Where does the mainland crocodile live? The saltwater crocodile is a man-eating predator.

Crocodile- a semi-aquatic predatory animal belonging to the class “Reptiles”. These reptiles are quite dangerous. It is not uncommon to hear reports of a crocodile attacking a person. Reptiles can reach more than 8 meters in length, and the weight of a crocodile can reach up to one ton!

IN modern world There are a large number of genera of crocodiles. Moreover, a significant number of reptiles became extinct many millennia ago. According to scientists, crocodiles are the most developed of modern species reptiles. And from the point of view of the evolutionary process, reptiles are closest to dinosaurs and birds.

The report is devoted to a brief overview of the crocodile’s life, its appearance and way of life.

Appearance and features

The usual length of crocodiles varies from 2 to 5 meters depending on the species, although very large animals are also found. Mostly, crocodiles are in the water, resting or hunting. The lifestyle of reptiles influenced their appearance: a flattened, flat body, a flat head, short legs and a powerful, mobile tail, which crocodiles use when moving in water.

A characteristic feature of crocodiles is the strongest jaws in nature among animals and a large number of teeth (60 or more). Moreover, new teeth in reptiles can appear approximately three thousand times during their entire life. Interestingly, crocodiles' teeth are hollow, empty inside, and new teeth grow inside old ones.

The high level of organization of reptiles, as already mentioned at the beginning of the report, is confirmed by a more advanced circulatory system compared to other reptiles. The crocodile's heart has four chambers, two ventricles and two atria.

Crocodiles are cold-blooded animals, that is, their body temperature is completely dependent on the temperature of the environment. This is why reptiles prefer warm climates, and temperatures that are too low (below 20°C) or too high (38°C) are lethal for them. In such conditions, a crocodile simply will not survive.

Crocodiles are long-livers, they can live up to 100 years. This is also facilitated by the fact that animals have no natural enemies in nature.

Another feature of crocodiles is that they grow throughout their lives.

Habitats

Crocodiles love warm climates and warm water; animals do not live in cold water. Reptiles are quite common around the globe; they are found in Central and South America, near the Philippine Islands, Bali, India, Japan, Malaysia, USA and other countries. Usually there is a tropical forest near the habitat of crocodiles.

Most crocodiles live in fresh water, although some can tolerate salt water(for example, Nile crocodile).

Lifestyle of crocodiles

Reptiles spend most of their time in the pond, periodically coming out onto land to bask in the sun. As a rule, crocodiles hunt at night and their diet consists of fish. However, a crocodile can attack other animals that it is able to cope with.

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Saltwater crocodile (saltwater crocodile) is the strongest, largest, formidable and ruthless representative of the genus of true crocodiles of the crocodile family.

He feels so at ease in both river and sea waters that he can even drive away a shark. This predator lives in territories washed by the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Habitat: eastern India, central Vietnam and the coast of southeastern Asia. His original place of residence is Indonesia and New Guinea.

The largest number of individuals of this species lives in the north of Australia. The saltwater crocodile is an excellent swimmer and is found even in the Philippines and Japan. Crocodiles were a separate population Seychelles, but now they are all exterminated.

Appearance of a saltwater crocodile

The predator owes its name to two ridges located on its muzzle. They consist of skin bumps and go from the eyes to the very end of the muzzle. Only adult individuals have combs; young animals do not have them. These animals are born weighing 70 grams and with a body length of 25-30 cm. At the age of one year, saltwater crocodiles already weigh 2.5 kg, and their body length is about 1 meter.

Males become sexually mature when their body reaches a length of 3 meters. For females this figure is 2.2 meters.

An adult male has a body length of 4 to 5.5 meters, weight ranges from 400 to 1000 kg. Some individuals reach 6 meters in length and weigh more than one ton.

The saltwater crocodile is a very large predator.

The dimensions of females are significantly smaller. Their body length varies from 2.5 to 3.5 meters, and their weight is 400-450 kg. The largest saltwater crocodile was shot in the Philippine Islands in 2011. Its length was 6.17 meters and it weighed 1075 kg.

This predator has a large head and strong jaws. Covered with scales consisting of oval scales. The body of young individuals is pale yellow. There are black spots on the tail and body. This coloring in crocodiles lasts until puberty, then the skin darkens.

Adults are greenish-gray in color and have light brown spots. Some crocodiles become very dark during puberty. The belly color varies from white to yellow. The tail is gray. There are dark stripes on the lower part of the body, with the exception of the belly, and on the tail.

Behavior and nutrition

The saltwater crocodile prefers to lead a solitary lifestyle. Each individual has its own habitat. It also feels good in sea water, but prefers fresh water. In water it can move at speeds of up to 30 km/h, although it often swims at a speed of 3-5 km/h. This predator prefers to hunt early in the morning and late in the evening, at dusk.

Spends daytime resting. It settles in water or coastal thickets. It feeds on turtles, fish, rodents, snakes, monkeys, and large ungulates that come to the pond.

During the hunt, the crocodile hides in the water and waits for prey there. Then, quickly and unexpectedly pouncing, he knocks him down or grabs him with his jaws. The predator carries the prey underwater so that the victim drowns. Cases of saltwater crocodile attacks on humans have been recorded only in Australia. The predator attacks either near the shore or on the shore. According to statistics, this reptile kills two people a year, but this is only official data. There is an opinion that some cases are not registered and in fact there are many more victims.

Reproduction and lifespan

These reptiles breed during the rainy season. The saltwater crocodile is an oviparous animal. There can be from 30 to 90 eggs in a clutch, usually there are 50-60 of them. The nest is built close to water, on some hill. The female collects branches, dirt, leaves into a heap and buries the clutch there. The diameter of the resulting hill is approximately 1.6-1.8 meters, it reaches a height of 50 cm. The temperature in this heap is constantly maintained at approximately 32 degrees Celsius. The nest is built in the same place year after year.

The eggs lay in the clutch for 80 to 98 days, then the young hatch from them. They are all of the same sex, which depends on the temperature that was in the nest during the incubation period. If the temperature was 31.5 degrees, then males are born, but if the temperature was a little higher or lower, then females are born.

The hatched cubs immediately give a voice when they hear their squeak, the female rakes the hill, opens the nest and helps the offspring get out of there. Then she, taking the small crocodiles in her teeth, takes them into the water. The female stays close to the offspring while they get used to aquatic environment. The young have a very high mortality rate, with only approximately 5% of the brood surviving to adulthood.

The remaining cubs become victims of monitor lizards,

Species of crocodiles

Alligators

In alligators, just like in real crocodiles, the muzzle is not elongated or widened at the end, which makes it possible to distinguish them from gharials the first time. But distinguishing an alligator from a real crocodile is more difficult. To recognize whether a crocodile or an alligator is in front of you, you need to closely observe its “smile.” In alligators, in a calm state with their mouths closed, the largest teeth of the upper and lower jaws fit tightly into the cells on the gums and do not look out. In addition, all the teeth of the lower jaw, with the mouth closed, are placed inward from the upper teeth. But in real crocodiles, even in a calm state, large fangs protrude threateningly from their mouths. The name “alligator” itself comes from the Spanish “el lagarto”, which means “lizard”. It is believed that this was the name given to any crocodiles they encountered by the discoverers of the New World. In total there are 7 species in the family.

Black caiman - Melanosuchus niger
Schneider's, or smooth-breasted caiman, - Paleosuchus trigonatus
Cuvier's dwarf caiman - Paleosuchus palpebrosus
Yacar or Paraguayan caiman - Caiman yacare
Broadnose caiman - Caiman latirostris
Common or spectacled caiman - Caiman crocodilus
Chinese alligator - Alligater sinensis

Gharials

The modern family of gharials includes the genus Tomistoma, in which there is only 1 species - pseudogharial (pseudogharial) - Tomistoma schlegelii and the genus of gharial - Gavialis. Gharials are common on the Hindustan Peninsula and in Burma, where they inhabit large rivers (Indus, Ganges, Mahanadi, Brahmaputra).

Pseudogharial (pseudogharial) - Tomistoma schlegelii
Gangetic gharial (gharial) - Gavialis gangeticus

Crocodiles

A crocodile differs from an alligator by its smile. The largest tooth in the upper jaw of these animals is the fifth; the lower one, like in alligators, is the fourth, but when the mouth is closed it is not placed in a hole closed on all sides, but only in a recess open from the outside in the maxillary gum, and therefore is visible even with the jaws closed. In addition, in real crocodiles, the teeth of both jaws fit into the spaces between them.
The crocodile family is the largest, with more than 20 species. Four species of true crocodiles live in the New World, of which the sharp-snouted and Orinoco crocodiles are the largest reptiles in the Americas, reaching a length of 7.2 m.
In the Old World, only Nile and saltwater crocodiles are as large (except for gharials). In Africa, in addition to the Nile, there are 2 more species of smaller crocodiles. In India, in addition to the combed crocodile and gharial, there is a swamp crocodile, or mager, in Indochina and Indonesia - the gharial crocodile, in the north of Australia - Johnson's crocodile, but all of them do not exceed 5 m in length and are not considered giants.

Nile crocodile - Crocodylus niloticus
Cuban crocodile - Crocodylus rhombifer
Colombian crocodile - Crocodylus intermedins
Central American crocodile - Crocodylus moreletii
Philippine crocodile - Crocodylus mindorensis
Siamese crocodile - Crocodylus siamensis
New Guinea crocodile - Crocodylus novaeguineae
West African dwarf crocodile - Osteolaemus tetraspis
Saltwater crocodile - Crocodylus porosus
Eastern or Indian crocodile - Crocodylus palustris
African long-nosed crocodile - Crocodylus cataphractus
American crocodile - Crocodylus acutus
Australian Johnson's crocodile - Crocodylus johnsoni

Crocodile in the house

Generally speaking, the crocodile has long been an animal often kept in captivity by humans. But we are still not talking about home collections. Due to their exposition and special popularity, crocodiles are always a welcome component of zoo collections. It is perhaps easier to name zoos that do not have crocodiles than those that do. As a rule, even small mobile menageries try to get them. And these animals always attract visitors. Of all the reptiles living in modern herpetological collections, crocodiles are among the most resilient and easily tolerate captivity. For example, in the collection of the Moscow Zoo, which numbers about 300 species of reptiles, crocodiles, of which there are 7 species, are the least susceptible to various infectious diseases. However, this does not mean that any conditions are good for them.

Before you go to the market for a crocodile, think carefully again about whether you really need it. If you do decide to take this step, then first of all make sure that your future pet is comfortable in the house and try to create the proper conditions for him. Remember that even the smallest forms of crocodiles (Osteolaemus tetraspis, Caiman crocodilus, C. latirostris, Paleosuchus palpebrosus and P. trigonatus) will reach a length of 1.5 m by the age of 5, and other types of crocodiles will grow even larger. Don’t believe the traders’ stories that this particular crocodile is a dwarf crocodile that will grow a little larger than a cat. These are all tricks in order to sell the goods more profitably, but you will have to deal with the consequences of an unsuccessful purchase in a year or two. You can remember the famous joke about a bear that was sold under the guise of a hamster, and mentally imagine whether your apartment is ready to meet a 2-3-meter relative of dinosaurs.

If it comes to purchasing, then when choosing a future pet, make sure that it is healthy and feeds itself. Not
be too lazy to consult with specialists, since it is difficult for an untrained person to grasp all the nuances of the behavior of this exotic animal. Here are just a few signs by which you can distinguish a sick animal from a healthy one:
1) a healthy crocodile swims and dives easily, spends most of its time in the water;
2) on its integument, in the mouth and around the anus there should be no plaque, crusts, redness and pigment spots;
3) a healthy crocodile, when trying to pick it up, tries to bite and makes threatening sounds - hissing, grumbling, sometimes quacking.

Even if you are convinced that you bought a completely healthy animal, visit a veterinarian in the first few days. Many diseases cannot be determined without a laboratory diagnosis, and the treatment of exotic diseases, especially in an advanced state, can be very expensive. There were cases when the owners of crocodiles, being too lazy to consult a veterinarian in time, later shelled out an amount that was 2-3 times higher than its cost for the treatment of an already beloved pet.

Keep in mind that when buying a crocodile, you are most likely committing an action that is not entirely legal. Crocodiles that are sold legally are accompanied by a whole bunch of documents. Of these, documents permitting the import and sale of these animals are required; veterinary certificate from the sending country; veterinary certificate of the recipient country; International Convention on Trade in Wild Species (CITES) certificate from the sending country; license for animal trade.

As a rule, this package of papers costs a lot of money, increasing the price little crocodile several times. But the transaction takes place legally, and you have a guarantee that the future pet will not die in your arms a week after the purchase. But, as a rule, most crocodiles are sold without accompanying documents, and the purchase process itself turns into a kind of lottery.

House for a crocodile
Well, you bought the crocodile, and you brought it into your apartment. The first question is where to put him? If you are serious about this problem, then you should already have a home for the crocodile ready. Well, what if you were given a crocodile? In this case, it is in your best interests to provide him with housing in the next day or two, before serious problems arise. Crocodiles, as semi-aquatic reptiles, need an aquaterrarium or simply a terrarium with a pond that allows the animal to freely stretch out and turn around when swimming. Different types have specific requirements for the size and depth of the reservoir, some prefer to sit on land, others, on the contrary, practically never leave the water. You can already establish this by observing your pet, determining its species and reading the relevant literature. Here we will simply focus on the general structure of the terrarium.

The first terrariums appeared more than 2000 years ago, and, oddly enough, their first inhabitants were crocodiles. Huge cages covered with skins stood in palaces Ancient Egypt. The Romans also tried to build similar structures, but the novelty did not take root; it turned out that a simple pool for keeping these reptiles was more convenient. But at home, it’s better to turn to the Egyptian device.

The design and manufacturing technology of a terrarium are determined by its type (a simple terrarium or an aquaterrarium with a built-in pool), as well as the type of animals that will be kept in it. The simplest terrarium is a wooden box, some of the walls of which are glazed or covered with metal mesh. The bottom of the box is covered with dry sawdust, in one of the corners there is a small shelter house, in the other there is a container with water. Sawdust is sometimes replaced with peat chips or coarse sand. This device is not suitable for keeping crocodiles, although turtles and small lizards feel great in it. For lack of anything better, you can keep a young crocodile in it for a month or two, provided that the water container is large in size and the water in it changes frequently, but then it is better to look for a better home for your crocodile.

An aqua terrarium is best suited for keeping crocodiles. As is already clear from the name, this is a kind of hybrid of an aquarium and a terrarium, imitating the coastal zone of a river, lake or swamp. An aquaterrarium is made from a solid-sized aquarium, in which half of the volume is occupied by “land” (large stones, sand tightly bonded with non-toxic glue), and the other half by water. Ventilation in the aquaterrarium is provided by a mesh lid, through which the animal is cared for. Another less common aquaterrarium arrangement is when a small, low aquarium is dug into the ground in a large mesh enclosure. This type of aquaterrarium is more suitable for crocodiles, the main thing is that the required proportions of water and land are observed. But these reptiles are quite demanding of them. For normal well-being, they need fairly large enclosures with a water/land ratio of 3/1, with enough space for swimming, a depth difference and intensive water filtration are desirable, and on land they need local heating, like most reptiles.

Young crocodiles are quite shy, so it is advisable to install some kind of shelter for them in the pool, from under which they could freely rise to the surface to breathe.

Carefully select the right size home for your pet. The width of the terrarium should be such that the crocodile can easily turn around - that is, the length of its body plus another 15-20 cm. The length of the terrarium is 1.5-2 times the width. The depth of the reservoir is such that the crocodile can calmly stand on outstretched legs, and there is still 12-15 cm of water above his head. It is necessary to provide a gentle exit so that your pet does not inadvertently drown, unable to get out of the pool. Thus, an adult crocodile caiman needs an aquaterrarium with a total volume of about 1000 liters. The terrarium can be decorated with aquatic plants, and unpretentious vines can be grown along the walls. But don’t delude yourself about beauty, young crocodiles’ teeth itch constantly, and after another week all that’s left of all the green splendor will be only bits. If you want the terrarium to look beautiful, it is better to choose flowery pebbles or large granite boulders. Climbing plants can be grown along the side and back walls, outside the terrarium.

Ventilation in terrariums is usually carried out naturally, through holes in the lid. But in large aquaterriums, air stagnation may occur due to a mismatch between the size of the container and the ventilation holes. In this case, forced ventilation is necessary. This is carried out using various compressors, for example, a regular aquarium microcompressor, which effectively pumps fresh air inside the terrarium, is well suited for this purpose.
Remember that the crocodile is a heat-loving animal, and your terrarium should not turn into a refrigerator. Most often, the terrarium is heated with incandescent lamps mounted low above the ground. To prevent burns, the incandescent lamp is covered with a mesh. To prevent bright light from hitting your eyes and interfering with observing the animal, you must put a lampshade on the lamp. It is best to make it from ceramics, for example from a flower pot.

You will have to carefully “conjure” the lamp, placing it above the ground in order to achieve the optimal temperature of the air and ground. Securely attach it to the wall or lid, put all the wires into a metal tube and take them outside the aquarium so that your pet doesn’t inadvertently test the electrical wiring. In large terrariums it is better to install not one, but 2-3 lamps. You can also make an improvised stove by lowering the lamp directly onto the ground and covering it with a durable protective casing. The distance from the lamp to the walls of the casing is selected so that the temperature of the “stove” does not exceed 42-45 ° C.

To heat large areas of the soil surface, it is recommended to bury a special aquarium heater in it. If the “land” in your terrarium is a monolith, you need to provide a cavity for the heater in advance; at worst, you can place the heater among the stones. When using a heater, constant monitoring of the temperature of the soil where the heater is placed is necessary. Usually, special relays are used for this purpose, which are included with the heater or are sold in a pet store. By using them to set the required temperature, you no longer have to worry that the animal will get burned or catch a cold. In some cases, terrariums are heated with infrared incandescent lamps. They are good because they do not disturb the animal at all and at the same time provide the necessary amount of heat. They can be recommended for crocodiles that are nocturnal, since these animals can develop eye diseases from ordinary incandescent lamps.

In order for the crocodile to develop normally and not look like a rickety little creature, forced sessions of insolation are necessary, that is, exposure to sunlight. It is necessary for all reptiles to properly absorb minerals and is therefore especially important for young animals. For this purpose, special fluorescent lamps are usually used at home, which can be used to safely treat crocodiles. For the insolation procedure, the lamp is placed under the lid of the terrarium and periodic sessions lasting 1-1.5 hours are arranged. You can also make a special box where the animal is placed for irradiation for the same period, but the latter is undesirable, since it once again causes anxiety for the animal.

Having taken care of heating the soil and air, do not forget about heating the water, otherwise you will find that your pet is reluctant to get into the pool, and, after swimming once, takes a long time to warm up under the lamp. With water heating, the situation is much simpler, since pet stores are equipped a huge amount a variety of heaters designed for aquariums. When choosing, you should choose those that are enclosed in a very durable case (since even a metal case can be chewed by a crocodile). The power of the heaters is selected through special calculations. Tables for calculating the heater power required to increase the water temperature can be found in any serious aquarium management manual. For example, in order to raise the temperature by 1 °C in an aquarium with a volume of 200 liters (and it is difficult to achieve a larger volume in a standard aquaterrarium), the power of the heater in terms of 1 liter should be 0.07 W, for a 100-liter one - 0.1 W for 1 liter, for a 50-liter - 0.13 W, etc. To stabilize the temperature, it is also necessary to use a thermostat.

The temperature requirements of crocodiles vary slightly depending on the species of reptile, but their most of feels great if maintained in the terrarium temperature regime 25-35 °C at a water temperature of 22-25 °C.
Let's talk a little more about the soil and various stones and driftwood, which are often used to decorate terrariums. If you bought them in a special store, there is no particular reason for concern; just scald them once or twice with boiling water, and you can put them in a crocodile house. But if their origin is questionable, special processing is indispensable. Stones and sand are boiled in water with a small amount of table salt, then washed thoroughly. Wood (driftwood, coconut shells, oak bark, roots) is first boiled in a saturated solution of table salt (30 g/l) for 6-12 hours, and then another 6 hours in clean water. The water is completely replaced as it boils, making up to 3-4 changes during the boiling process. Before placing it in the terrarium, the surface of the driftwood is treated with a file and sandpaper. It is best to use driftwood taken from a natural body of water, which can be placed both in the pool and on land. The best species for aquaterrariums are black alder, juniper, and willow. To protect the surface of the driftwood from rotting, they can be coated with a thin layer of epoxy resin or polyester.

Even if you use a sandy monolith or granite boulders as a land island, the presence of soil in the terrarium is mandatory. Even a thin layer of soil, just 1 cm thick, at the bottom of the pool is an effective biofilter that keeps the water clean. For soil, coarse river sand or fine gravel, with individual particles with a diameter of 2-5 mm, is optimal. If possible, install special filters in the pool, or better yet, change the water more often without waiting for it to become dirty.

Terrarium care
Probably, it’s not worth mentioning how important cleaning the terrarium is, since in unsanitary conditions your pet may well catch some disease, and you will still suffer while traveling with him to veterinary hospitals. It is necessary to clean the terrarium daily, preferably at the same time, so that the animal gets used to this procedure and is not particularly worried. It is very important to ensure that no pieces of uneaten food or excrement remain in the terrarium, which quickly rot in a humid atmosphere. They are a source of unpleasant odor, and if your pet swallows a piece of rotten meat, it can simply become poisoned (and don’t remember that in natural conditions they eat carrion: firstly, not all crocodiles do this, and secondly, the risk of infection of a pampered domestic animal is always an order of magnitude higher than that of a wild one).

Monitor the condition of the water in the pool especially carefully. If you do not have powerful filters and do not constantly change the water, you should change it without waiting for complete contamination. Sufficient reasons for changing the water are a slight putrid odor and the formation of a thin rainbow film of microorganisms on the surface of the water. Decorative items of the terrarium (driftwood, stones, plant leaves) must be washed with warm water. Special devices that should be included in the equipment of each terrarium will help you a lot with this. You can buy them in specialized stores, and they will make your life much easier when cleaning. To care for the terrarium, you will need the following equipment: tweezers of various lengths, scissors, a net made of thick fabric for catching animals, brushes for cleaning terrariums, a scoop, a spray bottle for spraying, food storage containers, baths of different sizes, measuring chemical containers.

In addition to daily cleaning of the terrarium and changing the water, which occurs on average 1-2 times a week, it is imperative to carry out monthly general cleaning. To do this, you simply need to have an additional container or, at worst, a large bag made of thick fabric, into which the crocodile is transplanted during harvesting. Remember that if you need to secure a crocodile in order to get it out of the terrarium, it is better to secure the animal on land, since crocodiles are much more mobile in water. When fixing the crocodile's jaws in a closed state, they are wrapped with rope or adhesive tape. When using a rope, part of it needs to be wrapped several times around the crocodile's neck behind the head so that it does not slip off the muzzle. The depositor is closed with a strong lid (don’t forget about ventilation), and the canvas bag is tightly tied.
During general cleaning of the terrarium, in addition to a complete water change, the pound is also replaced. The walls of the terrarium and all decorative elements are thoroughly washed using disinfectants, then rinsed with clean water. It is advisable not to use chemicals. A weak solution of pink potassium permanganate is quite suitable for disinfection. The general cleaning process can be combined with the procedure for irradiating your pet with fluorescent lamps, if you have a special box for these purposes. While the animal is not in the terrarium, it is recommended to check the efficiency of all devices and eliminate the slightest malfunctions. Be especially careful about insulation - too often young crocodiles chew inedible objects.

Crocodile diet
This issue should be discussed in detail. Proper and regular feeding of animals is one of the most important conditions, or rather, even the main condition for their normal life. Well, in order for an animal to accept food, it must at least slightly resemble the food it is accustomed to in natural conditions. The owner of crocodiles can be pleased with the fact that these reptiles, like most of their relatives, are actually not nearly as voracious as, for example, mammals of the corresponding size. Under natural conditions, large crocodiles feed only 2-3 times a month (although they eat 10-15 kg of meat), small species - 3-4 times a week, but both of them tolerate hunger strike well, and sometimes it It’s even useful to them.

Please note that a crocodile that gets into your apartment is under the influence of severe stress. He will need quite a long time to get used to it and adapt after all the worries and troubles experienced during the long 2-3 week transportation. And when crocodiles are smuggled, it occurs in such terrible conditions that only every third crocodile arrives safely at its destination. Therefore, be prepared for the fact that at first the crocodile will refuse to eat, no matter what exotic food you offer it. At first, the crocodile is quite aggressive and tries to bite your finger, but not for gastronomic purposes. And his teeth are good, very sharp and directed at different angles in relation to the throat. They leave deep and jagged wounds, they take a long time to heal, so after receiving a couple of bites, you will think three times about whether it is worth forcing your frightened pet to eat.
As a rule, after sitting for several days in a quiet terrarium, the crocodile will calm down and begin searching for food on its own. This is where you should start feeding. As practice has shown, at first it is best to feed young crocodiles with mealworms or bloodworms. You can pour the moving worms into a bowl in front of the young crocodile's nose, but this is undesirable, since some of the food will certainly crawl away and it will be difficult to track the amount of food eaten. It is best to feed a crocodile by hand. This is where long tweezers come in handy, which will save your fingers from injury more than once. Usually, 2-3 mealworms are brought with tweezers to the crocodile’s mouth, and he quickly removes the treat with a movement of his head. The process of satiation can be traced by the swollen belly, as well as by the sluggish movements of the reptile, drowsy from food.

If the animal begins to eat, then the problems with feeding have been solved, at least for several months. While the crocodile is young, a diet of mealworms and bloodworms is quite suitable for it. This food is inexpensive and can be freely purchased at pet stores. Bloodworms are usually stored in a clean, damp cloth at a temperature of 3-5 ° C (most often on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator). In this case, the bloodworms must be laid in a thin layer. If there is a lot of food, it must be washed with water at least 1-2 times a week.
While bloodworms can only be bought at the market or at a pet store, mealworms can be bred at home if desired. This is a somewhat troublesome task, but then you don’t have to worry that your pet will remain hungry. Just don’t forget to take care of food for those 3-4 months during which the bugs will reproduce. In fact, a mealworm is not a worm at all, but a mealworm larva. The main difficulty in breeding it at home is that its development cycle lasts several months and you need to carefully monitor all stages of development.

For breeding, you need a wooden or plywood box measuring 40 x 30 x 20 cm. It is recommended to line the inside with tin to prevent the “pets” from escaping. The top of the box is closed with a lid, which is a metal mesh stretched over a wooden frame. A thick layer of bran is poured onto the bottom of the box, which should fill the box about halfway. Bran serves not only as a habitat for mealworms, but also as their food, so the supply of bran must be periodically renewed. 5-6 adult beetles are planted in a box. The prepared box is placed in a warm, shaded place (under no circumstances should the cage be placed in direct sunlight!). After about 3-4 months, if everything went well and the beetles you caught were of different sexes, adult larvae grow from the eggs they laid, the average length of which is 1.5-2 cm. Optimal temperature for the development of larvae + 25 "C. Adult larvae are yellow or orange, covered with a rather dense chitinous shell. For crocodile jaws, this chitinous cover is not a problem, but they also love more delicate, white larvae that have recently moulted.

Some of the worms are left in the box so that they pupate safely and give rise to a new generation of beetles. In this way, a kind of circulation is carried out in the box, and you will receive live food for a long time from one, correctly “charged” box. If one cage with mealworms is not enough for your pet, get yourself a second or third one, since they don’t need a lot of space, and then the feeding station will work without interruption.

But now your pet is growing up, and worms alone are not enough for him. At first, with high-quality food, the crocodile quickly gains height and can grow by 3-4 cm in a month. The jaws of young crocodiles become quite strong, and they can already be fed another live food - shellfish. Of course, it is best to buy them in a store, and not catch them in the nearest pond, so as not to pick up some kind of infection. Young crocodiles will happily eat both grape snails and oysters.

Unfortunately, other shellfish are not sold live in stores. Mollusks are a higher calorie and larger food, so 2-3 grape snails per feeding is quite enough. Some types of aquarium mollusks (Achatina, Ampularia) are also large in size and can be easily purchased in stores that sell aquarium fish. You can feed your crocodile oysters, but this diet will cost you much more.

Gradually, other foods are introduced into the diet. Remember that feeding crocodiles with plain meat and frozen fish leads to vitamin deficiencies and rickets, especially in young animals. All food should be complete and close in texture to natural food. You can feed large insects (locusts, large tropical cockroaches) to crocodiles. It is advisable to take fresh fish. For most crocodiles in natural conditions, it is the main food, so they happily eat it in captivity. For young crocodiles, fresh fish fillets must be freed from scales and small bones, cut into portions (1-2 cm) and fed with tweezers. The meat for crocodiles is chosen to be lean; you can use chicken (preferably unplucked and uneviscerated chickens), and veal. It is advisable to include fresh beef liver and heart in the diet; you can add vitamins and minerals to the food so that your crocodile develops properly.
Sometimes it is necessary to pamper your pet by including small mammals and amphibians in its diet. Laboratory rats are well suited for this purpose, as are clawed frogs, which are often sold in pet stores. For the normal development of a crocodile and the prevention of a number of diseases, such “food supplements” must be fed to your pet at least 1-2 times a month. Remember that the crocodile is a predator, and live food is simply necessary in its diet. On frozen meat and fish fillets, no matter how much you pour them with vitamins, your pet will not last long.

Diseases of crocodiles
Diseases of terrarium animals are a very complex and poorly understood thing. To this day, there are very few veterinary clinics in our country that will treat your toothy pet. Therefore, the main task of any crocodile owner should be to prevent any diseases. And to do this, in most cases, it is enough to simply provide your pet with nutritious food and properly care for it. It is imperative to monitor the cleanliness of the aquarium, since it is in the dirt that most pathogenic organisms originate.

Carefully lubricate the reptile's skin with the prepared ointment, paying special attention to the joints between the scales. This procedure causes the ticks to suffocate and fall off after a while. While the ointment is applied to the crocodile, it is best not to let the animal into the pool. After you are sure that all the ticks have died, wash the animal in the shower and thoroughly wipe the skin with a weak solution of potassium permanganate.

Much less common in crocodiles is a viral disease called “mouth rot.” Most often, it occurs when the animal has not taken food for a long time, as well as under unfavorable living conditions (dirty water, accumulation of rotting residues in the terrarium). The first symptoms of the disease are the crocodile's refusal to eat. After some time, small ulcers appear on the mucous membrane of the mouth and throat. The reptile characteristically tilts its head to the side, and a persistent unpleasant odor emerges from its mouth.

For treatment, the affected areas are lubricated with sea buckthorn oil, and the mouth can be irrigated with a solution of penicillin. Oil solutions of vitamins A and D are also used to lubricate the ulcers. The animal must be temporarily removed from the terrarium, thoroughly cleaned, and the entire pound and plants removed. After treatment with disinfectant solutions, the terrarium is dried for 2-3 days to destroy all pathogens, and only after that the crocodile can be returned to its place.

Your pet may also suffer from inflammation of the nasal mucosa. The cause of the disease is hypothermia in the terrarium. With this disease, he becomes lethargic and refuses to eat. There is copious mucous discharge from the nose. For treatment, treatment of the nasal cavity with a penicillin solution is used, as well as irradiation of the sick reptile with a quartz lamp. Treatment is continued for 10-15 days, gradually increasing the irradiation time from 5 to 20 minutes. Non-contagious diseases of crocodiles include various wounds, scratches, and, less commonly, inflammation of the anus.
All of them are associated with improper living conditions or unsanitary conditions. The affected areas are treated with a weak solution of potassium permanganate.

To ensure that the treatment process itself does not cause complications, the treatment solution (especially when treating the anus) must be warm. This treatment should be carried out for several days until all signs of the disease disappear.
Often crocodiles at home suffer from vitamin deficiencies. To treat and prevent this type of disease, we can recommend improving living conditions and adding more vitamins to food than usual. In winter and spring, it is simply necessary to provide animals with “sun” baths, irradiating them with special lamps at least 1-2 times a week.

Diseases of crocodiles
Crocodile diet
Terrarium care
House for a crocodile
Crocodile in the house

Species of crocodiles

Alligators

Gharials

The modern family of gharials includes the genus Tomistoma, in which there is only 1 species - pseudogharial (pseudogharial) - Tomistoma schlegelii and the genus of gharial - Gavialis. Gharials are common on the Hindustan Peninsula and in Burma, where they inhabit large rivers (Indus, Ganges, Mahanadi, Brahmaputra).

Crocodiles

A crocodile differs from an alligator by its smile. The largest tooth in the upper jaw of these animals is the fifth; the lower one, like in alligators, is the fourth, but with the mouth closed it is not placed in a hole closed on all sides, but only in a recess open from the outside in the maxillary gum, and therefore is visible even with the jaws closed. In addition, in real crocodiles, the teeth of both jaws fit into the spaces between them.
The crocodile family is the largest, with more than 20 species. Four species of true crocodiles live in the New World, of which the sharp-snouted and Orinoco crocodiles are the largest reptiles in the Americas, reaching a length of 7.2 m.
In the Old World, only Nile and saltwater crocodiles are as large (except for gharials). In Africa, in addition to the Nile, there are 2 more species of smaller crocodiles. In India, in addition to the combed crocodile and gharial, there is a swamp crocodile, or mager, in Indochina and Indonesia - the gharial crocodile, in the north of Australia - Johnson's crocodile, but all of them do not exceed 5 m in length and are not considered giants.

The main difference between an alligator and a crocodile is the shape of their nose (snout). Alligators have a U-shaped nose, while crocodiles have a V-shaped nose. There are also some pretty amazing differences within each species of these animals. Below are just ten examples of the strangest, rarest and most unusual alligators and crocodiles in the world.

10 – Mecistops cataphractus
African Slender Snouted Crocodile

While its snout is not as unusual as some of the other reptiles on this list, it is still quite distinctive. They are usually medium-sized crocodiles, but they can still grow up to 3 to 4 meters.

9 – Crocodylus suchus
West African crocodile (Desert Crocodile)

It was this type of crocodiles that was most often found mummified inside Egyptian tombs and burial grounds. This is also the same species that is depicted on the Bust of Sobek, the Egyptian god of crocodiles!

8 – Alligator sinensis
Chinese Alligator

Believe it or not, there are only two known living species of alligators in the world! The first one is a much larger one, the American alligator (which we will see later), and this one is a Chinese alligator, which is much smaller and more adorable. This rare prehistoric beast is one of the smallest alligator species in the world. And also the owner of the most charming face!

7 – Crocodylus siamensis
Siamese Crocodile

The Siamese crocodile is considered one of the least studied crocodiles in the world. It is also on the verge of extinction. Unfortunately, it may already be too late to observe them in their natural habitat.

6 – Paleosuchus palpebrosus
Cuvier's dwarf caiman

Even though this crocodile might be the world's smallest crocodile species, considering its body length of 1.2 meters as an adult, it is safe to say that they are still quite large.

5 – Alligator mississippiensis
American alligator

As mentioned above, compared to the Chinese alligator, the American alligator is much larger.
The average length of adult individuals is up to 3 m for females and up to 4.5 m for males.

4 – Leucistic Alligator
White Alligator (Albino)

There are only 12 of these alligators believed to exist in the entire world. By, this is just an ordinary American alligator that was born an albino.

3 – Crocodylus porosus
Saltwater crocodile (Estuarine Crocodile)

Although this photo turned out to be a trick using a special camera angle rather than actual size, some saltwater crocodiles can grow to over 6 meters! This is an extremely large crocodile.

2 – Osteolaemus tetraspis
African Dwarf Crocodile

He may look adorable, but don't forget that his body length is 180 centimeters. In addition, his neck, back and tail are thoroughly protected. In addition, he is also very dangerous.

1 – Gavialis gangeticus
Gangetic gharial (Gavial Crocodile)

The gharial is a long-nosed crocodile that loves fish. He is also one of the longest crocodiles in the world. Their body length can reach 6.25 meters!