# Getting an ALLIGATOR!



## platinum1683 (Nov 17, 2006)

Well this guy that works at one of the LFS is selling an American Alligator for 300 bucks. It has a 75 gallon tank, like 1/2 water, 1/2 rocks and substrate. The gator is about 2 feet long right now and he feeds it mice. I just hope it's legal, and when it gets too big I guess we are going to have to make a trip to Florida to let him go. But anyways, I cant wait, it's gonna be another predator animal. I might walk it down the west side on a leash where all the "gangsters" fight their pit bulls and watch them run for cover. LOL

Oh anyone here ever had a florida gar? I might get one of those too when I have enough room for it.


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## ChilDawg (Apr 30, 2006)

Sounds like the attitude of a person who should get an alligator...

You cannot just release them into the wild--they may have picked up a parasite that would decimate the wild population or may not be ready to cope with the wild. Neither should be a palatable occurence for someone who cares about their gator.

Are you ready for when it outgrows the 75? 'Cause that's coming soon.


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## platinum1683 (Nov 17, 2006)

Hmmm... no I am just excited about the fact that I am going to own an alligator... seeing as how I live in West Virginia. What should I do with him once he out grows that tank, you know eventually it could get to about 9'


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## Canso (Jun 19, 2005)

a 4' tank with a 2' aligator.
it has already out grown his tank.

You need to build somthing at least 4' x 8' with a pond and beach,
to keep it for any lenth of time.


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## timmy (Mar 29, 2004)

Dont get it!


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## piranha_guy_dan (Oct 4, 2004)

platinum1683 said:


> Hmmm... no I am just excited about the fact that I am going to own an alligator... seeing as how I live in West Virginia. *What should I do with him once he out grows that tank, you know eventually it could get to about 9'*


donate it to a zoo.


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## platinum1683 (Nov 17, 2006)

There are no zoos around here. The guy that works at the LFS said that it was "about" two feet. Anyways, he said that he only feeds it about once or twice a week and it doesnt grow very fast. Maybe I am jumping into this too fast. The gator is actually for my friend and he is going to be the one buying it. It will just have to stay here for a while. So anything that is needed for it is going to have to come out of his pocket, so I might get it anyway and keep it for him for a few months and then tell him to go buy a bigger tank for it or come pick it up. Anyways, having an alligator would still be the sh*t.


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## the REASON (Jun 18, 2006)

not a good idea if your just buying it to have a cool pet, you need to be committed to keep it for life, not wonder where it can go once it out grows what you put it in.


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## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

This has *BAD IDEA* written all over it.

Gators do NOT make good pets for the average person. They belong in the wild and in the care of those few people on this planet who can provide for them... Hint: the majority of those people are ZOOS.

The gator has already outgrown it's enclosure. Soon it will be able to shatter the glass. Have fun with that.

It needs better food than just mice. That's inadequate. Do some research on proper nutrition and diet... Which also leads me to the food bill. Have fun with that one too. These things get huge.

A gator that you raise in captivity will be useless in the wild and will most likely starve to death. It won't know how to hunt. And won't be able to.

I can't reiterate enough how horrible this idea is... But have fun in the emergency room when it bites you. And think of me.


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## nswhite (Mar 23, 2005)

I dont think you should do it either it sounds cool but think about the trouble it may cause you in the end. Just my opinion


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

dude....

IF you cant take care of an animal for its entire life....

DONT GET IT

this applies to pacus, arowana, etc. as well. Horribly irresponsible and poorly thought out.

(moved to be bashed by Crockeeper too :laugh: )


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## platinum1683 (Nov 17, 2006)

Ok guys you talked me out of it. Now I have to talk my friend out of it. I knew this thread would get really fast responses.


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## dark FrOsT (Sep 23, 2006)

i agree with mettle 10000% that croc has already out grown its tank and you cant just go and release it into the wild for countless reasons, its diet of mice sucks no wonder its not growing. if you were to keep it in doors you would basiclly need to give it an entire custom room, with a pool big enough for it to swim and be completly sumerged also you need to provide enough dry land that is large enough for it to get the proper exerise, while providing a hot a cooler area. to do it right you would have to spend thousands of dollars. plus the never ending feeding, electric, and water bill.

it sounds like an all around bad idea for you or your friend nither seem to be fully prepared for the reasonablitly.

dark FrOsT


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## platinum1683 (Nov 17, 2006)

Ok guys stop bashing me. I am not going to get the damn thing. I didnt think it out very well. Like I said the hard part is going to be talking him out of buying it.


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## dark FrOsT (Sep 23, 2006)

lol your post wasnt there when i started mine... your making a wise choice


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## KINGofKINGS (Jul 24, 2006)

hes ripping ya at $300 neways---


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## studmuffin992 (Feb 27, 2006)

turn ya garage into a room for it and keep it, or possibly sumit in ur backyard. wud be a cool pet if u could house it properly.


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## furious piranha (Mar 22, 2005)

i can garuntee YOU cant care for this gator....you or your friend should not buy it....nor should u buy an florida gar because i doubt u have a big enough tank


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## ripped2shreds (Apr 20, 2006)

haha. It certainly is a cool pet to own and I could see y u would want one. I knew a guy that had 2 gators in his garage. I always thought it was awesome. He would feed them tons of steaks I believe. Unless you have prior knowlege on how to handle it, keep it, feed it etc (my friend did not), not getting it (as u have decided) is the right choice. Im pretty sure that it is not legal to own an American Alligator in any state without the proper state license and the cops and animal control would have a field day with u if they found out. I dont think it's legal to sell one in a fs either...


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## bigman8258 (Aug 23, 2004)

do not get it. they are very hard to care for and they grow very quickly.
but if your mind is set do not start with one that large. look on the internet you can find 5" gators for 65 + shipping. if i was you i would spend the money though and get a dwarf caimen they are way cool and only grow to about 3'.


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## platinum1683 (Nov 17, 2006)

furious piranha said:


> i can garuntee YOU cant care for this gator....you or your friend should not buy it....nor should u buy an florida gar because i doubt u have a big enough tank


Can you read? Look at the post and see what I said. I'm not going to get it, and as far as the gar, I could take care of one. You dont know how many tanks I have and what size they are, but thanks for your input. It really wasnt needed or helpful.


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

even if you of you friend got it i suggest you find a zoo that could eventually take it off your hands so you dont end up stuck with a large gator


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## platinum1683 (Nov 17, 2006)

Yeah I talked to him after I realized it was a freakin stupid ass idea and he isnt going to get it. Plus, I have a baby coming and I dont want it to get any diseases from being around the gator, and I really dont want an alligator around a newborn baby either.... bad news.


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## studmuffin992 (Feb 27, 2006)

bigman8258 said:


> Yeah I talked to him after I realized it was a freakin stupid ass idea and he isnt going to get it. Plus, I have a baby coming and I dont want it to get any diseases from being around the gator, and I really dont want an alligator around a newborn baby either.... bad news.


and wot is having a baby got 2 do with u getting a gator? how can the baby catch anything frm it u say having the gatro around the baby its not like they are going 2 be next 2 each other or the baby is going 2 touch it or anything it wud be in its own place not near any 1!!


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## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

PiranhaAttack said:


> Yeah I talked to him after I realized it was a freakin stupid ass idea and he isnt going to get it. Plus, I have a baby coming and I dont want it to get any diseases from being around the gator, and I really dont want an alligator around a newborn baby either.... bad news.


and wot is having a baby got 2 do with u getting a gator? how can the baby catch anything frm it u say having the gatro around the baby its not like they are going 2 be next 2 each other or the baby is going 2 touch it or anything it wud be in its own place not near any 1!!
[/quote]

Are you trying to talk him back into getting the gator?


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## CrocKeeper (Dec 26, 2003)

Mettle said:


> hes ripping ya at $300 neways---


Many responses and good ones...

I am not bashing you here, and I included your decision to not get one above as it was a good decision.

I do feel compelled to add a lengthy response here although I understand it is late..LOL

I completely understand the desire and excitement of crocodilian ownership! I mean come on, an animal that has remained basically UNCHANGED since before the dinosaurs.......that lives 90+ years and gets big enough to eat you!!!!!! Seriously, what's not in there that doesn't make that the ultimate guys animal?

The problem is that while it is definately an animal that is "cool" and being an apex predator as an adult means that while you had it it was one of the badest things you ever held.....it simply isn't a "pet".

You can't just give it away, can't just let it go, and most do not have space to house the adult animals...the "stunt" it cop out is crap...and ugly, no person should think that way about any animal, it requires nutrition, if you can not adapt your containment to house the adult form of the animal you are buying (to requote Ace: THEN DON'T GET THEM!)...

To adress the cost...legally produced alligators from farms should only cost about $45.00 for hatchlings.....which is part of the problem, they are CUTE and CHEAP when little.......

*NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER....(did I say NEVER?) LET CAPTIVE ANIMALS GO INTO THE WILD EVER!!!*

Zoo's don't want them, and it is irresponsible, and unfair to assume you can burden someone else when you have decided to get rid of a problem you knew was coming....

If you live in a state where there is gator farming, perhaps you can obtain a permit to keep one, get it as a hatchling from a farm, and return it to the farm in the 3-4 years when it has outgrown you....

Cool animals, exceptional predators, they all need your help for survival, keepers rights need your help for their survival, for every time an inexperienced keeper ends up getting his "gator" or "croc" etc and decides to release it, dump it at a zoo in a box, etc they make it nessecary for laws to get passed to attempt to keep them out of those hands.....which impacts EVERYONE!

....ok, rant over..sorry


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## dark FrOsT (Sep 23, 2006)

crockeeper your the man


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## platinum1683 (Nov 17, 2006)

Yeah great response crockeeper... *edited by Croc Keeper: Platinum people were a little harsh but this statement was unesecary....they were harsh because even the base entertainment of the idea of getting and having the gator was not good, and the baby issue did nothing more than add gasoline to a combustible conversation...*
But, yeah that really was a dumb idea because I cant take care of it, but it sounded like something "really cool" to own, but its for the better that I dont. The guy at the pet store was tryin to tell me all these "great" things about it and that he has had it for this long and blah blah blah... now that I think about it, it just seems that he wants to get it off his hands so he doesnt have to spend the money to upgrade the tank and keep taking care of it.

In response to Piranhattack, the baby would have unfortunately had to share the same room as the gator, from what I hear they can carry salmonella and other diseases. If the gator was out of the tank (crawling on the floor) and then the baby was in his room (crawling on the floor) there is always that chance of the baby catching something from the gator. Not to mention a gator and a newborn baby in the same room makes me uneasy, imagine how my girlfriend feels about that.

My friend who wanted to get this thing doesnt know anything about keeping pets. First, he wanted a saltwater tank to keep at my house and I said no way... they cost too much money and arent for the beginner... plus I would probably end up dumping some of my own funds into the tank, not to mention taking care of the tank and maintaining it for him 100% and I need that money for my ps :laugh:

If he wanted to keep a freshwater tank here or a snake or something, that would be ok. I wouldnt mind having a large cichlid tank or a red terror or maybe even a python or boa for a while until he found a place to live and could take care of it himself.

Anyways, like I said, he doesnt know much about keeping pets and has a lot to learn about upkeep and most importantly the money they cost to keep up. Most of you probably think I dont either since I got on here like "I'm getting an alligator"... but I do, and I am learning more daily on this web site. You all probably thought I was dropped on my head one too many times as a child. But anyways, enough rambling. Thanks for all the responses.


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## studmuffin992 (Feb 27, 2006)

*edited by Croc Keeper

People keep our forum free from personal attacks...or blatantly ugly commentary.


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