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When do dwarf caimans grow the most?

C

cheezy

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Hi, I was just wondering when to expect the most growth from a caiman? I've done some reading and have different answers. Do they go through growth spurts? Is it just about a foot per year? Or do they grow fastest when young and slow down? Thanks.
 
This is also very interesting to me... A dwarf species would still grow at a foot per year? So an adult make can be fully grown in 5 years or less?

Just a side note, I have a 5 year old DC who is just under 4 feet, but i took him in a little over a year ago at 28 inches... I know his previous owner didnt have the correct setup (just an all glass 90 gallon with 8 inches of water) so he could have been 'stunted' but then hit a growth spurt with the much much larger pen i made and a proper diet/amount of food.
I would say that feeding and housing would play just as important a role in any case.
 
Le Plat said:
You will not see 1 foot per year from a dwarf. Not even close.
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i agree. Like i said, the 5 year old i have is under 4 feet, and i saw the pics of your girl on the other page, same thing for the age/size ratio def not being a foot per year
 
caiman growth

1 foot per year is a rough rule of thumb. Where as a large alligator may grow a foot per year up to 6ish feet then slow down a caiman may grow a little less. If your caiman is 5 years old and only 28 inches it is stunted. They can reach sexual maturity at around six years old. Now I guess I should clarify rule of thumb of 1 foot. It is hard to be exact cause there are so many factors that can effect how fast they grow: stress. diet, cage size, heat, ect. My two dwarfs I got in the fall as babies and are already 15-16 inches. All crocodilians grow fast the first couple years and then slow down. Its for survival so many things love to feed on baby crocodilians. Im no expert but have watched the growth of my spectacled and dwarf caimans.
 
Tbone21 said:
1 foot per year is a rough rule of thumb. Where as a large alligator may grow a foot per year up to 6ish feet then slow down a caiman may grow a little less. If your caiman is 5 years old and only 28 inches it is stunted. They can reach sexual maturity at around six years old. Now I guess I should clarify rule of thumb of 1 foot. It is hard to be exact cause there are so many factors that can effect how fast they grow: stress. diet, cage size, heat, ect. My two dwarfs I got in the fall as babies and are already 15-16 inches. All crocodilians grow fast the first couple years and then slow down. Its for survival so many things love to feed on baby crocodilians. Im no expert but have watched the growth of my spectacled and dwarf caimans.
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Well then... if you read the post i have, it explains the caiman is 5 years old and just a bit under 4 feet. I got him 1 year and half ago and he was about 28", so that is 3.5 years old, which would mean he should be 36" by the rule of thumb you say, but then you also say dwarfs grow slower, so would that 8 inch difference be be his slower growth?

Then i also said he was porb stunted due to his diet and his cage, which you then pretty much repeated so theres no new info there lol.
 
oh, and also... i have read from a few sources that maturity is based on the size of the animal and not the age in dwarf species... any input? (males at 3'6", females around 3')
 
KRAZE said:
oh, and also... i have read from a few sources that maturity is based on the size of the animal and not the age in dwarf species... any input? (males at 3'6", females around 3')
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I have heard both. Iv heard female smooth front(my prefered species, so the brunt of my research) dont reach maturity till approx 4 ft and males about 4.5ft, which by many reports I read, in the wild can take 10 to 20 years. The 20 years seems debatable but almost all I read says at least 10 years of age before maturity. I think your numbers for for cuviers which I am not that well versed in, sorry.

Side note, first vid that pops up for google search of smooth front caiman turns up mine. Sweet.
 
growth

kraze i apoligize i misunderstood your post I thought you were saying your caiman was 5 years old and only 28 inches not 28 inches when you got your caiman and now almost 4 feet. again I apologize for that. As for my opinion on size versus age in my opinion its a little of both I mean you can have a reptile that is 6 years old but like your caimans previous owner treated her not in good condition and diet and even though it may reach age but not be able to breed or breeding can kill it due to not strong health but if cared for properly size and age would go closely hand and hand. Once again no expert but just opinions. and also good job turning the caiman around and getting the growth sound like you took good care.
 
Tbone21 said:
kraze i apoligize i misunderstood your post I thought you were saying your caiman was 5 years old and only 28 inches not 28 inches when you got your caiman and now almost 4 feet. again I apologize for that. As for my opinion on size versus age in my opinion its a little of both I mean you can have a reptile that is 6 years old but like your caimans previous owner treated her not in good condition and diet and even though it may reach age but not be able to breed or breeding can kill it due to not strong health but if cared for properly size and age would go closely hand and hand. Once again no expert but just opinions. and also good job turning the caiman around and getting the growth sound like you took good care.
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lol no problem, thats why i made sure to clarify :)

And yes, she made a huge turn around in the last year especially. I built her a 5x5 enclosure with a 70 gallon pond and she was a little weirded out by that, coming from an all glass cage for 3 years of life. She now has outgrown that cage and in june will be getting a much bigger enclosure with 180 gallons of water as the plan in a 10x8 space. She also has much better heating and lighting than what she used to have, and gets a crazy variety of foods (not to mention almost all the left overs when the snakes/tegus/monitor/turtles dont eat a meal lol)
 
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