A variety of methods have been used to identify alligators in confinement situations. In young hatchling alligators, a toe tag is the most satisfactory means of identification. In animals of three feet in length or greater, other methods of identification are necessary. The recent interest in alligator farming and ranching operations have made it important to identify individual animals for the purpose of monitoring growth rates, breeding activity, nest building, egg laying, and disease control. The most frequently used method of identification has been the placing of numbered tags in the tail scutes. The notching or removal of scutes on the tail is also used for identification of sex or year of birth. Tail identification methods are satisfactory but have the disadvantage of requiring the animal to be out of the water and are sometimes difficult to see. Tags also have the disadvantage of becoming torn out or lost.

A method of placing a round numbered tag on the head of the alligator has been used by the investigators for three years. This method has the advantage of ease of application, low cost, and longevity.