Can You Raise An Alligator As A Pet?

Alligators babies used to be common in pet stores. You would buy them about eight inches long. No problem.. the majority died very shortly from people not knowing how to care for them. Others reached a fuller state of maturity... Alligators are not domesticated. Cannot be domesticated. Yes, they would like to eat you. No matter what you do for them, they will never 'love' you or decide you are off the menu. They are not good choices as pets. If you want a dangerous animal that you can fully tame, get a powerful dog or a horse.

Alligator As A Pet

Pet Alligators

Ah... Pursey... our first gator, and probably our best...

He was cool, he was mellow for a gator... laid back, easy going... He started out in a 100 gallon aquarium... that worked for a while, but then he had to move into the biggest premade plastic pond Lowes carried, still pretty mellow, but the thing is this... a male gator hits puberty just like a guy does... they start getting territorial... they start getting defensive of food, and they stay hungry. Oh, Pursey knew who fed him... and would come lunging out of his pond whenever you went into the pen for anything, whether it was to feed him or not.

You can raise one from hatching, and you can bond with it, but it will NOT bond with you any more than recognizing you as a source of food. This is one of the problems with feeding wild alligators 95% of alligator attacks on people in florida link back to the gator being fed... Not necessarily that the gator is "aggressive", it's just that they don't differentiate between the hand that feeds them and the food. Then when you have a seven and a half foot gator that you can't handle to take to programs anymore and that's why you got him in the first place was for educational purposes... at first you think, "Oh, I'll just take it back to the farm." but after a few years you've become attached, and you know that it's just gonna be turned into meat and leather at the farm because that's what farms are all about... and you sure as sh*t can't let it go, someone will end up dead if you do...

Luckily, Gatorama has a pond specifically for "pet" alligators that people couldn't keep anymore, and we were lucky enough to be able to take Pursey to them... he's well-fed now, and can fight with whoever he wants... not sure if he's claimed any girlfriends yet, but it's nice to know he's got that chance now too, because he had started bellowing before we got rid of him... claiming territory and calling for a girlfriend or three...

It's not so much a matter of can it be done, it's a matter of should it be done, and unless you have something lined up for in the future when you can't keep it anymore, and you're wanting it for a reason other than "it would make a cool pet" (which they do, but they don't), I don't suggest it.

RE:

Can You Raise An Alligator As A Pet?

meaning, can you raise it from birth as a regular pet, and bond with it and all that...and not expect to be eaten once it gets older and realizes its supposed to eat you?

Never thought about that. I alwayz wanted a black panther az a pet. But I think that **** would be dangerous if either animal was a house pet.

Yes you can raise them you can bond to a extent but its more of a mutual respect and you have to be on your toes constantly they are fully aware of what they can do to you so its best to do as much research on all the available species and talk to people that have raised them. Also check your local laws some states require you to have permits or have banned them all together

in theory yes ive had gators and they make great pets. but i always use extreme caution when dealing with dangerous reptiles. gators are predators, bottom line. they should be treated with that in mind. its better to take precaution and never have accident than have two guys pulling your head out of a gators mouth. keep in mind they bite with 1800 p.s.i.

sorry you can not tame an alligator, you can keep it well fed and it is less likely to try and eat you but the instincts are still the same when it gets bigger it will try to bite you, they are not a domestic animal and will only do what is natural if it moves they eat it you =food they do not have the reasoning to know thy can't eat you

A friend of mine had one when it got big it whiped his tail and snapped his leg like it was a toothpick now he walks with a permanant limp. so if this sounds like fun to you go ahead.