A father faces felony charges for bring home an injured eight-inch alligator for his son to nurse back to health. After finding the alligator being attacked by a bird, Kevin Gill, from Naples, Florida, told WBBH that he thought his 13-year-old son could care for the reptile while learning about gators. But when Collier County deputies were serving a search warrant on the family's home for an unrelated issue, they came across the baby gator - and told Gill it was illegal. Scroll down for video . Arrest: Kevin Gill, pictured in a mug shot, left, was arrested after deputies found he had a small alligator inside his Florida home. He had found the injured gator and given it to his son, right, to nurse back to health . 'I had no clue,' Gill, 45, told WBBH. 'It wasn't like I was out collecting alligators. I was trying to save an alligator and nurse it back to health and we were going to take it over to the conservancy... 'I didn't think it was a big deal since there's millions of them and they took them off the endangered species list.' But after the deputies found the gator, which the family kept in a tank, they took Gill to jail. The case is being handled by Florida's Fish and Wildlife Commission. It is a felony in Florida to keep an alligator without a license, regardless of its size. Illegal: To keep an alligator of any size in Florida, you need to apply for a license (stock picture) Home: The alligator was kept in this tank in the family's Naples home after they found it outside . Stunned: Gill said he never knew keeping an alligator - especially such a small one - was illegal . Anyone who wants to own an alligator must 'demonstrate 1 year and 1,000 hours of substantial practical experience in the handling, husbandry and care of alligators or other crocodilian species' before applying for a license, according to the Wildlife Commission. Gill said he was shocked to discover the laws. 'Everybody that I've talked to was amazed I was arrested for something like that,' he said. See below for video .
Kevin Gill, 45, found an injured gator and took it to his home in Naples, Florida for his son to nurse back to health. But when officers were serving a search warrant on the family's home for an unrelated issue, they found the gator and arrested Gill. Anyone who wants to own an alligator in Florida must complete 1,000 hours of training - regardless of the reptile's size.