Many say that crocodilians are hard to keep. I am not one of those. I have had alligators and caimans since I was a small boy of about 9 or 10. Of course I started with small babies (at 15 I "inherited" large adults) and in the time it took them to grow to any considerable size I also grew and was able to still handle them with comparative ease. Even the much more aggressive caimans I had (I no longer keep caimans) could be handled and moved without too much difficulty. But this is only because of two main things; I knew what I was doing as I had learned a lot as we grew together, and I have never been afraid of getting bitten. I would never suggest to anyone to get any animal that they fear. There's something about fear that makes one make serious mistakes. But yes, I have been ripped wide open many times over the years. More times from feeding mishaps than from aggressive animals as I choose to get in close and personal and hand-feed my babies. I have never gone to any hospital for stitches, I always just let the wounds heal on their own. A few times with more serious tears I have had to make my own stitches of sorts by crazy glueing plastic tie-wrap strips across my wounds to keep them closed until they began to re-attach. I should have taken pictures, but I never did. I have a few "incidents" on video though and they are always a kick to watch in super slow-mo. But I have a lot of really neat scars 
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Anyway,... I got carried away there. Back to your questions:
It's ironic, but the best crocodilian to have as a first crocodilian pet happens to be one of the largest species. The American alligators when raised right and treated well make incredibly docile and sometimes even personable pets. "Only children" gators turn out the best as they really don't know that they are any different than you and they can bond to you better. But I really don't know if this would be the same under conditions of confinement. I have never kept any of mine confined to a cage or tank. But in any case it should take anywhere from 6 to 10 years under optimum conditions for a baby gator to become any considerable length. And even then they won't attain the more massive adult girth for another 5 to 10 years. (the "frame" of a young gator is very thin compared to an adult, so more easily managed). So my point is that there is ample time to "grow" with your gator and to learn what you need to learn in order to care for a large gater,.. as it grows. Do you see my point? But please do not get any gator or other crocodilian species unless you are willing to devote your ENTIRE life to keeping them and caring for them. If you can't see yourself walking out with a bowl of food for them when you are 70, then this is not the pet for you. Books may say gators live 40 to 50 years, but I estimate that they live much longer. I have several over 53 years old that are just as spry and active as they were 30 years ago. And they have clear vision and all their teeth. In other words there is zero signs of advanced age. In other words, they have a LOT more life left. I would venture to estimate that they will live another 30 to 50 years and will easily outlive me. This is why my last Will and Testament is entirely centered around their care and welfare after I am long gone. But there is no need to go into that. The point is, it's not cool to get a pet and then sell it to the highest bidder in 5 years when you are tired of it. And I feel that crocodilians as such a magnificent and primative animal form deserve our respect and dedication more than say a goldfish would. Not to bag on goldfish, I love them too. But unlike a gator, they can't look at you and understand you and have thoughts about you. I personally think that alligators have a higher intelligence and can actually form an opinion about you to a certain extent. Sure they are often indifferent,.. but sometimes they are not, and that is pretty cool. Sometimes even as I am typing here on the computer, I have an incredible 6 foot indoor female that goes beyond the definition of "tame", and she will often waddle up to me and lay her head on my bare foot to be near me. She usually gives me the double, deep-base "greeting" grunt to say hi and to tell me that it's her. She knows it's "Me" and wants to be near me and even touching me and I think it's the coolest thing. But understand also that she is the exception to the rule. Most gators couldn't care less if they were near you and would rather be away from you unless you had food for them. But if you raise a baby from a hatchling,.. and if you spend a LOT of time with it daily,... this can be your scenario.
Anyhow,.. there really is no easy way to sum up the keeping of an alligator or caiman. While it is much easier than most reptile pets to keep and care for, it is still a very deep and involved experience that cannot be summed up with cage requirements and reccomended diets. There is more to it in the sense that there is a LOT more to understand. As a higher lifeform it is our responsibility to understand them and exactly how they are and what they are. Their care may be simple,. but they are very complex. Help me out here Bill, try to explain this for me. I feel that I am doing a horible job at it.
Feel free to email me any time. I will share any information and even pictures (never to be posted here or anywhere please).
>>I am in no way new to reptiles! I have kept wild garter snakes, frogs, toads, ect... since I was like 3 years old, I even raised some tad poles into frogs now and then. I have recently been studying Ball Pyhtons and Leopard Geckos. I have owned Ball Pythons, and plan on breeding them next season. I will also be getting my first Leos next season and probably breeding them too. So I am not new to reptiles in general, but Crocodilians are new to me all together! I have never done any research on them so forgive me if I say something that just makes you laugh. I am thinking of getting SOME KIND of Crocodilian, but I am unsure of what care requirements they need, or really anything for that matter, I want to learn as much as possible and maybe I will be a proud owner someday! I would REALLY like for some posts with basically a care sheet and even some pics would be nice! If you can help me out with some info on your FAVORITE Crocodilian and some pictures if you have them, that would be AWESOME! The information on the top of my list is the following:
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>>1. Size when full grown
>>2. What type of habitat do they origionate from?
>>3. What would the enclosure have to consist of (ie. land/water ratio, plants?, Temperature and humidity, ect...)
>>4. Temperment
>>5. Feeding requirements
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>>And of course as I have said 10 times already, PICTURES if possible!
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>>Thanks in advance for all the help and I am looking forward to any and all responses!
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>> ~~~ Krystal - Future breeder of Pythons, Geckos, we'll see what else later! Specalizing in Ball Pythons and Leopard Geckos ~~~ www.geocities.com/krystal19_85 ~~~
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It isn't "Ideas" that fail or succeed,... it is the "Systems" which are instilled to launch and sustain the idea that either fail or succeed.>[Me.]
