Florida woman fights to keep trained pet alligator 'Rambo' who 'loves kids, wears clothes and can ride on the back of a motorcycle'
- Mary Thorn is fighting to keep her 125-pound alligator named Rambo
- Rambo, who is trained, wears clothes and rides on back of a motorcycle
- The 15-year-old reptile has reached six feet long and is required by law to have 2.5 acres of land available to him
- Thorn says if she had the extra land Rambo wouldn't be able to use it because the alligator has a sensitivity to sunlight
Mary Thorn (pictured) is fighting to keep her 125-pound reptile named Rambo (pictured in 2011) who wears clothes, rides on the back of a motorcycle and has his own bedroom in Thorn's home in Lakeland
[QUOTE]A Florida woman is fighting to keep her 6-foot-long pet alligator in her home.
The 125-pound reptile named Rambo wears clothes, rides on the back of a motorcycle and has a bedroom in Mary Thorn's home in Lakeland.
Thorn has had a license for the alligator for 11 years, but he recently grew to six feet. And according to Florida Fish and Wildlife, an alligator his size must have 2.5 acres of land.
She told the Orlando Sentinel that even if she had land available, Rambo can't be left outdoors because of sensitivity to sunlight./QUOTE]
Thorn says she's taught him not to bite, scratch, head butt or swat, which allows him to interact with the public safely
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Thorn said when she received Rambo he was four years old and up to that point had been kept in a dark closet cramped in a tank with several other gators.
A letter Thorn provided from Privileged Critters Animal Hospital in Lakeland says alligators raised in a filtered light environment develop this type of sensitivity and therefore shouldn't be 'left outside for any length of time', according to the Sentinel.
The 15-year-old reptile stays in Thorn's home. She said that she takes him to elementary schools, charity events and conventions to teach people about reptiles.
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At 15 years old, Rambo (pictured) recently reached six feet long, which means he's now required by law to have 2.5 acres of land available to him, according to Florida Fish and Wildlife
Quote:
Thorn has taught Rambo not to bite, scratch, head butt or swat, which allows him to interact with the public safely.
She told the Sentinel: 'He loves kids and when kids come around he shuts his mouth really tight so fingers can't go in his mouth.'
Thorn has also been given permission to have him out and about without his snout taped shut.
There's still a chance that Thorn will get to keep Rambo since she had him before the 2.5 acre stipulation went into effect.
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Thorn received an offer from a reptile encounter attraction in Tampa, but she's afraid something could happen to Rambo because he has trouble in the sun
Read more:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz434rZMH9I
Where is this from? 
It's unreasonable and ridiculously dangerous to try and keep one as a house pet. The pictures of him are adorable, but this is a bomb waiting to go off one day.
