Dwarf Crocodile Training

At Wingham we have a pair of western dwarf crocodiles and we have been working with them to scale train them, in this blog you’ll see how it’s going. 

Some snapping facts

Dwarf crocodiles are the smallest crocodile species, rarely reaching a length of over 1.5 meters. This nocturnal species are opportunistic feeders, hunting for a variety including insects, shrimp, fish, small birds and mammals. 

Feeding queue

We started by introducing the feed queue which was banging the metal food bowl on the side, this queue we repeat every time they are fed which is once a week. This way they will approach and become interested upon hearing the sound/seeing the bowl and more likely to participate in training and is also used so that in the absence of the queue, they do not come over. Useful for doing general jobs around the enclosure and not wanting them to come over. 

When working in the enclosure we always have 2 keepers present, they might be small, but they have a powerful bite and can break through bone easily! 

Time to bring in the SCALES

They were introduced to the scales on one feed day and encouraged to come over using the feed queue. The female was interested in food and came to the front of the water but for this session did not come out onto land. The male stayed at the back of the enclosure and did not want to come out of the water today. They are quite cautious when you introduce something new so I wasn’t expecting them to come straight away. 

We then introduced them to just the wooden board which is used to give the stable base to the scales. And repeated the process of the food queue and encouraging them to come out of the water. 

This video is from a session back in January when we introduced them to the board. Only the female ventured out near to the board.

Weighing our crocodiles

After a few more sessions repeating this, the female was brave enough to come out of the water and followed the food (fed via long tongs) onto the scales for the first time. Here she stayed while the rest of her food was given to her. The male was also gaining confidence and eventually came over the scales too. They receive one piece of meat for coming over and the jackpot of the rest of the meat while they are on the scales. Once they know that they get the rest of the food only on the scales they will wait on them instead of following the trainer, giving us a good steady reading on the scales. 

This is the crocodiles now! They both reliably come over the scales so we can get a weight from them.

What are the crocodiles like to train?

Crocodiles have a very good memory so normally once they have learnt something it sticks, making them great to train. However, it can also mean that any changes can take them a while to get used to. We, ensure that the training was consistent and at the same time of day. This helped them to adapt quickly to the new routine. 

They are trained every Wednesday and are really good with the routine now. The female always goes first then we gently nudge her off the scales and let the male have his turn.

Being able to get weights regularly will help us to check they are maintaining their weight without having to handle them. 

Thanks for reading, happy training! 

Source: winghamwildlifepark.co.uk