New Arrival and Birthday present

[chelvis]

Box arrived, the UPS guy was very happy to see me at the door waiting.

Packaging was great, heat pack was still warm.

A bag, hmmm... wonder what is in it. It isn't hissing, well i wonder.

Here ya go!

His name is Bacardi and i can not belive that he is here!!! Right out of the bag no problem being handled and is currently crawling around my hard and shoulders as i write this.

 

[Guest]

I would send it back !!!

It looks like it could bite like a doberman ...

It`s probably is poisonous...!!!

What do you think it is ???

 

[chelvis]

LOL its a caiman lizard. It was a birthday gift to myself. His not poisonous but from all the reading i've done on them, getting a bite from one would hurt alot!!!

 

[Guest]

snoogns those things are bad ass. grats on the b-day present.

 

[james.w]

Well if you are worried about getting bit, send it to me and I'll test it out for you.

Awesome lizard, what enclosure setup are you using for him? Keep us updated on him. I want one of these guys bad, but don't know if I want to deal with an aquatic setup.

 

[Max713]

LOL its a caiman lizard. It was a birthday gift to myself. His not poisonous but from all the reading i've done on them, getting a bite from one would hurt alot!!!

No kidding! Not as bad as an alligator monitor though... those are just plain deadly!

 

[james.w]

Caimans give a crushing bite, not as bad as the slicing bite of the croc monitor. Either one would not be a good time.

 

[Bubblz Calhoun]

Happy Birthday!

When ever that may be and Very nice pic up.

 

[Strange_Evil]

Nice new addition. I always liked caiman lizards i like to think of them as aquatic tegu's. I would love to get one but i really have no were to buy snails and it would be irresponsible of me to buy a lizard with no Primary food source,and the 10x3 i plan to build for my tegu (about two years from now,don't even have my tegu yet,but i love planning ahead) will take up the last bit of free space in my bed room leaving no room for a caiman lizard enclosure.

Have any pictures of your set up? I bet it looks amazing.

Good luck with your new scaly friend and Happy birthday.

 

[chelvis]

Thanks everyone! I am very surprised by his temperment, i mean he crawls all over me and lets me pick him up and everything without a tail whip or bite, just huffs alittle bit.

I just put him in his growers cage. No one answered me how fast they grew so im guessing the speed of a tegu so this case is by no means going to be his real home. Just when they are small i like to make sure i can notice any changes that can be a warning sign.

I got lucky on the snails. San Diego has tons of Asian markets and snail meat is really cheap. His going to be easier and cheaper to feed than my tegu. Funny thing about it i walked into one place and they had snail meat for around 2.50 a lb a go to another store and he tells me 3.00 a lb as i was leaving he asked why i didnt want it, i said the store down the road had it cheaper and i was feeding a lizard. Next thing i know i got 5lbs for the price of one!

As for the bite, ya i hear is a crushing bite. So they may not brake skin but they could brake a bone. I'll get some set up pictures here in a bit.

 

[chelvis]

Here are some enclosure shots. Dont mind the ligthing its not really that dark i was playing with some setting on my camera.

 

[james.w]

Where did you get him from?

 

[Strange_Evil]

Looks good,he's already basking away. I can't wait to see him around 1yr from now,you don't see enough adult or juvenile caiman lizards if you ask me. I wish you the best of luck with him.

 

[chelvis]

I got him from Ben Siegels and man o man i would buy from them in a heart beat. There are others selling them cheaper, but those guys knew each caiman lizard they had on hand.

So far his basked, his swam (alot!!!) Drank alot which i love to see in a new arrival. Took a bite of a fake plant so i put a dish of snail meat in there, just alittle bit, so far he is more interested in playing with the lights and exploring his cage. When i went to put the dish with the snails in he crawled right up my arm and got comfy right behind my neck. His reminds me so much of Bosco when he was that size.

Really they are just like an aquatic tegu from what i have read and from the people i have talked to. This is the end product of 2 years of resurch and i could not be happier!

Next thing is to desided do i build a nice custom case or get on of the large wetland tubs and make his adult cage out of that. Lucky for me my mom thought was what adorable and said if i move and need a place to put his large cage my room at her place is always open. We'll see how that goes in a few years when his 4 or so feet long.

 

[chelvis]

oh ps an tips or suggestions welcomed. I did find out as much as possible about these guys but they only really just came back on the market three or so years ago. So any help will be welcomed.

 

[thomasjg23]

That little guy looks awesome! congrats.

 

[chelvis]

Well just an update. I went ahead and gae him a small meal of snails today (he had been fed cat food which will not be in his diet anymore). The amount of snail i would say was the same as a fuzzy mouse. After traveling and getting hydrated i thought a small meal would be a good thing. Well he inhaled it!!!

As i was putting the bowl in his cage he came runnning over, up my arm and laid on my shoulder. I tried to pick him up off my shoulder but he huffed a bit so i let him stay there for a bit. He went back into his cage a few mins later smelt the snails and desided that he was hungery and ate them all. Tmw i will try to give him more.

 

[Max713]

Well just an update. I went ahead and gae him a small meal of snails today (he had been fed cat food which will not be in his diet anymore). The amount of snail i would say was the same as a fuzzy mouse. After traveling and getting hydrated i thought a small meal would be a good thing. Well he inhaled it!!!

As i was putting the bowl in his cage he came runnning over, up my arm and laid on my shoulder. I tried to pick him up off my shoulder but he huffed a bit so i let him stay there for a bit. He went back into his cage a few mins later smelt the snails and desided that he was hungery and ate them all. Tmw i will try to give him more.

What!? And you didn't take a video for us!? Blasphemy...

 

[chelvis]

i will when i start feeding live snails this was just snail meat, not nearly as cool i think. Also looking to getting some fresh water clams and some crayfish. This this guy will be very happy with his diet.