Juvenile common snapping turtle

[mrgrimm]

Got this little guy (girl?) off Craigslist for cheap. Shell size about that of a large grapefruit. I couldn't help myself on this one after reading the ad so I decided to call and go check out the turtle.

He was being kept in a 55 gallon tank with two sliders that were starting to nip at him. They have bitten off the spikes on this turtle's tail and part of the tip. They wanted the turtle to go to a good home, since they didn't have another tank to put him in to separate them. They didn't know if he was captive bred or wild caught but said their brother had him for a couple years and was living with the sliders the whole time since they were very small.

SO $10 later and I was driving home with a new addition to our family! Put him in the bathtub for a couple days while I set up the pond, and after letting the water settle introduced him to his new home. I have been adding little things here and there to make it as comfortable and home-like as I can.

I am glad I chose the sand, he actually burries himself in it under the water sometimes! He also gets out regularly around the edges, as you can see his little turtle tracks he leaves behind. I smooth the sand every day or so with my hand just to keep an eye of where and how often he is getting out of the water.

I feed him a mixed diet of night crawlers, superworms, goldfish, reptomin, and thawed silversides for now. He is an eating machine. The water temp is between 64F and 70F, and am working on some better lighting.

The pump is a 250 gph, just basic pond pump and filter. It is just barely adequate but will be getting a better system eventually. The fountain part is not running because I need to clean the filter so flow is down a bit :)

I don't have a ton invested in this, got the liner off Craigslist a couple years ago for $75 I think??, used pump stuff from an aquarium shop for around $25, play sand and large river gravel from Lowes for around $25, made the hide thing from some 2x4's and extra carpet I had, the heat lamp is just an old work lamp with 100W bulb (I think), the plants cost about $30 at the aquarium shop, and the big rocks came from the side of the road.

I am open to any suggestions because I am far from an expert, let me know what you think!

I have a vid too but youtube is having difficulty uploading it seems...

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[mrgrimm]

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[that1guy]

Awesome, I love turtles, I have 5 myself. 1 RES, 1 YBS, 1 Cagles Map, 1 Midland painted, and 1 EBT. I've liked snappers though, use to catch them all the time as a kid. I would love to have one but they just get so freaking big. It is cool you have the space to setup a pond for it.

[mrgrimm]

Awesome, I love turtles, I have 5 myself. 1 RES, 1 YBS, 1 Cagles Map, 1 Midland painted, and 1 EBT. I've liked snappers though, use to catch them all the time as a kid. I would love to have one but they just get so freaking big. It is cool you have the space to setup a pond for it.

I have always loved them too! Think I have watched every turtle documentary on youtube - twice lol. Gotta love them map turtles, really neat looking.

Yes the size of the snapper is something that must be considered in years to come. I have free reign in the basement so there is room for an even bigger pond setup in the future!

Outside pond would be ideal, but I need to research hibernation and make sure everything would be OK (mud to burrow, deep enough, has never hibernated before will he know how??)

[mrgrimm]

...Oh by the way I am in KY also, just south of Covington.

[that1guy]

Oh cool, I am from the Ashland area. Yeah, my Cagles Map is the only one of them I bought. The rest are all rescues given to me by people who no longer wanted them. Most people I see getting rid of turtles do it when they get to big, ironically my YBS, RES, and Midland painted were all under 2 inches when I got them.

I wish I had a basement I would turn it into a reptile room. As it is though I am at my limit for space for reptiles.

I know what you mean about an outside pond. I've thought about it myself and about those same questions. Not for my current turtles, they will always be inside turtles, but just in general. I can't have one where I live though anyways because I don't own the land.

[mrgrimm]

Well at least the people were able to find the animals a good home! It's hard to knock someone for needing to responsibly re-home a creature, never know what life has handed them and I think most people find it a difficult decision and a last resort. But seriously people need to realize that things do GROW UP and will require additional space and care for many years.

Maybe one day you will be blessed enough to have some more space to call home :)

My wife and I spent almost $70,000 over a 7-8 year period renting before we were finally able to buy our own home. It really almost made me sick to think about it any longer so I decided buying a place was a must.