# Holy sh*t I Want This Now! But Gotta Build A Pond First



## Sylar_92

Heres what I just found on Kijiji for sale. http://toronto.kijiji.ca/c-pets-other-pets-for-sale-Paleosuchus-palpebrosus-W0QQAdIdZ284871790 also know as a south african dwarf Caiman. Im gunna need to get a huge ass pond kit for this guy. LOL just joking, I can afford that now but I plan to get one of these in the near future. I know these guys get up to 6 feet for females and male reaching 4 feet. Has anyone here built a giant pond setup in their basement?Just need some info on custom pond construction and some info on this little monster of a reptile.


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## His Majesty

id love to get some dwarf caimen's but i doubt i will ever be able to provide a suitable home for them. baby crocs are so cute


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## bob351

you will need at least a 12' by 18' space to adequately house caimans... and a 8' by 14' pond so give them some room to swim around instead of just sitting in one spot there entire life... if i was you i would set something up like at reptillia's zoo with a thick glass wall so you can see them under water and almost make it a one sided aquarium with the other 3 sides concrete, this you can go with a long tank thinner and do it across a whole wall in your basement that would be kick ass and it would only have to be 5 or 6' wide since he would have alot of length, also grow some live plants and make it like south america throw some pacus in the water or other large fish, you could really do this up properly.


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## Guest

These should not be sold to the public


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## CLUSTER ONE

ksls said:


> These should not be sold to the public


I agree. Im fine with a permit or somethign as if you are willing to jump through some hoops to get one then chances are you will be alot better of a home then when they are sold to anybody with the money.


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## Guest

I knew a guy who had some on a farm, I only saw pics of them and their enclosure. Beautiful animals, although not something for everyone to keep.


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## BRUNER247

I have a video of bass-pro albino gator exhibit if your interested.its glass wall inclosed. I disagree with the haters. If you can properly care for it, go for it!


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## Sylar_92

BRUNER247 said:


> I have a video of bass-pro albino gator exhibit if your interested.its glass wall inclosed. I disagree with the haters. If you can properly care for it, go for it!


Hell yeah I'm interested, that would be great to see some vidss. I think I'll start preparing for one in a 2-3 years from now, so I have time to construct the enclosure and grow the natural plants in there. How should the water be for these guys? I think I should buy a large pump for the filter now while I still have some money.


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## bob351

this is what i was walking about... this way you can see under water and also it just looks professional vs a ghetto ass pond in your basement with a un healthy gator... and its not as hard to do as some imagine... concrete and concrete blocks are cheap building materials you just need to be dedicated
















this isnt good for a caiman since there virtually no land but it shows what can be done with some concrete and a pane of glass


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## CLUSTER ONE

BRUNER247 said:


> I have a video of bass-pro albino gator exhibit if your interested.its glass wall inclosed. I disagree with the haters. If you can properly care for it, go for it!


Key words are properly care for it. I have no problem with anybody keeping anything if it is properly cared for. The problem arises due to the fast the vast majority of people who buy caimens, monitors or even iguanas CANNOT properly care for it. I personally don't think certain animals should be available to the masses when only a select minority can adequetly care for them.


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## BRUNER247

CLUSTER ONE said:


> I have a video of bass-pro albino gator exhibit if your interested.its glass wall inclosed. I disagree with the haters. If you can properly care for it, go for it!


Key words are properly care for it. I have no problem with anybody keeping anything if it is properly cared for. The problem arises due to the fast the vast majority of people who buy caimens, monitors or even iguanas CANNOT properly care for it. I personally don't think certain animals should be available to the masses when only a select minority can adequetly care for them.
[/quote]
You have this with damn near every animal legal to own. From parrots, Oscars, Arowana, lizards, snakes, hell there's millions that can't even properly care for a dog but they have em. You can go to a exotic auction & get monkeys,lions,bears, hyenia,ect just like you can go to the dog pound n pick out a dog.some people will go to extremes to house a exotic they like whatever it may be. To just say this or that shouldn't be legal to own because YOU can't properly care for it is wrong imo. Is a gator in a good sized exhibit any worse than a dozen piranha in a raindrop of water compared to their natural habitat?


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## bob351

all depends on the mental function of the animal.. most apes will go crazy in someone's house because its f*cking boring being in a cage


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## Sylar_92

LOL, Im not a noob to the reptile hobby. I understand that these guys need special care to be properly maintained but at the same time I agree that I have a far way to go when it comes to crocadilians. I like the way those enclosures look and I agree the last one doesnt have much land. The seller said he can come over once in while if I ever run into trouble. Iam planning to take a few years to study and build the perfect enclosure then I'll buy the caiman. Im thinking of getting the caiman when I turn 22. Thanks for the help guys I really appreciate it.


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## balluupnetme

that looks badass but you'd need a BIG place and be a responsible owner


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## bob351

Sylar_92 said:


> LOL, Im not a noob to the reptile hobby. I understand that these guys need special care to be properly maintained but at the same time I agree that I have a far way to go when it comes to crocadilians. I like the way those enclosures look and I agree the last one doesnt have much land. The seller said he can come over once in while if I ever run into trouble. Iam planning to take a few years to study and build the perfect enclosure then I'll buy the caiman. Im thinking of getting the caiman when I turn 22. Thanks for the help guys I really appreciate it.


if i was you i would go with a corner in the basement... this way you dont need to build any walls just a front pane of glass and concrete block... same way the guy on mfk built the aripima tank... then make a lil access door so you can hop in and clean


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## Gibbus

I have kept both species of dwarf caimans and worked with some of the larger and rare crocodilians. Be very carefully. I have seen healthy animals kept by private keepers. There is a guy in England that has them in a room like enclosure with a pond build in there. There are multi ways to house them correctly.

the second picture is an enclosure for the caiman lizards.


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## CLUSTER ONE

BRUNER247 said:


> I have a video of bass-pro albino gator exhibit if your interested.its glass wall inclosed. I disagree with the haters. If you can properly care for it, go for it!


Key words are properly care for it. I have no problem with anybody keeping anything if it is properly cared for. The problem arises due to the fast the vast majority of people who buy caimens, monitors or even iguanas CANNOT properly care for it. I personally don't think certain animals should be available to the masses when only a select minority can adequetly care for them.
[/quote]
You have this with damn near every animal legal to own. From parrots, Oscars, Arowana, lizards, snakes, hell there's millions that can't even properly care for a dog but they have em. You can go to a exotic auction & get monkeys,lions,bears, hyenia,ect just like you can go to the dog pound n pick out a dog.some people will go to extremes to house a exotic they like whatever it may be. To just say this or that shouldn't be legal to own because YOU can't properly care for it is wrong imo. Is a gator in a good sized exhibit any worse than a dozen piranha in a raindrop of water compared to their natural habitat?
[/quote]
Yes but the percentage of people who can properly house an animal drastically decreases as the size of the animal increases. You cannot argue that just as many people (relative to the total attepting) can adequetly house a caimin compared to fish under a foot of say a lion compared to a dog. I could properly house a caimen though I do not want to devote that amount of resources to it so therefore I do not get one. Others get "cute" baby caimens as a novely items with absolutly no plan for it when it is larger and can no longer fit in that 10g aquarium. The big differecne is most people get caimens BEFORE they know how much they will have to devote to properly caring for them. Same thing with pacus. People buy some cheap 4" fish realize it is growing massive and then sell it cheap or give it away to get rid of it where it will cycle through too small of tanks for the rest of it's life untill it eventually dies after a couple years. I have seen hundreds of babyy pacus just near me yet how many adults are there peing properly cared for? Once again the point is too many people buy first and ask question later. Parrots and oscars are on the edge of where a small number otu of the total attepting can care for them but there are alot more people who can get a 75g tank then those who will get a 300g plus as the minimum for a pacu. Asian arowans are usually properly cared for due to their value though silver arowans are in the same boat as pacu's and caimen though at least with caimen they are a few hundred dollars so that weeds some less than serious buyers out.


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## bob351

Gibbus said:


> I have kept both species of dwarf caimans and worked with some of the larger and rare crocodilians. Be very carefully. I have seen healthy animals kept by private keepers. There is a guy in England that has them in a room like enclosure with a pond build in there. There are multi ways to house them correctly.
> 
> the second picture is an enclosure for the caiman lizards.


i know but with some slight modification and a bit more land it could house a caiman... i was just showing the pic for the principal of the tank


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