Unfortunately our young crocodile Frankie passed away the other day.
We have no idea why or how she passed, there were no visible marks on her body and she had not acted differently at all. All of her needs were met so it's possible she had an underlying condition.
Frankie came to us from a woman who lost her licence and was keeping her illegally. She cared for her well but the department in charge had her confiscated and given to my mum to care for.
Frankie was only young, maybe 5. Given crocodiles routinely live well past their 50's this is quite young. She was recently moved into a much larger enclosure with another crocodile and a large turtle.
Frankie and Fovian along with Broady the turtle had been living together for 2 months before Frankie passed and there were no incidents between the two to suggest Fovian would be involved. The fact Frankie has no visible marks on her body and the agressiveness and usually savage way crocodiles fight it would be unusual for her to have no marks at all if Fovian had anything to do with it, even given the size difference.
Testing the friendship behind a fence first
The water in her pond was the right temperature but when my stepdad came out the other morning Frankie was floating on the top of her pond upside down, dead.
Became friends in the end, no fighting needed
It is very sad as even though they aren't pets you cuddle or hold they are beautiful creatures that are incredible to observe and feed and care for. I sincerely hope we did nothing to cause her death but it is impossible to know. Since Fovian is still in good health it seems unlikely to be environmental so there isn't a lot of options left.
I was quite sad when I found out and will miss seeing her. She was not even close to friendly but she was still a beautiful little creature that deserved a longer life than she got. R.I.P Frankie, we will miss you.