Where to get a 4 foot alligator for educational shows?

Captive care and husbandry.

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BronxHerper
Posts: 18
Joined: July 5th, 2010, 1:15 pm

Where to get a 4 foot alligator for educational shows?

Post by BronxHerper »

Hey guys,

I'm looking to acquire a tame, larger alligator for my educational shows. It's easy to find babies, but I'm having trouble finding anything larger. I was wondering if any of you guys could point me in the right direction? I'm currently located in Lawrence, KS, but will be back in NYC in a few weeks. I will have all the permits needed for NY, and I will be driving to NYC from Kansas and able to stop anywhere in between to pick one up if necessary. I'd love to get one while im still in Kansas since it's going to be even harder to get one in NY. I know they're legal in Pennsylvania - anybody know of anyone there who might have one? You guys can check out www.ezreptileshows.com for more info on my shows and myself.

Take care,
Erik Zeidler
dylank
Posts: 33
Joined: May 5th, 2011, 4:42 pm
Location: Florida

Re: Where to get a 4 foot alligator for educational shows?

Post by dylank »

in most states where you need a permit once the gator reaches 4 feet it is sent to a zoo or in my case(florida)it may be harvested.
I reccommend you get a baby and raise it up but check on the 4 foot law and right me back
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Jason_Hood
Posts: 201
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 6:43 am
Location: Chicago

Re: Where to get a 4 foot alligator for educational shows?

Post by Jason_Hood »

Zoos do not take in many gators, maybe one every 10 years if they actually have a gator exhibit. Most get sent out to some place that eventually does harvest them and the state of Florida is not likely to allow captive kept gators to be released into the wild, though they have done stupider things in the past...

Jason
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Natalie McNear
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Location: Northern coast of California

Re: Where to get a 4 foot alligator for educational shows?

Post by Natalie McNear »

If you can afford it, it might be better to get your hands on a captive-bred Chinese Alligator instead... Looks pretty much the same as the American species but only about 25% its mass or less. Almost no one can care for a 10+ foot crocodilian like an adult American Alligator, so unless you have a huge, heated outdoor setup for a full-grown gator, it would be best to go with one of the smaller species. Smaller caiman species are commonly available, but they tend to be more feisty than alligators from what I've read.
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justinm
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Re: Where to get a 4 foot alligator for educational shows?

Post by justinm »

From what I know the Chinese Alligators in most zoos all came from Europe years and years ago and are all related. I'm not sure that they're in the captive market? If so they're pretty cool, they have osteoderms on their chests, which is unique to all other crocodilians as far as I know.
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