Hello,

I agree with the others that MBD is likely the problem here. I doubt the limited handling the animal had was a factor in any of it's problems. The largest problem appears to be the diet. I would switch to a whole animal diet(which you have already done) and offer some supplements inside other food items.

I would do away with fish in the diet totally. We rarely use it and frankly that is a choice made years ago as the animals looked better on other dietary items.

One other thing, I wouldn't worry about UV at all. A properly fed caiman will not require UV bulbs for good health. Rather than leave the lights on all the time to get the animal UV i would go the other way and leave them off for several days to reduce the animals stress before worrying about a basking site. JJust make sure you water is warm enough.
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CDieter
'Reason, observation, and experience; the holy trinity of science.'