Reptile & Amphibian Forums

just today we got in a very sick gator,
the man was keeping this 2 and 1/2 foot 9 year old american alligator in a 55 gallon tank along with 2 other gators in the same tank with very little land and was feeding them on a diet of steak and chicken,
the man gave us one of his gators(the one that is doing the wost) and it,
cant open its eyes cuz they are so inflamed,
cant really open its mouth very much cuz its jaw is like rubber,
cant really walk that much or chooses not to,
and its tails bent to one size from the lack of space,

we have a wildlife vet that will take care of it but what i really want to know is how i can force feed him some good food wil calcium,
i figure his main problem is lack of calcium,

thanks for the help

Well to be honest, these are among the worst kept crocodilians I have heard off.

9 YEARS in a 55 gallon!
It's like a gator concentration camp.

Your work is cut out for you. These animals will in all likelyhood remain stunted but you can improve their health with proper sanitation and a good diet.

I would start using a whole animal diet and some supplements. This will at least start to improve bone structure and general health.

Good luck and your work is appreciated.

>>just today we got in a very sick gator,
>>the man was keeping this 2 and 1/2 foot 9 year old american alligator in a 55 gallon tank along with 2 other gators in the same tank with very little land and was feeding them on a diet of steak and chicken,
>>the man gave us one of his gators(the one that is doing the wost) and it,
>>cant open its eyes cuz they are so inflamed,
>>cant really open its mouth very much cuz its jaw is like rubber,
>>cant really walk that much or chooses not to,
>>and its tails bent to one size from the lack of space,
>>
>>we have a wildlife vet that will take care of it but what i really want to know is how i can force feed him some good food wil calcium,
>>i figure his main problem is lack of calcium,
>>
>>thanks for the help
-----
CDieter
'Reason, observation, and experience; the holy trinity of science.'

well like i said the gator cant even open its mouth so it will not feed, i have tried,
i am going to need to force feed it so any info on doing this will be great,

I picked one up a number of years ago that was in similar, but not as bad, condition. The scales were literally falling off due to the terrible skin infections it had. Similarly, it had lived it’s whole life in a ~ 90 gallon aquarium with no haul-out area, and this was a 5 foot long caiman.
I put it in a dry area with plenty of heat and only let it get into clean water once a day for two hours. I used betadine to swab all the infected areas, and force fed him small rats that contained a baytril dose a couple times a week (per veterinarian calculated dosage). In about 8 weeks or so, it had made an amazing recovery!

If I have to force-feed crocodilians (last resort), my process is to get it to bite a rubber ball of a size large enough to hold the mouth open enough to work in, and bind the jaws while the ball is close to the end of the snout. The ball holds the mouth open and doesn’t damage the teeth or mouth tissues. Then, using a smooth ended stick (I use chop sticks), I gently push the rodent (wetted for lubricity) past the palatal valve in the back of the throat making sure not to push it into the esophagus. Release the jaws and hold the mouth closed till the animal swallows it. I have not had them reject the food once it is past the valve.

This is pretty stressful for the animal so don’t do it unless you have to.

I would also suggest getting it to a vet for xrays. If the diet has been that bad, the bone density may be very low and bone breakage would easily occur.

Good luck

Bill