Anyone have experience with Caiman Lizards?

ben32hayt

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Hi everyone, I was wondering if anyone had any experience with caiman lizards as pets. I am thinking of buying a lizard that is not too big but not tiny. I figured at 3-5ft maximum size a caiman lizard would be great :) I have the room and everything for one but wanted to get some peoples opinions before I go out and buy one. Also if you know a good breeder please mention them. Thanks, Ben
 

StudentoftheReptile

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Never any personal experience but all I know is that they can be fiesty and they eat snails...and they're expensive. Have you kept lizards before? Caiman lizards aren't exactly for beginners.
 

EricIvins

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Keeping Dracaena is no different than keeping a Water Monitor. Husbandry is the same, as well as feeding...
 

Tom

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I've not kept one myself, but a good friend has one and I've seen a few others over the years. Not a lot of info out there on them, but they need a lot of warm water. I think Eric is right about housing them. Similar to a water monitor.

I've inquired about the feeding and no one seems to know how well they will fare if you don't feed a lot of snails. I talked to keepers in FL, and Chicago and everyone unanimously feeds a lot of snails. That is the main thing that has prevented me from really wanting one. My friend has to go to the Asian grocery store and buy trays of frozen snails all the time. That and they can be aggressive. Much more so than their tegu cousins. With a lot of the right kind of handling, they tame down and are fine. If you mostly leave them in the cage and don't carry them around a lot, they will likely not be all that handleable. My friends is feisty at first, but settles down after a minute of handling.

Eric, do you have feeding experience to the contrary? Can they be fed typical monitor fare and do well long term?

A wholesaler friend of mine had some really clean nice looking CB ones for sale here. PM me if you are interested.
 

conservation

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I would recommend a Monkey Tailed Skink if you want an easy to care for unique display animal. I like mts because they eat a similar diet as tortoises. They tame down nicely when they raised from babies.

Caiman Lizards are a lot of work but are unique captives.
 

EricIvins

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There is no requirement to feed Dracaena snails. Yes, they have evolved to crush mollusks and invertebrates, but they will eat anything a Monitor will. Whole Rodents, Fish, Crabs, Roaches, etc. As with any large Lizard, or Lizard in general, if they are provided the options to correctly metabolize what they take in, they can be raised on door knobs and still do well.
 

ben32hayt

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StudentoftheReptile said:
Never any personal experience but all I know is that they can be fiesty and they eat snails...and they're expensive. Have you kept lizards before? Caiman lizards aren't exactly for beginners.

I used to breed panther chameleons and sell the babies, as a hobby, but it became to much to handle so I reluctantly stopped. I decided I missed keeping lizards and always had an interest in caiman lizards. So I decided I should finally get one.
 

Tom

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Any reason you don't want a tegu? They are easier to house, feed and a lot less likely to bite you or claw you up in a panic to get away. They are similar looking and similar in size.

Don't get me wrong. I love all of them. Monitors too. Just wondering what is making you want the caiman over some of the others.
 

ben32hayt

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Tom said:
Any reason you don't want a tegu? They are easier to house, feed and a lot less likely to bite you or claw you up in a panic to get away. They are similar looking and similar in size.

Don't get me wrong. I love all of them. Monitors too. Just wondering what is making you want the caiman over some of the others.

The only reason is because of their appearance. Also I sent you a P.M. about the breeder of the caiman lizards. Thanks, Ben


My second choice would be a yellow or blue tree monitor :) any experience with them?
 

EricIvins

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Tom said:
Any reason you don't want a tegu? They are easier to house, feed and a lot less likely to bite you or claw you up in a panic to get away. They are similar looking and similar in size.

Don't get me wrong. I love all of them. Monitors too. Just wondering what is making you want the caiman over some of the others.

How is a Tegu easier to house? Again they need the same requirements - heat, water, food, space, etc. I think everyone is seriously over thinking the requirements to keep these animals. They are easy to take care of and the husbandry is straight forward. Why would a Tegu be less inclined to be agressive? Both can be very aggressive if not worked with. It is all relative to how you condition the animal to human response and stimuli...
 

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EricIvins said:
How is a Tegu easier to house? Again they need the same requirements - heat, water, food, space, etc. I think everyone is seriously over thinking the requirements to keep these animals. They are easy to take care of and the husbandry is straight forward. Why would a Tegu be less inclined to be agressive? Both can be very aggressive if not worked with. It is all relative to how you condition the animal to human response and stimuli...

For the same reason a blackthroat is easier to house than a salvator. Or a russian is easier than a slider. WATER. Lots of water.

Why would a tegu be less inclined to be aggressive? Same reason a malinois is more likely to bite you than a labradoodle. Same reason a blood python is more likely to bite you than a Columbian boa. Temperament. A guy who pics up a 100 tegus will be a lot less bloody than a guy who picks up 100 caiman lizards, in general. I've only been around 10 or so caiman lizards and their temperaments were all pretty consistent. I've raised a dozen tegu, and known another few dozen others, and their temperaments were pretty consistent too.
 

EricIvins

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Tom said:
EricIvins said:
How is a Tegu easier to house? Again they need the same requirements - heat, water, food, space, etc. I think everyone is seriously over thinking the requirements to keep these animals. They are easy to take care of and the husbandry is straight forward. Why would a Tegu be less inclined to be agressive? Both can be very aggressive if not worked with. It is all relative to how you condition the animal to human response and stimuli...

For the same reason a blackthroat is easier to house than a salvator. Or a russian is easier than a slider. WATER. Lots of water.

Why would a tegu be less inclined to be aggressive? Same reason a malinois is more likely to bite you than a labradoodle. Same reason a blood python is more likely to bite you than a Columbian boa. Temperament. A guy who pics up a 100 tegus will be a lot less bloody than a guy who picks up 100 caiman lizards, in general. I've only been around 10 or so caiman lizards and their temperaments were all pretty consistent. I've raised a dozen tegu, and known another few dozen others, and their temperaments were pretty consistent too.


These animals do not need LOTS of water. They have the same requirement a Tegu would need for water. Something big enough for the animal to fit in. That is all. Seeing that Tegus are bigger animals in general, the water requirement should actually be more.

Yes, you can keep Dracaena with as much water as you would like. They are at home with water or land, and know how to utilize each. They are also semi-arboreal, and hatchlings on up to adults will utilize branches.

All this comes from direct experience. Working with the animals myself...
 
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