Caiman in poor health after recovery from Columbia storage unit | Local News

A reptile rescuer caring for a 2-foot caiman discovered in a Columbia area storage unit said Tuesday that the animal is in poor health.

Columbia police turned over the smooth-fronted caiman, also known as a Schneider’s dwarf caiman, to the care of John Fitzwalter, who operates Triple J Reptile Rescue in Elizabethtown.

Fitzwalter’s initial assessment of the animal’s condition is bleak. 

“He’s in poor condition. I’m not 100% sure if he will make it or not,” Fitzwalter said. According to Fitzwalter, the caiman was dangerously thin, and he has no idea how long the animal was kept in the storage unit without being fed.

Getting the caiman to eat is Fitzwalter’s first priority.

“We’ll know for sure in six months if he’ll make it,” Fitzwalter said. “Unfortunately there’s not a lot you can do.”

Caiman belong to the crocodilian order along with alligators and crocodiles but are distinguishable by their shorter, more rounded snouts. Smooth-fronted caiman are native to the Amazon basin in South America but have become common in the exotic pet trade through online pet stores and reptile shows.

Columbia police found the caiman and six cats inside a storage unit last Friday after receiving a complaint of animals left inside the unit. The caiman was found shut in a 2-by-1-foot plastic bin in a few inches of water.

Columbia police originally identified the animal as a crocodile. 

“Please note that we are not reptile experts,” Columbia Chief of Police Jack Brommer Jr. said in a statement. 

Police and the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission are investigating the incident.

Discarded crocodilians

This is not the first abandoned animal Fitzwalter has rescued. Since starting Triple J Reptile Rescue in 2005, he has been responding to calls for abandoned reptiles when he is not working as a mechanic at Mars Wrigley in Elizabethtown.

In 2022, Fitzwalter rescued an alligator abandoned on the side of the road in Dauphin County.

Jesse Rothacker, founder of the Forgotten Friend Reptile Sanctuary in Elizabeth Township, has rescued caimans and other crocodilians and is warning people not to purchase the animals. 

“Don’t do it,” Rothhacker said. “It might be fun for a week or a month, but they grow. They’re not meant to be in Pennsylvania.” 

Forgotten Friend is caring for two caimans and an alligator rescued after owners abandoned them or turned them over to the sanctuary.

“Every month we are getting more crocodilian calls,” Rothhacker said.  

Eighteen states have banned the sale or purchase of caimans, but the trade remains legal in Pennsylvania.

Rothhacker says most vendors at reptile shows are responsible about who they sell to, but some take advantage of customers who don’t understand the responsibility of taking care of large reptiles.

“Folks look at the sticker price for the animal and don’t consider the cost of care,” Rothhacker said. “Folks aren’t thinking this through.”