Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I know these aren't monitors but I don't know where this should be placed so I put it here. Have they ever been bred in captivity? How about lifespan? I'm looking at possibly trying to get a group together but as usual have to do some research first. If anyone can point me into the right direction I'd really Appreciate it! Thanks in advance!
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John Light
JL Exotics
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Hi John,

Caimen Lizards are Teids, which makes them closely related to tegus.

From what is currently known about them in captivity, to my knowledge, they are extremely difficult to keep alive and healthy, given their specific dietary needs. I have yet to hear of anyone, private hobbyists or zoos, that have bred Caiman Lizards. Most animals in collections do not tend to last that long.

I have heard of many people in captivity feeding theirs catfood and mice. However, in all of these cases, the animals ended up dying after only a few years, over even sooner.

When I was able to work with them for a while at a past job, they proved to be extremely difficult to feed. Some readily took mice, while others, would only accept mollusks, as that is what their diet consists of in the wild. The ones that were fed snails tended to do better, however it was discovered that the animals had a heavy parasite load(most likely caused by the snails-snails are notorious for being heavily infested with endoparasites).

Maintaining them is very expensive as well, as Peruvian Apple Snails cost about 5 or 6 bucks a piece..

In all honesty, I would pass on them if I were you, as they are more of a pain than anything else, despite their amazing beauty and intriguing dentistry(my favorite part about them). Their care is by no means the same as a tegu or monitor; they are definately something else...

Cheers John, I hope this sheds some light on Dracena.... Below is a picture taken of the last "surviving" Caimen Lizard to be confiscated from the Long Island Reptile Museum- sadly it died a few weeks later at a zoo from what I have been told.

Take care,

Bob

TREEMONITORS.COM

Sucks that some animals are just almost impossible to keep in captivity. I guess I will pass on them. thanks for the info and the pic!
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John Light
JL Exotics
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Hi John, I would not go by that(what bob said). If I did, there were be lots of species that I would not have bred. The point is, people keep trying the same thing and blaming the same thing, when its not that thing.

The diet thing is silly, as usual. My bet is, they are not being kept in the proper regime. People always seem to think water living reptiles take LESS heat, when in reality, they take MORE heat. My simple bet is, keep them like mertens, lots of heat, and some nice cool water to regulate their temps with. If you do that, I bet many of the problems will suddenly disappear.

If you look at this from a neutral point of view, the problems described to this species is the exact same problems givin to all the species that are commonly bred now. That is, until people learned what they really needed.

If you have the oppertunity to aquire good individuals. Do so and give them a wider range of temps and conditions, then has been done in the past.

Again simply put, in the past, people throw them in very general snake cage conditions, or old style monitor conditions(it didn't work with monitors either), then worry about snails.

Please understand, Its not about whos good or whos bad. But those conditions in the past have proven to be wrong. Why not try something that has proven to be right. A Choice of temps, a choice of security, a choice of water or not, etc. Not tell them what to do and then blame them for dying. Good luck and happy pioneering, FR

That is true, and it wouldn't be a bad idea. I guess I'll just hold off and see what I run into. As it is they aren't real common (don't even know anyone with them forsale). So it could be sometime before I even find them. I'll keep with the research for now and maybe get some later on!
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John Light
JL Exotics
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FR, you make some very valid points and offer a new look on some old problems. Thank you. I plan and will work with these magnificent lizards. The first time I saw a pair I was awe struck. I love to hear that these lizards are impossible to maintain and breed, it will make it all the more glorious to succesfully breed these lizards. I wiil under take this project when I am capable sustaining whatever costs it takes to make this goal an accomplishmnet.

They are fun-tastic lizards! I especially like there aquatic side, one of my favourites.
Mine are 7 years old now.

Where did you get them? If I can find them I'd love to give them a try! Please shoot me an e-mail JL-Exotics@hotmail.com I have lots of questions and lots to learn...that is if you don't mind.
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John Light
JL Exotics
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Am afraid I wont be of much help, FR pretty much summed there husbandry and believe me that’s the only way you will successfully keep them. They are addicted to snails (apple and African land) its pretty hard to get them on anything else, especially if your temps are low, they are just as aquatic as my shinosaurus but prefer water temps 85-95f they can eat crey-fish, knight crawlers, frogs and tadpoles, slugs, insects, turtles, fish, and pinkies especially scented with snails. They crap in water eat in water and sometime sleep in water, they get along fine with cage mate and are friendlier to keepers then any tegus out there. 7 years ago I obtained 3.4 adults WC only one juvenile (photo) I kept them together a full year without any problems, however the shipment suffered from frost upon import and the older male was slow to recover, other then this all went well, I kept 1.1 and gave the others to a zoo keeper in exchange for 1.1 red belly side necks, these lizard have been this mans dream lizard his entire life, he built an exhibit custom made for this specie 2000gal water section and amazing land area (one of the prettiest iv seen) unfortunately they all died within a year. This is why I can’t help you much, I don’t know how! The skills and understanding of one person changes to an other, what works for me in my conditions may not work for you, I really like when FR says the ability to make decisions, well to make decisions you need the animals on hand, you need to see there set-ups take readings and witness behaviours, then apply experience, its impossible to make a decision for someone else. One thing is sure pioneers are risk takers.

Hey Jon! Have you ever been to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago? I have been there a few times (i was born in Milwaukee), but during my most recent visit there i noticed that they had caimen lizards. they had them set up in an amazing biotope... a several thousand gallon river with water hyacinth, lillies and other bunch plants as well as a few thousand fish (mostly south american cichlids and large tetras) and right behind the river's bank there was a jungle of sorts containing wading water birds and tropical trees where these guys could roam around. i watched them for quite a long time and for the most part they seemed to love diving in the water and crawling around on the water hyacinth. i have pictures on my girlfriend's computer and i will post them tonight sometime. If you havn't already been there, never pass up the opportunity to visit the Shedd Aquarium. Their exibits are amazing... not what you'd expect from such an old establishment. i have heard of people being successful at keeping these guys before. anyways, take care and i'll post those pictures tonight.
-Adam

Possibly look it up in back issues of Reptiles magazine. There was a really good article on them, say, 2 years ago? Back then breeding them was pretty rare.