaze)
0.0.1 Fire Belly Toad (ferdinan)
0.0.1 Red Spotted Newt ( red)
0.0.2 Bull Frogs (goliath and tubby)
0.0.1 Spectacled caiman (wilbert)
0.0.3 Green Anoles
1.0.0 Bahama Anole
0.0.1 Giant Millipede
Lots Of Fish

Personal preference I guess.. I feed my larger trigonatus rodents but not that frequently. I have seen many obese animals as a result of feeding too many rodents, but I guess the problem would be frequency of feedings and not blamed necessarily on the rodents themselves.

These photos are of a dwarf caiman's stomach. The mass inside is mostly mouse hair. The animal was dead when we got it. It had a severe blockage in its intestine as well. I believe it could not pass the hair nor spit it back up. The dark spots are pieces of beetle yet to be identified. The meat and bones were absorbed but not the hair, Filling the entire stomach so the animal probably would not eat any more. Looks like it was fed mostly mouse diet. Draw your own conclusion. I personally believe the more diverse you can keep their diet the better for the animal. I know that do to conditions, we can not match the wild diet. Vary it the best you can.
We had two gators that previously were fed nothing but boneless, skinless chicken breasts for five years. These two animals could barely stand up on their legs. Neither one had many teeth. Their skulls were soft as hard leather. They did not survive the sixth year.
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee67/bobsbeasts/stomachcontents.jpg?t=1235010797

http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee67/bobsbeasts/stomachopen.jpg?t=1235010830

Sorry, wrong url.

Bob-

That animal may have had alot of hair in it's stomach but the simple fact remains that a whole animal diet is hard to beat. A healthy crocodilian has little problem with hair. If the animal is kept in conditions that do not allow for proper digestion that is where the problem lies not necesarily with the rodents as a staple part of the diet.

I have seen to many animals to count fed rodents to think this is even remotely a concern.
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CDieter
'Reason, observation, and experience; the holy trinity of science.'

well mickeymouse don't seem to be good to feed them. goldfish are bed with the full ling of fish b12. raw meat seems to kill them
what do i feed him

here is a pic of him

Its feeding time. Him want to eat me.

Mickey Mouse will do him just fine.
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CDieter
'Reason, observation, and experience; the holy trinity of science.'

But the thing with the hair is getting to me. =)

I combine Mazuri with whole foods such as rodents and quail chicks. If I'm concerned about too much feather roughage, I clip the wings. Of course, your little guy is much smaller and may not be able to handle chicks for a while.

Chris,
I agree with you about the rodents being a sufficient diet. I would like to add that feeding good healthy well fed (also gut loaded) rodents are better than the continuing usage of our crocodilians as garbage cans for all our unwanted feeders. Occasionally is fine, but not a steady diet of rotten meat.

We have actually have two same size animals about two years old. One fed good food (the owner "a corn snake breeder" liked him because it did not bite) and the other (the more aggressive one) was used to eat everything that was still in his snakes cages days later. (mostly spoiled mice) He said they ate the same amount of food each week. He did show me his feeding cards. (I doubt it, I'm sure his favorite got more) They were raised in different tanks. Both animals are 33" long but weight is about 9 ounces different.

Other gators have come in undernourished and sickly, a result of not informed people feeding these animals nothing but spoiled road kill. Yes, they can handle this type of food, but it has to be taxing on their systems with it as their only diet.

About the hair. The caiman in the picture was seized in pet store raid up north. The owner is under investigation and so far has been charged with over 150 counts of animal abuse. We have taken in 105 different reptiles and expect about forty percent to die. Well over a hundred dead animals were in the cages and freezer. Most died of starvation/dehydration among other things. The building's conditions were not what you would say: "reptile friendly".

I will assume the lack of heat caused the hair build up as the animal was not able to process it properly. We know very little about what this person (or where the animal came from) was doing there other than what we see at this time. There is another caiman who has the same outward appearances as the dead one. X-rays & ultrasound show build ups as well.We have it under higher than normal temperatures, with a larger swimming area and are waiting for some type of passage. It has little appetite, we did get some smelt in it. (I hope the oily fish will assist it)

Any advice would be welcome as to the treatment. You know the "gatorade" drink bath does appear to assist in the dehydrated animals, but warm it up slowly.

Thank you in advance.
Bob_B

my two 30 inches gators are used to feed with mazzuri and rats...

when they get much rats, I mean every day... I can see a lot of rat hair on the water

they have no problem with harir at all, they juste take it out...

think it must be as you say, enviroment problem, maybe temperature..

cherrs

Rick

Whole animal diets are important, but size of the animal being fed comes into play, and variety is a huge issue. When it comes to minerals and vitamins different animals hold different amounts and types....invertebrates are easy to gut load and are useful when they are young...cockroaches, crickets, mealworms, and do not overlook earthworms for mineral content. Fish (NOT GOLDFISH) make good supplements for both species of Paleosuchus especially when young...many species of tetra are cheap, easily found at any fish store and are a naturally occuring feed for these species in the wild when they are young. As they grow do not overlook other easy to obtain/raise whole foods...zebra and society finches, doves and pigeons..not just rats and mice.

No matter what you are feeding though..the food item is only as good as the diet and supplements it is fed...a seriously overlooked area of all herpetological husbandry...

cheers

-Riley