Quote:
Originally Posted by Tbone21
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.