Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi all,
There are many new names, on this forum, since I was a regular. For those of you, who have used this forum the last few years, you might remember the trouble that my Palp. was going through. He was going through unexplained seizures and eventually could not swallow. Sadly, he died at the end of September. Unfortunately, it was the same week my father passed on, unexpectedly. I haven't been on the forum for awhile. I wanted to offer an update to those, who offered advice or expressed concern. I had a necropsy performed on the caiman and it revealed a brain tumor. The doctor said that there was nothing that he could of done. I've never heard of this in crocodilians before, but I guess anything can get a tumor. The vet summed it up to getting the odd-ball of the bunch.
I intend on getting another Dwarf. It was an extreme pleasure raising one. I've kept several species of crocodilians, through the years, and found Paleosuchus Palpebrosus to be a reasonable pet and quite responsive. A few days ago, someone gave me a 4' Spectacled Caiman as a rescue. I didn't believe her on the phone, when she said that it was tame, but the girl who raised it had actually done a fine job. I am now the proud caretaker of a 4' Spec., who is actually as handleable as any tame alligator, that I've seen. I've been interacting with it every day and hopefully I will be able to keep it this way. I'll admit, though, that I find it hard to trust it. This is probably best, as even tame crocodilians are probably better refered to as tolerant, rather than tame. You can never be sure when their mood might change and it only takes a second of carelessness, for a preventable injury.
I'll try and have some pics posted through the holidays. I want her to settle in before I handle her much. Right now, I'm just reaching in and petting her. I've started the training process for a feeding call. It worked very well on my Palp. and allowed me to service the cage without the caiman expecting food.
Be well
Jeff

sorry to hear of your losses and congrates on the new caiman..
can you explain a little on this feeding call training for palps...ive never heard of this yet and would like to hear about it cheers...roger
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no way the way no limit the limit

Hi Roger,
It's nothing very special. I've found that if I make the same noise everytime I feed, the crocodilians are intelligent enough to associate the sound with food. I make a 'clicking' noise with my tongue. Over a short period of time, they only get excited when they hear the noise, rather than the action of you entering the enclosure or lifting the aquarium cover.

Most other reptiles can learn that your presence means dinner and will sometimes launch themselves, at anything entering their domain, expecting food. This isn't much of a problem with a Bearded Dragon or Tiger Salamander, but having a 4'plus Caiman or Alligator, waiting inches from the door, can make it difficult to service the cage.

The Palp. was not tame enough to handle, but if he did not hear the noise there was not anticipation of food and I could easily work around him, without any signs of aggression or stress. I was just part of his environment. When I first aquired him, he used to launch himself against the glass, trying to attack anything in reach.

I have a diverse collection of reptiles and the only other species, that I've had luck conditioning, have been monitor lizards. They never responded to sound, but I've found that if I only feed them from a plate, they learn to wait for the plate instead of my hands. Most have gotten to the point where they will actually run up to the door, but wait patiently until the plate is set down. I used to feed them with tongs, but found that without the sound control, monitors didn't distinguish between hands and tongs. Instead, they seemed to be looking for the movement.

However you feed, the main thing is to never let your guard down. Treat even tame reptiles, as if they are unpredictable (mostly because they are). Play around with different techniques and see which ones your animals respond to. This one works for me, but may not have the same results with someone else's animals.

I hope that this is useful.
Be well
JeffP

cheers for that...very interesting...im in the process of aquiring a palp at the moment...hatchling hopefully and i have heard that they do learn certain rutines be good to have it associate a sound rather than movements ect...thanks alot another little thing for me to try...not holding out to much hope though lol...
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no way the way no limit the limit

I know what it's like. A while ago I lost my big alligator.
As you I've had luck "training" my crocs and alligators to a sound as well as a vibration. I tap the ground 3 times and they come a runnin. That way I can work in the emclosure without them thinking of food.
crocodil

If it's any consolation, at least by having the necropsy done you know the death wasn't a result of anything you'd done.

Better luck with the next one.

Bill