Crocodiles

Currently, exotic animals are increasingly replacing such familiar cats and dogs in people’s lives and homes. And they are included as pets. The market is full of various offers from primates to insects. And less and less people are surprised that someone got himself a lizard or a snake. However, there are passionate terrariumists and, unfortunately, just people who want to stand out, who do not stop at turtles, lizards and snakes, but come to the idea … to get a crocodile. And as practice shows, there are not so few of those who want to. Therefore, we will devote a few words to these representatives of the ancient fauna.

Of course, it is extremely unreasonable to start a crocodile in a city apartment (although this is not uncommon). As you understand, there are no decorative crocodiles (no matter what tales the sellers tell you). All representatives are large, strong in character and physically reptiles.

So think 100, and better 1000 times before you start it, so that later you don’t have to run around zoos with this same crocodile, trying to attach an animal that has pretty much outgrown all the permitted boundaries in the apartment and is not sensitive to your care and affection.

They keep crocodiles in horizontal terrariums, the size of which is selected according to the size of the body. So the length should be at least 3 body lengths and the width 2 body lengths. This terrarium must be divided into 2 parts: a pond and land. The depth of the reservoir should be equal to the vertical position of the crocodile’s body, and even better, the reptile should have a reservoir with different levels of water in it. Landing should be gentle and not slippery. It is important to install powerful filters and water aeration. It is better to clean the water additionally after each feeding, removing food debris that can cause water damage. It is better to carry out a total water change once a month, and a partial change at least once a week. The water temperature can be left within room temperature of 1-22 degrees. But for normal life, digestion of food and metabolism, the crocodile must have the opportunity to bask on land. To do this, we install heating lamps over land, and for the prevention of hypovitaminosis, rickets – ultraviolet lamps (which should shine for 25-10 hours a day). The lamps must be out of reach of the teeth, tail and other parts of the body with which the crocodile can break them or get burned. At the same time, the temperature on land should be maintained at 12-28 degrees. At temperatures below 35, metabolism slows down, digestion and crocodiles stop hunting, appetite disappears, and temperatures above 25 are also very stressful for the animal. In this case, the terrarium must have ventilation holes. Ground on land can be laid out from stones and gravel. It is also important to create shelters in the water in which the crocodile can hide. Plants can be planted both in water and on land, but it is likely that the crocodile will feast on them.

But, despite this, the crocodile is a true predator. You can feed him both live and dead prey. Live – will help him satisfy his hunting instinct and make him move more than diversify the life of a crocodile. The diet can be quite varied and depends on the size of the pet. It can be fish, and rodents, birds, and large mammals. Young small crocodiles can be fed lean meat (preferably beef-meat and offal), frogs, rodents, fish, insects and seafood.

It is better to feed the young every day or every other day, and adults 1-2 times a week. The amount of food eaten per week should be about 7% of the weight of the crocodile.

Be sure to remember about vitamin and mineral supplements, which during the life of the owner must be fed to the crocodile along with food.

Crocodiles become active by night, and they can behave quite noisily than they can disturb your peace.

When starting such a difficult animal, you need to remember that you will have to contact him in any case. A crocodile will never be tame, kind and affectionate, and in case of danger and for other (perhaps incomprehensible to us) reasons (who knows what is in the mind of a smart reptile), he decides to bite without hesitation. During life, you will often have to clean the terrarium, change the water, and clean the land. For this, the crocodile will have to be removed from the terrarium for a while, and it is better to take care and think about how you are going to do this before buying. In medium-sized individuals, it is enough just to keep the mouth closed, simply by squeezing it with your hand or bandaging it. But be prepared that the tail also carries a danger, in case of fixation and dissatisfaction, the crocodile hits it strongly from side to side.

Crocodiles should live only in a terrarium, any options with living in an apartment and bathing in the bathroom are not suitable, they are extremely harmful, dangerous and will certainly lead, if not to death, then to diseases of the animal.

Crocodiles can be aggressive not only to humans, but also to their own kind, so it is better to keep them separately or in a spacious terrarium, where everyone will have enough space for personal space.

1. Think and think again whether you can master such a difficult animal in your home.
2. Spacious terrarium with land and deep water
3. Sushi heating within 27–35 degrees
4. UV lamp over land
5. Clean water (powerful filter, regular replacement and cleaning after feedings)
6. Shelter in the water
7. Diverse feeding with the addition of mineral and vitamin supplements
8. Safety, safety and more safety.

1. Crowded content or in a cramped terrarium
2. Without sushi
3. Without heating and ultraviolet
4. Dirty water
5. Feeding plant food, canned food, food from the table. No vitamin and mineral supplements.
6. Overfeeding
7. Disregard for one’s own safety and the safety and health of the animal.