How much water and land area does the caiman need?
All crocodilian species need both land and water, although most species spend more time in the water than on land. Most caiman owners find that their animal spends virtually all of its time in the water, and therefore they allocate at least 70 to 80 percent of the available space to water. The caiman still requires enough land space to emerge completely from the water – preferably at least twice the length of its body so it can walk around comfortably, and has easy access to a heated basking area and an unheated (or shaded) area. Dwarf caimans and dwarf crocodiles need much more land – perhaps half of the enclosure, although they will spend most of their time on land in a hide, which of course you need to provide. If not, they will try and dig their own. In reality, the amount of time a caiman or other crocodilian spends in the water depends on several factors. If the water is warm enough for the caiman to reach a temperature within the range of its PBT then it will spend more time in
