Allie the Rescue Alligator

[fishfreak2009]

So over the weekend I rescued an American alligator. A mom contacted me that her kids had gotten bored with their pet and dad didn't want to buy feeder fish anymore. They've had this poor alligator for the past 4 years in a 30 gallon rubbermaid tub with no heat lamp, no uvb lighting, and have been feeding her only 15-20 goldfish a week for her entire life. She's only about 18-19" long right now. I'm currently housing her in a 180 gallon tank while I fix up a larger pond for her. So without further ado, here is Allie!

 

[kno4te]

Nice little alligator. I'm a bit surprised that a mom let her kids have this as a pet.

 

[Oddball]

Congrats on the rescue. I hope you do yourself a favor and set her up in a good appropriate home from the start. It'll make things so much easier on the both of you in the long run.
I had a rescue gator as well. Ruby was a F&W capture from a lake public swimming area. They were going to put her down but, I ponied up the permit fee and adopted her. She was housed in an old 1 acre farm pond that was cultivated with cypress, bamboo (13 species), and giant SA water lilies. The pond was stocked with minnows, catfish, perch, bass, and gars. She was about 4.5 ft when I got her. Here are some pics of her at 9 feet.

 

[fishfreak2009]

Congrats on the rescue. I hope you do yourself a favor and set her up in a good appropriate home from the start. It'll make things so much easier on the both of you in the long run.
I had a rescue gator as well. Ruby was a F&W capture from a lake public swimming area. They were going to put her down but, I ponied up the permit fee and adopted her. She was housed in an old 1 acre farm pond that was cultivated with cypress, bamboo (13 species), and giant SA water lilies. The pond was stocked with minnows, catfish, perch, bass, and gars. She was about 4.5 ft when I got her. Here are some pics of her at 9 feet.

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Ruby is beautiful! I hope I will have a similar enclosure eventually. For now Allie is in a 180, and she will be going into a 300 gallon Rubbermaid in a few months time (waiting for tractor supply to put them on sale again).

How fast do you all think she will grow? I know she's severely stunted at this point, but I'm hoping it's nothing permanent.

As for a mom letting her kids have it, I think it was more dad bought it for the kids at a local reptile shop. The family really didnt seem to be the type of people who think anything through, and didnt seem to have much education on anything, much less reptiles. I'm from MI, where alligators are legal by state rules, but many cities and counties do not allow them. They lived in a county were it was illegal to own them.

 

[Frank Castle]

Ruby is beautiful! I hope I will have a similar enclosure eventually. For now Allie is in a 180, and she will be going into a 300 gallon Rubbermaid in a few months time (waiting for tractor supply to put them on sale again).

How fast do you all think she will grow? I know she's severely stunted at this point, but I'm hoping it's nothing permanent.

As for a mom letting her kids have it, I think it was more dad bought it for the kids at a local reptile shop. The family really didnt seem to be the type of people who think anything through, and didnt seem to have much education on anything, much less reptiles. I'm from MI, where alligators are legal by state rules, but many cities and counties do not allow them. They lived in a county were it was illegal to own them.

They sound like model citizens. I hate reading about stuff like that, but I'm glad you got to her in time. My, advice is stop giving her goldfish, as they oily and low nutrition....stick to bass/pike shiners from the local bait store and raw chicken pieces coated in Reptivite calcium dust. See my posts in the Caiman Thread
http://monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/my-new-1258-gallon-caiman-tank.646135/page-2

 

[fishfreak2009]

Actually switching to guppies in the tank. Fish are mainly to look at in the tank as well, and I gave her goldfish at first mainly to help her settle in since thats what she had previously. I think the guppies are so small she won't bother with them. I got her to start mazuri turtle pellets (until my crocodile mazuri comes in) and also got her to eat some fish fillets, a fuzzy mouse, and chicken pieces. I always roll all my reptile food in repashy calcium plus.

 

[fishfreak2009]

Well, Allie is gone. As it turns out, Allie was actually named Lily Pad. She was stolen from my favorite local reptile store back in May of 2015. The people I got her from off of Craigslist had a story that didn't match up with how she looked and behaved and when I took her to the store every scale pattern and even missing tail scute matched to a key. After scanning her for a microchip sure enough it was her. So she's back with her rightful owner who was extremely elated to get her back (she wasn't for sale, she was a personal pet who lived in the store). A police report was filled out, and the person who met with me off of Craigslist did indeed match the description of the person who stole the alligator back in may.

 

[Oddball]

I'm sad for you and glad for the original owners. I hope the authorities find and prosecute the thief for all the inconvenience and pain this moron has caused on multiple fronts.

 

[Frank Castle]

Congrats on the rescue. I hope you do yourself a favor and set her up in a good appropriate home from the start. It'll make things so much easier on the both of you in the long run.
I had a rescue gator as well. Ruby was a F&W capture from a lake public swimming area. They were going to put her down but, I ponied up the permit fee and adopted her. She was housed in an old 1 acre farm pond that was cultivated with cypress, bamboo (13 species), and giant SA water lilies. The pond was stocked with minnows, catfish, perch, bass, and gars. She was about 4.5 ft when I got her. Here are some pics of her at 9 feet.

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9ft, huh? That's a diesel female.....did you have her sexed or is it still "up in the air"? Probing can be misleading in any reptile and I have seen/had animals that probed as male that were female and vice versa

 

[Oddball]

The nest she builds and infertile eggs she lays every couple of years provides us with a good indication of her sex.