Alligator stunting practice-- is it healthy?

the noteable text:

ok well i was just wondering about alligators..... I kind of want a small one but i dont know how long i can keep it small..... theres a teacher at my school whos had one for some years now and its still pretty small i believe....well any and all info would be much appreciated

theres a pet shop not far from my house and he has a 6year old american alligator thats only 3feet long and he said he did the same thing just fed it low nutrition food for about the first 8months of its growning life and its not animal curility

original thread:

anyone know anything about this alleged stunting practice? are there any health problems associated with it, or is the gator in fact perfectly healthy?

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Merlin, HC administrator

Yeah, that's not good for the gator at all. Intentionally denying it a nutritious diet at the time in its life that it needs it most is nothing short of cruel. As a result of the malnutrition, the body is stunted cause it doesn't have the resources to grow. This could potentially cause health risks throughout the rest of his life and he'll probably die a young age compared to a healthy gator. His bones have formed in an abnormal way.

As stated, young crocodilians need all of the nutrition it can get. If not, many illnesses can occur, such as:
Metabolic bone disease, Muscular deterioration, Kidney failure, All sorts of vitamin deficiencies, Hypoglycaemia, which causes neuromuscular problems and so forth. Pretty much all of this is hazardous to young crocodilians, and even if they do live longer than expected within these conditions, more long term affects may take course.

This is in fact animal cruelty.

Basically, the teacher should be taught and the petshop owner.. Well... We'll just leave it at that.

As for this kid getting the alligator, despite what JVorhe212 says, owning an alligator will be a lot of work, especially if you do not live in an area that promotes the animal to live outdoors during it's adult life. And getting a dwarf caiman (Which is not a crocodile) is just as bad, considering the temperaments of these guys, and 'needing' an enclosure nearly as large as an average sized alligator.
Zane

thanks for the information guys, that cleared things up over that matter.