Snapping turtle breed - Info needed! MONARC23! **PICS ADDED**

[Goat_Walker]

Well my dad brought home a small turtle . It was in the parking lot at his work and he decided it would be a good pet for my sister and I.

Ill post pictures later. But basically what is the habitat for snapping turtles? 75 water, 25% land?
50- 50?

he says it is an alligator snapping turtle - but I have caught a 75 alligator snapping turtle and this little guy is not one. His shell is smeel , not humpy. He is clawedlike all turtles, and his snout is narrower than most.


Monarc23, I know you have a snapping turtle, so I thought id ask your opinion.

This is the temp set up - so I need to take the gravel and lettuce out?

 

[mwdh1]

As soon as you get a picture I may be able to help, I have worked with a few different breeds of snappers.

EDITED BECAUSE I CAN'T SPELL

 

[Epona142]

Post a picture please, and we'll be able to help you out more.

But if it is a snapper, of any type honestly, I don't recommend them as pets. Sure, people can and do keep them, and some people even keep them properly! I have a pal who keeps his snappers in a VERY large cement pond he built for them. We used to keep our rescue snappers in a similar set up with the alligators.

The rule of thumb is at LEAST 10 gallons per inch of shell. Turtles need UV spectrum lighting and calcium supplements as well as a highly varied diet.

If you want more details, just ask. I'm always willing to help out.

 

[mwdh1]

Most snapping turtles just need someplace high enough to get their head out of the water, and will rarely utilize any dry land. My suggestion for a small one would be one of the floating turtle docks you can find at the pet stores, and A GOOD FILTER turtles are very sensetive (sp) to water quality.

 

[jenjscott]

We had an alligator snapper in our drive the other day, weighed about 40 pounds, at least a good 20inch shell, lets see, that'd be about 200 gallon tank. Nope, think I'll let him slide right on over to the creek.

 

[Goat_Walker]

We used to have red eared sliders, so Im used to having and careing for turtles - just not snappers. I had a 70 lb snapper that I kept out in a fenced in area , but he shimmied up the side and got out.

Ill post pictures tonight or tomorrow. They are on my sisters camera and she is being stubborn and wont let me have them.

Right now he is in a 10 gallon tank, he is maybe three inches. I have a thirty gallon tank, but I doubt I will be allowed to set it up till I have all my information. But wont he be fine in a smaller tank? I mean Ive seen most people have small six - nine inch turtles in 10 - 20 gal tanks. he wont be in a tank all day, I have a kiddie pool that i place it so it has one side raised almost like a slide and the other side fills with water, we covered the top with rat wire and used that for our sliders during the day.


As for food - right now in his tank he has lettuce and minnows. No pellets yet as I just got him today. Anything else?

 

[Goat_Walker]

Quote:
I need help with that part. My friend cut a hole in the side of their tank to fit a fish power filter in. But I dont have the equiptment to do that. What could I use as a filter? I dont want anything messy or complex - something simple. I dont want to have to place it under the rock like and UGF.

 

[mwdh1]

Quote:
I need help with that part. My friend cut a hole in the side of their tank to fit a fish power filter in. But I dont have the equiptment to do that. What could I use as a filter? I dont want anything messy or complex - something simple. I dont want to have to place it under the rock like and UGF.

If you are going to keep this turtle:

1. take the lettuce out, it has no nutritional value
2. get a good canister filter (one that sits outside the tank and has a hose that pulls water out of the tank, and another that pumps the water back into the tank.
3. Until you can get a good filter change the water daily with clean, clear, non-chlorinated water. After you get the filter, you still need to change the water every 7-10 days. (turtles are very messy)
4. for a 3 inch carapace turtle, I would reccomend at least a 20 gallon tank with about 6 inches of water in the bottom and a few large rocks it can climb on to get it's head above water. DO NOT PUT SMALL AQUARIUM GRAVEL IN THE TANK, THEY WILL EAT IT AND BECOME IMPACTED a plain glass bottom is better for the health of your turtle.

5. If you do not feel you are prepared for these responsabilities, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE release the turtle back where you found it.

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

I could be wrong, but that doesn't really look like a snapper to me. I'm not too good with turtle species though, so I could be wrong.

I used to catch turtles when I was little and I would keep them for a short time and then release them back where i caught them. I used to feed my turtles these pellets you can buy at the pet store. I did have a baby snapping turtle once, but after reading about them we decided not to take a chance. I was just a kid back then and a full grown snapper can easily do some serious damage to a finger. People do keep them, but just remember snappers are FAST little buggers!

I do second a filter though. Get one that is made for double the size of the tank you have now. Aquatic turtles are extremely messy! A tank without a filter will have to be cleaned almost every day just to maintain suitable water quality for the turtle.

Good luck! Hopefully someone with a little more knowledge will come on and help you out.

 

[Goat_Walker]

Quote:
Lettuce is out. Now what can I feed him till I get a chance to buy pellets?


Is the gravel in the picture too small or is it big enough to stay in?