What does a caiman eat in the wild?
Wild caimans are opportunistic – that is, they’ll eat a wide variety of different prey items as they become available during different seasons. The size of prey items depends on the size of the caiman, with hatchlings eating small insects, fish, amphibians and reptiles, and larger caimans eating larger versions of these prey. As they grow, caimans include mammals, birds and larger reptiles in their diet. Adults also include a fair number of crustaceans and molluscs (e.g. freshwater crayfish, snails) in their diet, which their broad, powerful jaws are especially adept at crushing. In many crocodilian species, adults will readily cannibalise young crocodiles. Most other crocodilian species follow the same kind of dietary progression, from small insects and fish when young, to a wider variety of larger prey as they grow. Slender-snouted species tend to eat more fish, and broad-snouted species often include hard-shelled prey in their diet. 6.1.2 What can I feed my caiman in captivity? As c
