Spectacled Caiman in New York

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Diskboy12

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 9, 2007
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NY, USA
Hello all.
This summer I have decided that I am going to obtain a spectacled caiman. I have contacted the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and will be getting the neccessary permits to own one of these amazing creatures. Since they require an almost zoo sized enclosure, and since NY winters are harsh. I am going to the probably the smartest thing I have ever came up with. Build a greenhouse for them to live in (would like to have a male/female pair and try my hand at breeding them). In this greenhouse I will also be keeping my monster catfish pond (will be seperated from the caimans) I may also keep my snakes in there if I build it large enough. I would like it to be a 10' wide by 12' long by 9' tall. I will be constructing this out of 4x4's for the four corner supports with the remainder being constructed out of 2x4's. I am not sure where to buy the poly windows or how many I will need, as this is still in the planning stages.

My question is:
Where would I be able to buy the poly 'windows'? Lowes, Home depot?
Do you think I would need supplimentary heat in the winter? If so would a space heater suffice?
Is this even a good idea?

Any opinions would be great!

Hope you all tag along with this build!
 
You will need a greenhouse heater most likely. Most would pour a concrete slab. A greenhouse kit might be the way to go.
 
Didnt even wait for my pm back?? lol
 
I have decided I will probably be going 30'+ long, 24' wide, and 12' tall. I will have a caiman section and a snake/catfish pond section. The catfish pond will be a 10' round stock tank built into the ground. The caiman pond will be a 15-20' long by 15' wide, and probably 5' deep. Should that be big enough for a pair? As I said it's still in the planning stages, I will be drawing up more plans and will try to post some up within the next couple days. Need to maul it over with the parents first. If not I will try to get ahold of some dwarf caimans so I can have a somewhat smaller enclosure. More opinions?
 
Eh, might want to wait until you have your own place to start these kinds of full on projects. i'm just saying you are still in highschool right? What if you leave to a different state for college and then are employed in a different state. I would just put any of these huge project ideas off until you are were you know you will be staying for a good bit, that is just MHO though.
 
What is the building inspector going to say when you tell him your putting a 30' long addition on the house to keep caimans? I would love to see his face:WHOA:
 
No offense but your plan seems a bit irrational especially if you're still in highschool and living with your parents, I suggest you wait till you get your own place.
 
I'm going to have to agree with the other posters, if your stiill living at home, you should probably put off the caiman. I'd also consider a dwarf variety of caiman, it will be easier to house, and cost less to feed.
 
I don't mean to crush your dreams or anything like that, but I dont think you will get that permit from the NYSDEC. Period. It probably ain't gonna happen. You have to be obtaining the permit to keep the animal for educational purposes, ie: shows at schools for kids, ect. and as far as I know, everyone who has a permit has had it for at least 5 or more years. They aren't giving them out anymore because people were abusing the ability to keep dangerous animals.

I recently talked to someone at the DEC in an attempt to get permits for keeping an eastern indigo snake, and he pretty much leveled with me and told me not to waste my time. Even with things that aren't potentially harmful, they wont budge unless you have a connection or something, and even then its almost impossible. I would love to have the ability to keep these things here, but Pennsylvania is only one state away. :)

I used to know this low-life named Sean Kirk in upstate NY. He and some of his buddies decided to catch and smuggle timber rattlesnakes from the Adirondacks and other areas, and he had a venomous permit, and a gator permit. Google his name and that will be a prime example of why we cant get what we want here. I don't believe anyone has obtained a permit for anything in the state since that incident.
 
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