Baby alligator info

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Actually I'm trying to learn about reptiles because I want to be an exotic vet. Im in college right now and about to buy a house with some friends. Hence why I wanted to know the requirements for owning an alligator in a house. Sadly I have learned that you need at least 2 1/2 acres of land so thats going to be a huge set back for me :(

What I am going to do though in the meantime till I can figure that one out im about to go get the hands on experience that's required for me to own an alligator.

I have a love for reptiles and animals and I know the dangers of owning pets like an alligator and I would not want to harm them in any way. When I bought my African Rock Python 4 years ago before the Reptiles of Concern permit existed. Before I bought my beautiful python Chava, I looked up all I could about them and based on what I learned I decided to go out get a 50 gallon tank, and a 75 gallon tank. I knew if i just stuck her in the 6ftx3ftx2ft cage (the cage she has now) she would go nuts trying to figure out how to deal with that much territory. She was literally a hatchling when I got her. As she grew i got her bigger cages and increased the size of her food. She is currently 4 years old, 13ft, and she loves when children play with her. I take her out at least every 3 days and feed her every other week an adult rabbit. I know she's going to grow at least 18ft cause the females grow bigger than the males, and she could grow to be 28ft if I decide to breed her with my friends male rock python (which I'm not going to do since thats such a bad idea). She even see's the vet every 6 months. The point is that I'm not some little kid who wants an alligator just cause it looks cool (though they are pretty cool =D). I'm learning all I can and asking for help on how to do this thing right and possibly get some advice on how to own an alligator.

I just thought everybody would like to know that before they assume things about me.

On a side note, the diamond caiman that sylvias mentioned, would owning one of those be easier than owning an alligator, behaviorally that is?
 
If you are going to be an exotic vet you really need to be focusing much more on school and less on 'keeping' things... it is great to have that experience ahead of time but much easier to do it else where rather than trying to get it all yourself right away.
I also am going to be an exotic vet and just in case you haven't already looked into it the requirements are brutal. different vet schools all require different things and because it is so competitive you are much better off just taking ALL of the required classes so you can fit any vet schools requirements.
It is much more competitive than med school because there are far less of them. only 27 vet schools in the continental US. most of which accept less than 200 students for each enrollment semester. needless to say.... it is a pain in the ass to get in and you pretty much have to be the best of the best.
You need a batchelors degree before appling to vet school...so thats 4 years. you do not need a specific major as long as it is biology related, biochecmistry is probably one of the better degrees to seek as chemistry is a big part of vet schools requirements and you need lots of those classes anyways. I personally am majoring in zoology. once you get into vet school it is another 2 years to a master degree as a vet and then to specialize in anything is generally another 2 years. I plan on specializing in reptiles and large carnivores (big cats basically) and I am not sure yet if I will be able to do both in 2 years or have to do that separately and split them into 4 years.... either way you can plan on being in school for a long long time and then continue to be in debt from school for the majority of your life.

now as for getting that experience a head of time...the best thing to do is to volunteer at wild life rescues or education centers or even with breeders of those animals. get in contact with regular public vets and zoo vets and ask if you might shadow them sometime and see what they do, maybe even volunteer for them. Getting experience this way looks great on a resume and generally will get you more knowledge from individuals already in that field and with a wider variety of critters.

now back to the crocodilians.... diamond caimans do still have the calculating and slightly unpredictable attitude of other caimans so I would say they are still more difficult than gators as far as behavior goes, but they do tame down very easily and I believe that they would train very well but I do not know if Mitch as done any of that sort of work with his.
 
Thats actually pretty cool that your going into veterinary medicine and i do agree with you in that i need to focus on school, mostly because im trying to get into UF.

I actually worked at a vet hospital for 3 years, 2 years in kennel, 1 year as a vet tech.

I was actually going to see if I could get a job at the zoo dealing with reptiles, if not ill just intern and figure something else out.

The Diamond caiman does sound pretty cool but i might just go with the alligator, that is later on when I can actually achieve the requirements needed for the license which should be in probably a year or two. :(
 
Ah uf's vet school is one of the more strict in their requirements.. I applied there as a transfer for the spring but have yet to hear back... they are extremely competitive as it is..their vet school i'm sure is way worse -.-
I did get accepted to OK state though and they also have a great vet schools...still have to get through my last 2 years to a bachelors though.

This will definitely help you.... it lists all the requirements of the vet schools in the us as well as a couple over seas, as far as i know it is up to date...by the time you apply for vet school though who knows if it will change or not....
http://www.aavmc.org/vmcas/College_Requirements.htm

that site is very very helpful for this career path in general
 
Im only in my second year of college trying to get my AA degree so i can transfer over to UF get my Bachelors degree then apply for the vet program.

I found it was much cheaper going to a state college then just going straight into a university.

Thanks for the list of requirements this is actually going to help me so much!
 
jewbo;4822451; said:
Actually I'm trying to learn about reptiles because I want to be an exotic vet. Im in college right now and about to buy a house with some friends. Hence why I wanted to know the requirements for owning an alligator in a house. Sadly I have learned that you need at least 2 1/2 acres of land so thats going to be a huge set back for me :(

What I am going to do though in the meantime till I can figure that one out im about to go get the hands on experience that's required for me to own an alligator.

I have a love for reptiles and animals and I know the dangers of owning pets like an alligator and I would not want to harm them in any way. When I bought my African Rock Python 4 years ago before the Reptiles of Concern permit existed. Before I bought my beautiful python Chava, I looked up all I could about them and based on what I learned I decided to go out get a 50 gallon tank, and a 75 gallon tank. I knew if i just stuck her in the 6ftx3ftx2ft cage (the cage she has now) she would go nuts trying to figure out how to deal with that much territory. She was literally a hatchling when I got her. As she grew i got her bigger cages and increased the size of her food. She is currently 4 years old, 13ft, and she loves when children play with her. I take her out at least every 3 days and feed her every other week an adult rabbit. I know she's going to grow at least 18ft cause the females grow bigger than the males, and she could grow to be 28ft if I decide to breed her with my friends male rock python (which I'm not going to do since thats such a bad idea). She even see's the vet every 6 months. The point is that I'm not some little kid who wants an alligator just cause it looks cool (though they are pretty cool =D). I'm learning all I can and asking for help on how to do this thing right and possibly get some advice on how to own an alligator.

I just thought everybody would like to know that before they assume things about me.

On a side note, the diamond caiman that sylvias mentioned, would owning one of those be easier than owning an alligator, behaviorally that is?
Click to expand...


Take a look at post #8........
 
Ok....to answer that statement let me say that im not planning on getting it right now, maybe in a couple years, and i can still get an alligator the property just has to be commercial so that's not going to be that much of a problem
 
definitely cheaper to stay in state... I am also at a community college getting my first two years. as I said I did apply to UF for the fall semester but I do not think I will get in... my math grades probably aren't where they should be for them.
So I applied to a few other schools that also have vet schools... cause you are slightly more likely to get into a vet school that is part of the school you are already going to....
Colorado state also have a good vet school...
 
sadly my hardest subjects are math, and chemistry.... and those are the subjects i need to be good in...oh the irony!

Im hoping after this semester if i get all A's that ill take my math courses and get them out of the way next semester. Then I can go to UF and study my ass off for chemistry and anatomy... thats my plan anyway plus i have the florida prepaid college fund but im not sure if it will work for the vet school
 
yeah math is my worst subject as well... and because all the vet schools are different... you have to do all of them -.-
some vet schools ask for "high level math" but not statistics.... some vet schools say statistics is ok. some want pre calc and some are good with trig...... so.... taking all of them -.- working on trig now...will do stat next semester....
need lots and lots of chemistry...pretty much all the chem you can take... micro biology and genetics are also great classes to have but not all vet schools require em.
 
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