I e-mailed diamond reptiles and asked about the discrepensies in their ad for the "diamond caiman". They sent me an e-mail back saying to call for information and attached a care sheet for spectacled caiman and gators which only verified that the length of their hybrid was incorrect. Also has no business hours listed. Buyers beware...
Our conversation:
"Call for info
Regards
Mitch
P.s. here is a care sheet in the meantime.
These prefer the 1/3 land 2/3rd water set up.
Diamond Reptile Breeders
P.O.Box 2486
Bushnell,Fl 33513
PH.352.303.1745
PH/Fax 352.568.3378
www.diamondreptile.com
----- Original Message -----
From: RobnGravez@aol.com
To: info@diamondreptile.com
Sent: Wednesday, June 04, 2003 6:42 PM
Subject: Information
I have some questions about your ad for the diamond caiman on kingsnake.com. How do you know the maximum length of these crocs when this is only the second clutch and the first clutch was hatched last year?? Do they get fully grown in one year?? Also if they are a Spectacled / Jacare hybrid and both of these crocs reach at least 6 feet in length when adults, how can the average length be 4 feet?? I am really interested in this hybrid so if you could clear this up for me it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance..."
His care sheet:
"Care of Alligators & Caiman in captivity
By Mitchell R. Brynes Of Diamond Reptile Breeders www.diamondreptile.com
Let’s start with a brief introduction to alligators and caiman. The American alligator (alligator missisippiensis) is among the longest-lived crocodilians and can reach considerable size (16-20ft). Adults; coloration is blackish-olive. Hatchlings and juveniles have numerous yellow bands on the tail and part of the body.
The alligators habitat and distribution: Primarily freshwater inhabitants of still or slow moving rivers, canals, swamp, marshes and lakes. At times it will tolerate saltwater for brief periods. It can be found as far north as the southern Virginia-North Carolina border and extends southwards all way to Rio Grand, Texas.
Reproduction: The alligator is a mound nester, it will gather leaves and debris. It will then lay a variable number of eggs. Example: a large female can lay 60 eggs or more.
Courtship starts around late April with mating starting around early May. The eggs are normally laid around mid-June, but depending on the temperature where they are located would depend when courtship and egg laying would occur. Mothers will defend the nest and protect hatchlings; there is a strong maternal behavior.
Prey: Hatchling alligators will feed upon insects, fish and small crustaceans; young alligators will feed on reptiles, small mammals, birds, fish and amphibians; adults will eat birds, fish, mammals, and sometimes smaller alligators. There is also the occasional dog, which gets too close to the water edge.
The spectacled caiman habitat and distribution: also known as the common caiman (Caiman crocodilus). Males can reach a size of 8 feet, females are a little smaller. They are called a spectacled caiman because of the bony ridge running between the eyes like a pair of spectacles. Spectacled caimans can be found from southern Mexico and central America to the Amazon and Orinoco basins, as far south as the temperate zone of northern Argentina. But due to caimans’ extreme adaptability, small populations of former pets imported into the United States have managed to thrive in drainage canals of southern Florida. They prefer open areas of lakes, swamps, rivers and cattle ponds. Their wild population is estimated at more than 5,000,000. The caimans breeding habits are similar to that of the alligator.
Now that you have that introduction information, let's get into their care and maintenance in captivity.
Care and maintenance in captivity: When first acquiring your caiman or alligator, be sure it is in good health. The best way to do this is to examine the animals tail at the base. You should not be able to see the bony structure of the tail. It should be very alert and even slightly aggressive. Be sure there is no fungus, which will be seen as small white patches upon the skin. The eyes should be wide and with the look of “I am hungry” in them. If this is how your crocodilian looks when you get it, you got a good one!
There are several ways to set up for your new crocodilian. The way you set it up would depend on the room that you have and the amount of money you wish to spend. The basic set up for a small caiman or alligator would be a 20-30gal. Aquarium, a plastic kitty litter pan or Tupperware container similar in size, 75 watt light bulb, and/or undertank heating pad. For the substrate you can use newspaper, medium garden stones, indoor outdoor carpet, or mulch. I prefer to use newspaper because it is normally free, and because it is sterile. I will agree that it does not look as nice as the stones or the outdoor carpet. The mulch does look good but can get messy when it gets in the water. Now how to set it up; first, lay down the substrate of choice. Next put the undertank-heating pad where you would put the plastic kitty litter pan or Tupperware container. Remember it goes on the bottom of the tank not inside. Also do not have the newspaper or other substrate where you will have the pan if you are using an under tank heater unless it is getting the water too hot! Or if you are just using the light bulb, don’t worry about it yet as that goes last. The difference in what you use would depend on the temp of the surroundings. What you are trying to do is have the ambient temp in the cage around 78-84 degrees. You want a hot spot that reaches around 90-95 and you want a cooler area mid 70’s. The easiest way to do this is to stick that heating pad at one end of the tank. Now take the kitty litter pan and put it over that spot fill it with good fresh water (you want the water temp at around 78-80 degrees F.) Next take a piece of ply wood or something similar about 8”x12” and make a ramp. This will give the little guy a way to get into the water, and also serve as a little cave or hide spot under the ramp where he can go for some quiet time. Also make sure you put something in the water so he can climb out, a rock works well. Now take that clamp light (you can find them at Home Depot for about $6.00) and adjust it over the top part of the ramp. You want the temp there to be at 90-95; this is their basking area.
It is that simple. Of course you can get as elaborate as you want, but there is a reason for the simplicity of this. It’s a no brainier to clean. Just take the kitty litter pan out and dump it. Clean it with some mild soap and water with a tad of bleach. Rinse it well, replace it, fill it and viola, YOU’RE DONE! No filters to clean mean fewer hassles.
The great thing is all you have to do as it grows is up size everything, which is easy.
You can also take the other route. Which is 1/3 land 2/3 water. Basking light. Submersible Aquarium Heater, Unbreakable preferred. “ These can be purchased from us here at Diamond Reptile Breeders”. A submersible power-head aquarium filter. A hide spot (plastic flowerpot cut in half works great. One half on land one half on water). Some like to use gravel some sand. I keep it bare.
The land can be built with Bricks and rocks. Or by Making a Glass dam where you want to put the land area. Just use your imagination. But be sure to not create any dangerous areas where your crocodilian could get trapped.
Some logs can also be placed in there for basking areas.
Feeding and training: Now I know what you’re thinking, “Training a gator or caiman, what are you talking about.” When I say train I mean you can get a feeding response from your pet and for some people who don’t handle their pets, this can be a problem. What happens is you get people who get a gator or caiman and they’re afraid of getting bitten. So all they do is feed it. Well what happens is the animal’s feeding response is that, whenever it sees someone coming it figures its going to be fed so it seems to charge at the person for food and the person thinks they have an aggressive animal and never handle it! What you need to do is train the animal as to when feeding time is and when holding time or cleaning time is. The best way to do this is with sound. It sounds simple and it is. All you need to do is when ever you feed your pet, you tap on the glass a certain number of times I do it three times say feeding time or what ever you prefer to say and then put in the food. What this does is let the animal know when food is coming and when it’s not. After some time it will know the difference between you just walking by the tank or coming to pick it up, to when food will be coming in. Its is that simple I have done this with countless gator & caiman. I have found that only about 1 out of 40 just does not get it. The odds are not that bad when you think of it.
What to feed: I feed my animals a variety of different foods such as fish, chicken, insects, snails, and low-fat red meat. How fast your pet will grow will depend on how much and how often you feed it. The more often you feed it, the faster it will grow; the lesser you feed it the slower it will grow. The maximum growth rate is an average of 17 to 20 inches per year. If you would feed your animal every other day or say three to four times a week this would be its growth rate. But if you were to feed it, say only twice a week, it would take twice as long to grow. And the same goes if you were to feed it twice as much, it would grow faster. So it is up to you how fast or how slow your pet will grow.
Note: it is very beneficial to have natural sunlight for your alligator or caiman if this is not possible, you can buy one of the commercial lights which has UV light such as a reptile bulb.
Also remember to check and make sure that these animals are legal in your state.
It's that easy; I hope with this information all the readers have a happier, healthier and tamer crocodilian. Good luck
If you have any questions feel free to contact me at:
Diamond Reptile Breeders
P.O.Box 2486
Bushnell, FL 33513
Ph 352-568-3378
Email: info@diamondreptile.com"
