THE EDUCATIONAL HUMANE SOCIETY 



55 



room like a dart, steering themselves 

 by means of their long-, bushy tails. 

 And dig? Dig does not half express it 

 either, and the rapidity with which one 

 could burrow along underground al- 

 most defies description. While taking 

 the same food as our deer mouse, they 

 did not seem to be nearly as con- 

 tented in captivity as its more sedate 

 cousin of the East. 



The Care of Alligators. 



Jamaica Plain, Boston, Massachusetts. 

 To The Editor: — 



I have just had a young alligator 

 given me by a friend, but I do not 

 know how to keep him healthy and 

 strong or how to feed him or whether 

 he should live on land or water; so, 

 as I do not know of any one that can 

 tell me, I am writing to you to find 

 out. Could you also tell me what 

 marks of distinction there are that 

 make one able to tell the difference 

 between a crocodile and an alligator? 

 Yours respectfully, 



Philip F. Broughton. 



I have two alligators, both almost 

 five feet long, which I have raised 

 and observed for eleven years. They 

 were about ten inches long when I 

 first received them, so you see how 

 interesting they have become. 



The first question to be solved is 

 that of a suitable place in which to 

 keep your alligator. While he is fond 

 of the water and swims admirably, 

 he is not a fish and does not relish 

 being in the water constantly, so 

 you will have to arrange a tank so 

 that he can get out of the water at 

 times. A good plan is to take a good 

 sized aquarium and decide how much 

 water you will need ; by this I mean 

 how deep it will have to be, allowing 

 enough water to just barely cover the 

 alligator's body. Then build a plat- 

 form above the water, say three or 

 four inches, and construct a stairway 

 so that the n^'^ator can go no stairs 

 and get out of the water. This he 

 loves to do, especially on bright sunny 

 days in winter when the whole outfit 

 should be moved into the sunshine at 

 a window ; at night he should be 



moved away from the window, being 

 a Southerner and not fond of our cold 

 winters up North. But in summer 

 such quarters are entirely too cramped 

 and small, for then the alligator gets 

 very active. He now wants to be out 

 of doors and it is best to arrange a 

 pond for him out in the garden. Make 

 this of concrete with a sloping bottom 

 in a part of it; this permits the alli- 

 gator to lie in water at different 

 depths and also to dive and swim in 

 the deeper places. Surround this 

 pond by a good stout wire fence, al- 

 lowing enough ground all around so 

 that he can walk and run about and 

 also bask in the sun. It ;s advisable 

 to put a projecting ledge about your 

 fence for you will find the alligator 

 to be very inquisitive and fond of 

 roaming, and so he will climb the 

 fence unless you prevent this. Try to 

 locate your pond where it will have 

 an abundance of sunshine, for this the 

 alligator likes better than anything 

 else. 



Construct a wooden shelter or 

 plant some bushes so that he can get 

 shelter should the sunshine prove too 

 hot- If your garden is completely 

 fenced in you may not require a fence 

 around the pond ; but where strange 

 dogs and possibly boys bent on mis- 

 chief can get in easily, it is best to 

 protect your pet by a fence around 

 his home, for this he considers his 

 pond to be, and he will always huriy 

 there in case of danger. Construct 

 it so that he will not only feel secure 

 there but actually be so, for that is an 

 important matter in keeping pets. 

 As he grows larger and stronger he 

 will not fear the dogs and you can 

 then give him more freedom ; mine 

 walk all about the garden, coming 

 into the house, going up stairs, ex- 

 actly as they wish. Build your pond 

 sufficiently large at the beginning, 

 otherwise you will have to enlarge it 

 at regular intervals, for the alligator 

 will grow if you take good care of 

 him. 



Now as to the food. Unless kept 

 in a tank of warmed water such as 

 they have at New York, alligators do 

 not eat during the winter months; 



