Unusual Pets - Crocodiles

Whenever I think of crocodiles I think of the late Steve Irwin, “The Crocodile Hunter,” whose life was tragically cut short. Whenever I hear the word crocodile I can see his big grin and wild mop of hair and hear him say, “Croiky that was close!”

Crocodiles belong to the Crocodylidae family, which also includes alligators and caimans. Crocodiles are huge aquatic reptiles that can be traced back thousands of years. Some live in fresh water bodies such as rivers, wetlands, lakes and brackish water and some live in salt water. The largest species live in salt water. They are found in Africa, Asia, Australia and America. Crocodiles are frequently confused with alligators, however, if you examine the head you can easily tell the difference. Crocodiles have a V shaped head and alligators have a U shaped head. As you can see from the above photo, the nose is very narrow when compaired to the width of the head at the eyes.

Crocodiles should only be considered for a pet by those who have past experience with dangerous exotic pets. They are certainly not recommended for beginners, or even intermediate pet owners. People that are interested in having a reptile for a pet should consider an agamid, gecko, skink, bearded dragon, or a small snake. Crocodiles are for very experienced hobbyists only. They are extremely difficult to handle and house and the expense to keep one as a pet is very large. Even small juvenile crocodiles become hard to handle after they reach one year of age. As they grow older, they become stronger and more dangerous. It is only after this that owners realize the harsh truth and release the crocodile illegally into the wild. This creates a very dangerous situation because the crocodile does not fear humans because of it past association, so it will become more confident and will attack humans whenever it gets the opportunity.

These reptiles are frequently underestimated. Until you have dealt with one, you cannot believe how strong and fast they are. You should have a lot of practice dealing with reptiles before attempting to handle a crocodile, and even then only when being supervised by an experienced crocodile handler. In fact, the larger the crocodile, the greater the number of people required to handle it. If an untrained or inexperienced team attempts to handle a crocodile, they will probably be seriously injured and possibly even killed. No amount of training can tame a crocodile. Unfortunately, most owners don’t realize this until they are attacked by their supposed pet. Each year owners of pet crocodiles are bitten and many pets are either killed or illegally let loose by owners who can no longer handle them.

Crocodiles have a streamline body, which facilitates swimming. While swimming, they tuck their limbs to the side of their bodies, which helps them to swim even faster as that decreases water resistance. Their webbed feet help them to make fast and sudden turns. The muscles that are involved in closing the jaw are so powerful that the jaw can shut with a pressure of five thousand pounds per square inch. Their teeth are very sharp and they use these to tear the flesh of their prey. In addition, they also have very sharp claws.

Fortunately, the muscles that are used to open the jaws are extremely weak. Therefore, in case of an attack, the victim should hold the jaw closed. That is the reason why, when the crocodile is being transported, the jaws are kept shut with big rubber bands made out of automobile inner tubes. The lateral movement of the neck is restricted by nature in this reptile, so when a human faces an attack on land, he can save himself by getting behind a tree and keeping the crocodile on the other side.

Crocodiles eat both vertebrates and invertebrates. For example, they eat mammals, reptiles, fish, crustaceans and molluscs. They can live from thirty years to more than one hundred years of age. Owners should be aware of this fact and make preparations in advance because there is a large possibility that the pet will outlive the owner. Full grown Crocodiles are from five feet to six feet in length and weigh over two thousand pounds. At birth they only measure twenty centimetres. This is one of the factors which tempt owners to keep them as pets. However, when they begin to grow, the owner panics and starts thinking of abandoning them with the above mentioned tragic results.

My recommendation is to leave crocodiles in zoos or in the wild and pick smaller more docile reptiles as pets.

Until next time,

Teia

Unusual Pets – Alligators

When my mom was a young girl living in Watrous, Saskatchewan, Canada, she had a pet alligator which she called “Alli.” “Alli” was quite affectionate and loved to have his soft throat and tummy rubbed by my mom's nose. However, he was a creature of strict habit and did not like change of time or routine. One night mom went to the movies, I believe that it was the movie “The 10 Commandments” which started at 7:00 PM. Because of the early start time, mom didn't clean “Alli's” tank or feed him. When she got home just after 10:00 PM, she picked up “Alli” and rubbed her nose on his throat and tummy as usual, while her mother cleaned “Alli's” tank and put his food and fresh water in. After mom put “Alli” back in his tank so he could eat, she turned toward her mother who asked her why she had blood all over her nose. Mom went to look in the bathroom mirror and discovered a circle of fine holes in the end of her nose. Because his routine had been upset, “Alli” bit her with his razor sharp teeth. Since his teeth were so sharp, she didn't even feel them going into her nose. Mom had “Alli” for several years, but he became too big for the tank he was in. Since her family didn't have enough money to buy a bigger tank, she had to find a new home for “Alli.” The University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon offered to give him a home in their Biology Department. “Alli” didn't like his new home because he did not get personal attention, so he stopped eating. Within a month of moving to the University, “Alli” died. The professor in charge of the Biology Department said that it was the first time that he had ever seen a reptile die of home sickness and that as a result, it gave him a whole new perspective on the personalities of reptiles.

Alligators are one of the most dangerous of the unusual pets. It is a crocodilian, which comes from the family of Alligatoridae. The name was derived from Anglicization of a Spanish word, “el lagarto” (the lizard) which was used by Spanish explorers who settled in Florida, U.S.A. Alligators are found mostly in America and China.

There are two species of alligators, Alligator Mississippienis or the American Alligator and Alligator Sinensis or the Chinese Alligator. The American alligator weights around eight hundred pounds and is up to thirteen feet long. The record for the longest alligator, which was found in Louisiana, is nineteen feet two inches. In comparison, Chinese alligators rarely grow more than seven feet and their average size is five feet. Alligators can live for more than fifty years. The oldest known alligator, housed at the Belgrade Zoo, Serbia, was seventy years old when it died.

There are many features of alligators that distinguish them from crocodiles and both of them belong to different taxonomic families. Alligators have a broader snout and their eyes are located near the upper side of their head. When light is flashed over the eyes, bigger alligators have a red glow and smaller alligators have a green glow. This can be of help, when searching for alligators in the dark. When looking in daylight, alligators have brown eyes and crocodiles have green eyes.

When alligators close their jaws, only the upper teeth are visible, however, when crocodiles, close their jaws, the upper as well as the lower teeth are visible. The shape of an alligator’s mouth is rounded like a “U” and that of the crocodile is more pointed, like a “V.” Although both of the animals have a dark hide, almost black, the color of individual animals depends on their habitat. Alligators living in water with a heavy algae growth are greenish black. Alligators living in waters with high tannic acid, released from hanging trees, have a darker hide.

Alligators can eat anything they can find, because of the gastroliths (stomach stones) present in their stomach. Young alligators feed on crustaceans, fish, snails, and insects. As they grow, so does their need for larger prey. Bigger alligators feed on turtles, larger fish, birds and other reptiles and mammals. They even eat deer, razorbacks, small alligators and the carcasses of dead animals when they are extremely hungry. A few attacks on humans have also been reported, but the number is on the rise. People get overconfident about this fact and enter alligator habitats without much care, resulting in provoking their aggression. In spite of their aggressive nature, alligators do not immediately attack humans, like crocodiles do. In the last couple of decades, the American Alligator has battled with a new, non native predator, the Burmese Python. Numerous alligator carcasses have been discovered in the stomachs of these invaders. It is not yet known what impact these new predators will have on the wild alligator population, as the alligators also dine on python when they win these deadly battles.

The alligator farming industry is rapidly rising in Florida, Louisiana and Texas. The purpose of such farms is to get alligator hides and nearly forty-five thousand hides are obtained annually from these farms. The hides are very expensive and a seven-foot hide sells for as much as $300, but the prices vary every year, depending on the demand. Alligator meat is also increasing in demand, with approximately three hundred thousand pounds consumed every year.

Alligators are now protected and regulated animals. Special procedures and permits are required to get legal custody of an alligator. Usually baby alligators can be bought in Florida. Owners are given a special license and must be aware of their responsibilities. It’s against the law in many states to remove an alligator from its natural habitat. Alligator pets should be provided with a large and wet habitat to live in, similar to the subtropical climate they come from.

Alligators occasionally get aggressive and dangerous at times, usually during breading season, which can prove fatal to people if proper precautions are not taken. Owners of pet alligators should be prepared as their pet can grow to more than twelve feet in length. Unfortunately, some owners panic when their pet alligator starts getting bigger and decide to set it free in an area near their home. This can be extremely dangerous to residents of that locality, because the animal has lost its natural fear of humans and will frequently attack. A few years ago, near the end of a warm summer, the police in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan received a call from a citizen that there was a six-foot alligator chasing joggers on the path along the South Saskatchewan River near the Mendel Art Gallery. A patrol car was dispatched, even though the dispatcher thought the call was a hoax, because alligators usually don’t exist in Saskatchewan. When the police officer walked into the area, he saw the alligator basking in the sun on the lawn of the Art Gallery. He walked up to it and poked it with his baton. The alligator spun around quickly and bit the baton in half. The officer jumped back and called for assistance. The alligator was eventually captured and shipped to a zoo. Authorities surmised that someone had released a pet alligator into the river in the Spring and it had grown much larger over the summer from a good diet of fish, ducks, geese and the occasional wandering pet. So, when a decision is made to adopt an alligator as a pet, the owner should realize that it is a lifetime commitment. Turning alligators loose in areas where they are not expected can result in serious and often tragic results.

Until next time,

Teia