I want to buy a baby alligator...help plz??

Question

For around how much will i pay to buy a baby alligator with its tank???

in what time does it grow??

Answer 1

One never gets their first alligator thinking that they'll become attached to it. I know. About 15 years ago now, we acquired our permits to keep alligators for educational purposes and got Pursey... he was a cute little stripey thing, and we figured (even though we knew what happens to them at the farms) that when he got too big to handle, we'd just send him back to the farm we got him from, and that would be that.

Now, let's get things straight, a foot a year is -possible-, but this is in hothouse conditions (fed daily and kept at a constant 88 degrees) we had Pursey for 13 years and he was seven foot nine when we finally figured out what we would do with him. (Luckily, we found a farm with a display pond specifically for spoiled rotten alligators like him, he'll never be luggage).

They're cute when they're little, but even a hatchling can make you lose a fingernail. As mentioned earlier, it's not an animal to keep in a tank or aquarium, they do need a pond, and they also need to be secured, you can't have the neighbor kids poking around your gator pond all the time... talk about lawsuits....

So, what are you going to do with your alligator when he or she is four feet long and too big for a 100 gallon tank? Got a yard to put a pond into and the money for fencing? Heck, just housing an alligator for it's entire life will probably cost you several thousand dollars at LEAST. Fence repairs, things like that... forget about feeding, and do you have a local vet who knows anything about alligators? What if it gets sick?

Ok, so you've got the room and the money, your alligator hits about five and a half feet long, this is sexual maturity for these animals... puberty is scary enough for us humans... millions of years of instinct behind that testosterone surge that a male gator gets? THAT gets ugly. Trust me. I've been there. Do you think you'll be able to sit around and treat it like a dog? Think again, this is an ALLIGATOR that we're talking about, not a pet. You can't let them go when they get too big to handle, zoos usually won't take them because they have all the alligators they need, and unless you can find one of the few farms that will take in "pet" gators as display specimens or breeders, if you turn it over to a farm it WILL be luggage, that's what gator farms are for.

Don't think caimans are better alternatives either... I've got a theory that the reason caimans don't get as big as alligators is that if they did, there would be no people in south america... those are some nasty animals....

In conclusion, unless you have a really good reason for wanting to own an alligator, you really shouldn't. Oh, but I hear you saying, "But you've had alligators for 15 years." Yes, I have, and it's always been for educational programs for schools, scouts, local libraries, etc. We don't keep them because they're "Cool" or because they're "awesome pets", we keep them to teach people about them, because, as we all know, people have a greater appreciation for the things they can see up close and personal, and form a bit of a relationship with. I'm not saying alligators don't show a -type- of very primitive, carnivorous affection... if that's what you want to call it when they come running up out of the pond hissing and growling and snapping their jaws at you when they see you, but it's not a very cuddly affection by any means... enjoy them in the wild and/or at a zoo, but really, they're not good pets.

Oh, another thing to keep in mind, an alligator, if taken care of properly, will outlive you... who's gonna get it when you're gone?

Edited to add....

Your question about growth rate has already been answered, might want to read a few of these.....

Answer 2

Buy Baby Alligator

Answer 3

Alligators are illegal to own in every state that I'm aware of, or else require a permit, which is not easy to get OR cheap. You have to pass inspection by the state's DNR, not on what you have NOW, but what you have in terms of care facilities when the animal is 12 feet long and weighs several HUNDRED pounds. You also have to comply with local ordinances and zoning restrictions, which are often stricter than state permit standards. Alligators grow an average of one foot per year, so in six years, you will have an animal that is six feet long or more and is quite capable of inflicting serious injuries on a human, and will already require a LOT of space, and I mean outdoor space, not an indoor aquarium. Then there's the food-alligators require meat, lots of it, and I don't mean hamburger. They need muscle meat, bones, organs(guts, etc.) and feathers and fur, and in captivity will also need vitamin suppliments and calcium, and must have access to either natural or artificial sunlight, just like lizards(although they are NOT lizards at all). Their pools(notice I said "pool", NOT "tank") must have a functioning filtration system to keep them clean, and even still YOU will have the daily chore of fishing out the rotting meat that the 'gator didn't eat. If you live in a temperate or northern climate, you have to provide a heat source, and we're talking MAJOR wattage here for something that big. I know people who keep and care for the 'gators and crocs at Alligator Adventure in Myrtle Beach, SC, and it's a very difficult and often nasty, smelly job-and these are professional herpetologists. I've kept reptiles virtually my entire life, and I would not in any way, shape or form consider myself knowledgeable or RICH enough to maintain any crocodilian, not even a so-called "dwarf" Caiman, which can still reach lengths of six feet and take off someone's hand with one bite. There are lots of people who make the mistake of getting a baby Caiman thinking it will stay small and that it can always live indoors in an aquarium, or that it will be "tame", but they soon find out this is not the case at all, and either allow the animal to starve to death, or dump it in some nearby creek, where it soon either dies or becomes an environmental nuisance.

Answer 4

Live Alligator For Sale

Answer 5

OK, i don't know what the costs will be, but please don't buy an alligator! Its like getting a baby boa constrictor but worse. I'm not one of those people who hate reptiles, I love them, but aligators are wild animals and there dangerous. They won't be babies forever, and when it gets to big, It will either hurt you, or you'll abandoned it. Its NOT a good idea. Try getting an iquana or something. You also need a licence if you don't have one. Please consider everything and do your research, also make sure your neighborhood alows this! And alligators can get HEEUGE! You won't beable to purchase a tank to accomidate a full grown alligator's needs. If you MUST get an alligator, make sure you know what your going to do with it once it gets larger. Remember the crocodile hunter? He worked with Alligators he knew for thiere whole life, you didn't see him try to touch it! He put his life in danger and so will you if you get one. I strongly adivise against it, but again, if you have to, have a plan!!!

Answer 6

Are you mad?????????????????????????

There is no way you (not just you, anybody) should EVER buy an alligator to keep as a pet. They grow to enormous proportions and will NEVER become tame. No matter how much time you spend with it when it is a baby it will still want to KILL you when its bigger, and if you give it chance, it WILL. Alligators should not be kept as pets, any reptile is difficult to keep but any crocodilian is a ridiculous idea. DONT DO IT!!!

PLEASE THINK ABOUT THE POOR GATOR TOO. WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO WITH IT WHEN ITS 6 FEET LONG? COS I CAN TELL YOU NOW YOU SURE WONT WANT IT. DON'T MAKE THE GATOR SUFFER. DON'T BUY IT!!!!!!

Nothing personal just think its a stupid idea. xx

Answer 7

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
I want to buy a baby alligator...help plz??
For around how much will i pay to buy a baby alligator with its tank???

Answer 8

All I know is I've been going to this barber shop since December 2014 and they've had an alligator in there that hasn't grown one inch. It's in a relatively small aquarium and just runs in place towards the glass most of the time.

Answer 9

do u have the space for an alligator do live in Flordia cause if u do u need a license and i say it probably cost best 150-300 dollars depending on the breed u get good luck hope i didn't put dreams down about getting a alligator i watch a lot if ASPCA all night a 10 pm bye bye and god bless

Answer 10

Alligators don't make the best pets.
They get HUGE and are usually illegal to keep as pets.

Cost? With permits, all the equipment you'd need-including lights (heat and UV), water filters, enclosures/cages (you'll need more than one as it grows). You are looking at THOUSANDS of dollars.


Try a Bearded Dragon. They are smaller, cheaper, legal, actually like people and do well as pets.