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 .