Caiman Reptile Feeding Experience Curbed over Weight Issues

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:34 JST, September 17, 2023

A reptile house in Saitama Prefecture has had to limit a popular feeding experience for its caimans as the reptiles have grown too heavy.

According to the facility, Fukaya Hachurui-kan (Fukaya reptile house) in Fukaya, Saitama Prefecture, the feeding experience for its two spectacled caimans that used to be held frequently has now been restricted to once a week.

The facility’s director, who goes by his YouTube handle, Channel Wani, said that the excitement of seeing the caimans up close had grown so much that visitors came one after another to try and feed them. As a result, while their body length has remained the same, their girth and neck have grown larger and larger.

Although no health effects have been confirmed from the feeding experience, there is concern that the weight gain may lead to internal organ diseases, so the feeding experience has been reduced from about five times a week to only one time on Sundays for the time being, according to the director.

“Health is important for crocodiles just like humans,” the director said. “We want our visitors to help them lose weight.”