Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone.

I want a camen soon. my mom said that she would get me one if my grades were good. Chris said that it woudlnt be a good idea. I think I can take good care of one. Even he said that he had one as his first reptile. so coudnt i? i know that I can take care one if i got the chance. from what I ready they don't get that big. I am almost 5 feet 10 inches tall. I know that i could handle it when it got bigger. isn't there a way that I coudl get one and grow with it. kinda like you would a dog.? i don't see what the problem is.

danny

my first reptile i ever bought was a caimen i was 8 i am now 40 . i think if you are responcible you will have few problems.there many tricks to keeping caimen. if your heart is set then i sugest you do some serious reading and rember a caimen can take a finger or arm or even your head if you do not seek expert advice and always use caution they are not dogs

I also think you should wait until you're a little older. A caiman will not grow to like you like a dog does, it will grow to know that when you're around, there will be food, whether you're feeding him or not. I agree that it would be a better idea for you to start with some sort of a lizard and gain the necessary experience for crocodilians.

Matt

If you can not foresee any problems or drawbacks, you are lacking information. You need to do a lot more reading and possibly see if you can volunteer to help a crocodilian owner or exhibitor and get some experience. Any crocodilan is capable of inflicting serious injury.

It's not that no one should keep crocodilians, but very few people can do it properly - it's up to the individual to be prepared and make that decision and deal with any consequences. It requires decades of commitment and lots of expense to provide a proper home for such an animal.

My personal take on this is that you should buy a house before you get a crocodilian. The potential modifications for keeping a large animal may not be acceptable to most landlords or parents.

For now, get a gecko. You'll be going to college in a few years and most do not allow snakes or pets that can't be contained in something much larger than a 10 gallon aquarium. You also won't have the space either. Your roomate may not want to live with reptiles either. That sounds unconscionable to most of us, but a lot of people don't like reptiles.