How many stages are there in the alligator's life cycle?

The American alligator reaches breeding age when the alligator is about 10 years old. Mating occurs in the late spring. The male attracts a mate and warns off competition with a load roar. When finding a female, the male butts up against her hits her snout with his snout. After mating, the female builds a mound nest of grass and mud. The nest can be as high as three feet. She then digs a depression in the top of the mound using her rear legs and lays between 35-50 eggs in the depression. It covers the eggs with vegetation and guards the nest. MacKaeyla age 11