Semi Aquatic Reptiles - Mata Matas and Caiman Lizards

J

JMorash

Moderator
Hey,

I want to take a new spin on the group buy thing so I figure intead of fish I would try some reptiles for an upcoming order. I have been offered some great prices on some great reptiles.

First off is Mata Mata turtles (Chelus Fimbriatus). These are a great odd ball turtles from South America. These guys are still pretty rare in Canada, and most that show up are wild caught. These guys are captive raised (so born in captivity from wild parents) so they are healthy and free of the complications that come with wild individuals, but due to their wild genetics they should be very gentically sound. Usually these guys are fish eaters in the wild, but captive individuals train to eat pellets very easily. The only thing I need to note is that these guys can get u to 18" sell length, so they required fairly large enclosures. However they are only going to be coming in small and grow fairly slow.

Usually these guys go for between $250-$275 for wild individuals, and $300-$350 for captive individuals. I can offer these guys to you for quite a bit cheaper:

$200 each
2 @ $180 each
3 @ $160 each

I will be taking deposits of $50 each right now, with only ten turtles coming in they wont last long.

Here's some info on Mata Matas: http://animal-world.com/encyclo/reptile … Turtle.php

The second order will be a few Caiman Lizards (Dracaena guianensis) sometime around the end of July or early August. These guys are a large growing (4 foot plus) lizard from south america. These guys have been one of the rarer lizards for years, however within recent years quite a few captive individuals have been popping up all over the States. Still there are only a handful of these guys in Canada. Generally wild individuals are often aggressive, hard to acclimate, come in full of parasites and only feed on snails. However captive individuals are usually extremely healthy, laid back and will learn to feed on rodents and fruit.

Captive Caiman Lizards can demand prices close to $1000 a pop, however I can offer these guys for $700 a pop or two for $1200. I'm only ordering 6 of these so don't miss out on the rare and incredibly beautiful reptiles.

There is very little information published on the care of these animals however I can answer most questions you should have. Just email me. Here are some pictures:

http://www.google.ca/images?client=...sc=&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi

Located in Halifax, NS. Shipping Canada Wide is available at buyers expense.

Thanks,

Justin Morash
 
Double check the article links, I think they need to be reformatted?

Sounds like an awesome project Justin, good luck with it. :)
 
I'd love to get a Caiman Lizard but I think my spare 180g plywood (2' x 2' x 6') tank would be too small.
 
Would be great for at least a year. Like all large teiid species they aren't overly active so it'll be fine for awhile.
 
The problem is I would like to keep it in that tank for life, a year seems not very long to me. Would it be too crowded for a full size one? When I buy a pet it is with the intention of keeping it for its full lifespan. Maybe that's why my house is full of tanks!
 
Hey,

Just an update on the turtles.

I already have the first 10 reserved. I am willing to order more, but I can't unless I get the deposit. I just can't justify getting more than what the min. is if I don't have them confirmed sold. I don't like sitting on stuff. Originally I was going to order the ten regardless if I had them all sold or not and just sell them off over time just because that was the min. and I really wanted mine, but I can't justify bringing in more if no one reserves them. Remember this is stilla group buy and I can't take the losses for those who are just tire kicking.

By the way these animals are completely legal. All CITES approved and I can provide copies of the certificate for any customers who request it.

Carcrazy - The caiman lizards get about 4 feet, I've heard they can reach up to 6 feet in the wild but honestly I've never seen even a picture of one that big. It's like people saying certain localities or the Argentine B/W tegus get 6 feet. I have kept 5 arg. tegus from different localities, some bred for "massive" bloodlines and some wild from these so called "giant" localities. I have never seen one bigger than 4.5'. and most of mine maxed out at 3.5'. As far as Caiman lizards go, I have never kept one myself, but I have kept a ton of tegus and monitors. Generally most large Teiids slow down as they reach adulthood and spend most of their time basking and sitting in the water dish. Your 180 would definitely fit the animal for the first 18 months probably, assuming you aren't someone who power feeds to see your animal grow unnaturally fast. After that I would keep a caiman lizard in a min. of a 6'L x 3'W x 4'H. My are going to go in a 8'L x 3'W x 7'H display cage. I would like to make the bottom an inclosed fish tank to make the tank into a river system and keep a variety of small schooling tetras (stuff adult well fed caiman lizards wont bother with).

Anyways anyone interested in the turtles or caiman lizards please email or pm me. I'm ordering the turtles at the end of next week.

Thank you,

Justin Morash
 
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