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Just wondering what a baby crocodilian bite is like... Is it like a puppy bite (feels like needles but doesn't do damage)? Or can it actually break skin? If it breaks skin, are we talking scratch or more serious? Thanks,

Mr. F

It will break the skin, esp if you are pulling your hand away (which you shouldnt do). They are little punctures. It doesnt hurt that bad, but the pressure is enough to make you wince. I've never been tagged by a croc acting out of aggression either though, just tag and release.

>>Just wondering what a baby crocodilian bite is like... Is it like a puppy bite (feels like needles but doesn't do damage)? Or can it actually break skin? If it breaks skin, are we talking scratch or more serious? Thanks,
>>
>>Mr. F

I've been bitten by baby gators, no longer than 18", and it's no big deal. They've never broken skin and they have almost no bite pressure. Not sure about a caiman or any other croc. Hope that helps.

I read the responses from both the other posters that answered your question. They are both very correct in their accounts of "normal" baby gator bites. The way Robin described it is the "usual" scenario, low pressure bites that do little damage. But there is a lot more to it than that. While that may be the norm, a small gator does have the potential to do minor damage. It really isn't so cut and dry. It all depends on what kind of bite it is and what sort of disposition the gator is in at that time. If they feel that their life is being threatened by a preditor then they can have amazing force and sudden ferocity to their bite. I have had 2 week old babies open my fingers up pretty good when a girl I was dating wore a different perfume than that which the babies were already accustomed to. (this is an unproven theory, but that night she walked in the room after having put the new perfume on and the babies began the defensive "huffing" in their caves. I reached to console them and WHAM! So, since the scent of the perfume was the only thing different from any other night, and gators are highly olfactory-based animals, I simply deduced that the unfamiliar, alien, scent had evoked an extreme instinctual defensive reaction) After they calmed down and I was able to talk to them and get a visual with them, they calmed down and were their normal, calm selves. But my fingers were ripped open pretty good and it hurt surprisingly bad.

Another type of bite is a milder version of the above. If the baby gator is not accustomed to being handled and "nips" you not too hard to make you let him go. This rarely ever happens as I have always started my youngins out proper with lots of interaction, but in a slightly confusing moment it can happen occasionally anyway. I always ignore these bites and talk to them until they calm down.

The most common type of bite (in my opinion) is when the alligator is looking for food and mistakes your hand for food. They have sensory "equipment on the outside of their lips/mouth/jaws, as well as on the inside that function like taste buds, so these nibbles are usually brief and harmless (when they are babies!) because they can "taste" what is you and they do know the difference between human and food (given they are not new to humans).

The only type of aggressive bite I can think of is from a female protecting her kids or nest. Any other physical posturing, like protecting bodies of water or private space are 99% bluff, intended to frighten you away, but the females with offspring or eggs mean serious business. I personally have been bitten every which way, countless times, and the most damage I ever suffered was from a relatively small 6'10" female, only about 150 pounds. I was a little slow that day and I paid the price. I don't advise anyone anytime to mess with a nesting female after egglay unless you don't mind being hurt or are VERY good at avoiding being bitten. As with every time I have been bitten by an aggressive alligator, that day I was doing something that I shouldn't have been doing. Or to put it more plainly,.. every time has ALWAYS been my fault and 100% avoidable.

I hope this helps.

>>Just wondering what a baby crocodilian bite is like... Is it like a puppy bite (feels like needles but doesn't do damage)? Or can it actually break skin? If it breaks skin, are we talking scratch or more serious? Thanks,
>>
>>Mr. F
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Human "progress" equates to nature's demise.

The others were pretty correct on the bits
Simply a snap and release type the smaller ones
They can cause anything from pinhole punctures to taking some meat.

The thing to worry about is infection. Remember they are eating raw meats and fish and infection is a real possibility.
MI Croc Rescue

i'm not around them often but i would say that the main thing is the 'surprise' or shock of it all. i would just say don't pull your hand away being that it will be more pain full and it could also hurt the gator (the needle like teeth)