Shai Gurl
03-21-2004, 08:16 PM
Ok, heres the run down on our little foundling.... We are in Wyoming, one of the worst places to even think about owning a gator - Which wasn't sold as a gator in the first place.... There is an unscrupulous pet shop in Casper's Eastridge mall that not only sells penny turtles, but is also now selling American gators as dwarf caimans! A fellow here in town bought one, and found out that it can and will bite (DUH).... So he put it in the local pet shop to be sold as "a dwarf caiman" again... He/she was being kept in what looked like a 29g tall tank with about 4 inches of water MAX, no filter, and a little gravel built up on one side... The only source of heat was a lamp set up about 3ft off/away from the tank... She was surprised to learn that it was a gator, and ended the reptile talk with the usual statement that she knows nothing about reptiles at all... We couldn't leave him there... Dave (my partner in crime) paid the full price after trying to talk the owner down, and brought it in to me at the vet clinic. the gator (in it's shoe box) weighed in at 0.9lbs (at approximately 1.5ft long). He was being fed nothing but a few crix and a bunch of goldfish at the pet shop and it showed......... Anywho, hes in a warmed tank now, ate his first mouse the other night and is downing gut-loaded crix and night crawlers like candy. The little thing now has a belly instead of a sucked in furrow for an abdomen. We would love to keep him, but this is no place to raise gators and we are not the most experienced people with the crocodilian family. Therefore, we are now looking to place this boy/girl(?) with an EXPERIENCED keeper... And I must reiterate that, EXPERIENCED ONLY.... Hes been through enough, period, and needs not only an experienced keeper but a decent enclosure (PICS of where he'd be kept are a MUST). PLEASE help get this boy along! Help him retire in a nice sunny southern state!
-Sara & Dave
PS: There are a few stipulations here...
First off, we will not ship him/her until it's reached at least 2-4lbs of weight minimum and has a lot more thickness to the tail/entire body.
Second is the most important stipulation: NO FARMERS/RANCHERS - THIS gator is to die of old age - NO boots, NO bags, NO belts!
Thirdly: We would like a bit of money for this guy/gal, not only for shipping but to cover feeding expenses and help with the other rescues we will more then likely come across (this state just does not have the reptile loving populace as most the other states, about 50 years or so behind in reptile care and husbandry).
-Sara & Dave
PS: There are a few stipulations here...
First off, we will not ship him/her until it's reached at least 2-4lbs of weight minimum and has a lot more thickness to the tail/entire body.
Second is the most important stipulation: NO FARMERS/RANCHERS - THIS gator is to die of old age - NO boots, NO bags, NO belts!
Thirdly: We would like a bit of money for this guy/gal, not only for shipping but to cover feeding expenses and help with the other rescues we will more then likely come across (this state just does not have the reptile loving populace as most the other states, about 50 years or so behind in reptile care and husbandry).