well as many of you know, the university i attend (and that biochic works for) is currently fostering a baby american alligator who we named klinger. he was confiscated from a home here in ohio where it is illegal to keep alligators as pets (for obvious reasons) and we will care for him until spring when he will be sent to pennsylvania where he has a reservation at an alligator refuge there. we will miss him SO much! when we first got him his whole body (not including tail, though), could fit in your hand. now look at him!!! Klinger in His Habitat Klinger's Face Klinger Up Close Klinger on His Leash Me and Klinger Klinger Playing Dead
Those are some great pics.... where in PA is it going ? One of these days I would like to get out and work with a friend that volunteers at a facility that has a bunch of gators.
thanks, stormy! actually i am not sure exactly where it is in penn. ask biochic - i think she has the address. we've started stick training him (where you train the gator to stay to one side of the enclosure [holding him there with a stick] until the food item is offered and he can come over to the food and take it) to calm him down, but he is still a handful! woo boy - i don't think he could take any appendages off yet, but he would try it if you gave him the chance. he's getting pretty feisty.
Super kewl pics.. American alligators are awesome.... he's just a buby right now though... lol So cute when they're young.
Alligators are so cool. A herp shop near me has a swimming pool with like 20 alligators in it. It is pretty cool. I wish i could see them during feeding time .
actually that's pretty sad, dan. i seriously doubt that they are well cared-for. that also encourages people to keep them as pets (which is an absolutely terrible idea).
I'm jealous! I wish I was back in school amidst academia and doing worthwhile and rewarding stuff like rescuing alligators!! that play dead pose is hilarious! is that a defense response?
yeah it is an awesome experience - and i got to do it basically just cuz i got lucky. lol. yes playing dead is a defense response. most animals won't eat something that is already dead, so some animals have a 'play dead' response to avoid being eaten. alligators are one of them. i can get him to do it in captivity by holding him vertically and grabbing the base of his tail, putting his body weight onto his spine like he's sitting up. if you tilt him forward again so he's at less than a 90 degree angle he'll "wake up" and get feisty again. but as long as he's at 90 degrees or even further onto his back, he'll stay limp and unresponsive. it's a cool trick - especially to show to kids. they *love* it. lol.
that must be pretty cool to watch him grow like that.also at that size about how much space do they need in the enclosure.
we just increased his habitat size, actually, and we aren't gonna be able to keep him much longer because he's so big. he's currently in a 50 gallon rubbermaid with a 1 foot tall screen lid on top. that's the absolute minimum he should have at this size, too, but we can't ship him to pennsylvania for a few months because of the cold weather. there can't be a chance that the temps will drop below 50 or so while he's being transported. size is just one reason these guys make terrible household pets, and we're just glad we got the short time with him that we have had.
Oh man, that kind of cute should be illegal!!! Haha it reminds me of that old nickelodeon show...Clarissa explains it all. She had a pet alligator right? And she kept it in a kiddie pool if I recall correctly...
It is not really much a shop actually, it is more of a zoo type thing. Dont really know how to explain it. They breed lots of different kinds of herps there and then distribute them. They advertise in Reptile magazine sometimes. It is called Regal Reptiles. It really isnt like 20 alligators either, it is probably more like 7-10. And it is a huge swimming pool, it is like the size of ones that people have in their backyards. Like 15 feet by 20-25 feet. They really know what they are doing with herps there. I dont think they sell them either.
oh regal reptiles! i've heard of them and i think they *are* supposed to be good (like you said). well that does sound better than what you described before. and klik - you have some brown stuff on your nose, there, bud . . . and i never knew there was a pet alligator on 'clarissa explains it all'! i don't have cable tv, so i never saw it, but i have heard of it. man that is such a terrible example to set for people!! if that show was still on i would be throwing a huge fit at nickleodeon right now. that's terrible - and on a kids' show! :roll: o well at least it's not on anymore . . .