Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have kept wc snappers, wc snakes of all kinds, and almost every wild animal at one time or another since i was a kid. i have a line on a healthy, established hatchling gator, and have the desire, the means, the time, and the environment to do right by him.
my question is: how good a choice is an american alligator for a first-time croc keeper?
i have dealt with gators many many times, though never in a pet/keeper environment.
thanks for your input in advance, and i would be particularly interested in feedback from anyone who presently keeps gators, or anyone from the deep south who has raised a WC gator to the point of keeping an outside year-round enclosure.

American Alligators would overall be my choice if you have the space,money,time,exprience, and dedication. American Alligators are generally much more docile than other species of crocodilian. The primary disadvatage is their size. Look forward to housing atleast a 10' specimen if male and possibly around 7-8 if female.
If you have any questions, feel free to post them here and I am sure when we are available to do so, we would be more than willing to help.

My advise would be to volunteer at a place that keeps gators, be it a gator farm, animal rescue, etc. This will allow you to test the water before you jump in. In general and as crocodilians go, alligators are fairly tolerant of some human interaction but there are always exceptions...

thanks for your quick responses!
as i said, i have handled larger gators many times. enough times to know that 'docile' is a very relative term! haha
i am hoping to get a female, for size and disposition reasons. how old must they be before you can sex them? i know even as an adult, there is little way to tell without palpating them what their sex is.
and i am guessing that pinkie mice would be a good starter food, moving up in size from there when appropriate?

From what I read, usually around 3.5-4ft you can start probing for sex. I could be wrong, but that is just what I had read.

Stan

well i was hoping there was a possibility that as a hatchling there was a trick to get their goober to pop out, but i kinda figured they had to be a little bigger before that would work.

another question i had,
should i end up with a female.
i know some reptile species will sometimes become gravid with unfertilized eggs, if they are not bred when in season.
is this an issue with crocs, the american alligator in particular?

UUUhhhh,

hhhhmmm. Good Question! I dont think so,but that is something that you may want to address as a separate post, and put that to the attention of Adam Britton, Chris Dieter, John White, or Bill Moss. They would most likely know.

Stan

Yes, a healthy female is likely to lay eggs, even if they have not been fertilized by a male. Of course, they will not bear hatchlings.

As for sexing, hatchlings can be sexed by opening the cloaca with a speculum or other device and looking in through a magnifying lens. Just know what you are looking for. If you've never done so, you could sex several specimens in the hope of finding both sexes, so you could learn the difference, visually.
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Israel Dupont
Winter Haven, FL

i have sexed adults, but they have been 5-12 feet long.
so hatchlings can be sexed in the same way, if a bit more delicately?

y'all have been a great help!!!
here's a real kicker....
i am having some trouble finding info on the requirements invovled in owning a gator in my state. permits and whatnot.
if you happen to know, or at least know where i can find accurate info on this, i'd be very grateful.
regarding this, please contact me at eaux76@gmail.com

well for starters...

It would help toknow what state you are in.

yeah, that would be a handy bit of info, huh?
sorry, forgot to mention. hehehe
im in LA

Have you tried the Louisiana Wildlife Fish and game agency? They should be able to advise you.

Why do you want a gator? Pesky liberals?