Smooth Front Caiman ? Died out of no where
 

Hey guys I ordered a smooth front caiman hatchling. It arrived fine over night. Put inside 65 breeder with two small AST hatchlings , plenty of driftwood and plenty food. It was eating guppies , crayfish babies and shrimp just fine. After two weeks out of no where it was dead. Are these hard to keep ? I would have thought they were hardy.

Hatchling Crocs
 

Hatchling crocs are more sensitive/fragile than one might imagine. Was tank water heated? IMHO very young/hatchling crocs generally do best alone or with another hatchling brother/sister of same age. Warm water up to 88-90 degrees. Plenty of places to hide/floating plastic plants, drift wood etc. and keep tank covered except for basking lamp area and let humidity build up like a little croc greenhouse. These little guys are very sensitive to stress. stress from poor captive care prior to shipment, Stress of shipment itself, water too cold, stress of not feeling "secure", etc. A smaller nursery tank may make them feel more secure than a large open tank where in nature they would instinctively stick to shoreline and shallows. Lots of different things might have happened to your little guy. Hard to say for sure. If you try again, no cage mates, smaller tank, warm water, and security/do not disturb for a few months.

Thx so much for the reply

So very sorry you lost your pet. I've read/heard that fluctuations in water temp can be particularly deadly. Was this baby captive bred? Could have been a parasite or infection if not. Cohabitation between species is generally frowned upon and can cause death from stress or communicable disease. If you are going to keep another you might consider a 20 gallon for a hatchling, use a water heater with a reliable thermostat and reduce stress as much as possible. I am no expert on crocodilians but I have been doing a TON of research on them as we're planning on getting a couple very soon!