Pet Alligator Care
The alligator, in common with the crocodile, can easily outgrow its allotted living quarters and great care must be taken in handling, for although some subjects do indeed become quite tame there are others which are prodigious biters.
The American alligator inhabits swamps and creeks, growing to a final length of 5 m (15 ft) or even more, its growth rate being approximately 30 cm (1 ft) per year, slowing down as it reaches maturity.
Accommodation for this animal should ideally be a large aquarium with the water and air temperature at around 27 ° C(80 ° F). Below this temperature there may be a reluctance to eat. The water should be only 15 cm (6 in) or so in depth with pebbles arranged at one end, so as to offer a resting place out of the water. In the wild the alligator’s diet consists of birds, fish and small mammals, but it will feed, in captivity, on worms, insects and frogs. It can also be tempted by tropical fish.
The alligator is an intelligent animal which, in ideal conditions, can live for many years. It should, however, not be bought as a pet; even some zoos cannot provide adequate space for its rapid growth.