Reptile & Amphibian Forums

how's the new caiman doing? let us know!

he is doing great...ive just been sitting next to his enclosure reading a book etc...he dont hiss now.i left a screwdriver in his enclosure..grrr.and when i went in to get it he never even hissed,he just lifted his head looked at me then lay it down again.. .im not gonna try touching him though..i think we will have a hands off relationship...lol..he seems quite happy after his ordeal of travelling...he actually came out to bask tonight infront of me...im just fascinated by him..he likes to watch me..and i him...although im trying not to stress him by being in his presence...im not sure how much contact his last owner gave him..his owner said he fed him with tongs??IF I FEED HIM WITH TONGS WILL THAT NOT MAKE HIM WANNA BITE MY HAND IF IM DOING SOMETHING NEAR HIM???or should i feed him with them???any info would be helpfull...thanx

I feed my gator with tongs. So far he hasn't bitten me out of feeding response. He's gotten me a few times when he was smaller out of defense. He managed to escape a couple times and when I went to pick him up he got me. I prefer to feed my boas with tongs too. I definately think it helps them seperate hand from food...
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All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream.

I feed my gator off of a plate. I put in the color white to let her know to wait, then show her purple to let her know that it is ok to go for the food. this method took me almost 2 months to get to work on a regular basis. Allison ( my gator) is 34" and is 15 months old.

Tasha

Another idea if you want to keep some more distance between you and your new buddy when it is feeding time is to take a pair of medical clamps and attach them to a longer pole. Just put your food in the clamps and stick the pole into the enclosure. Just a thought! =)