Common Snappers

BoidsUnlimited · 09-07-05, 09:59 AM

Hey everyone. I was at camp this labor day weekend and some of the local kids found this little guy. They had been messing around with him the whole weekend and he wasn't looking too great, so I brought him home. Right now he is in a 10 gallon with about 4 - 5 inches of water and two rocks protruding from the water so he can bask. The temperature of the water is about 75 and I am picking up a UV bulb for him today, along with some food. He seems alot more active now than this weekend. I'm not sure if I'm going to keep him as they get quite large from what I read, but I figured I'd give him a nice home for awhile and see how it goes.

Removed_2815 · 09-07-05, 02:43 PM

Now that you've taken him from the wild and exposed him to captive conditions and possible foreign pathogens, the only responsible option you have is to keep him. You cannot temporarily remove an animal from the wild unless under strict quarantine; you decided that turtle's fate the moment you gave him his "nice home"... I understand your heart was in the right place but releasing him is strongly inadvisable.

BoidsUnlimited · 09-07-05, 03:57 PM

I see...I understand what your talking about. Although it wasn't I. Like I said, local kids at my camp grounds caught it Saturday and had him in a tank until Monday. In this case I wil definatley just stick with him. He is tiny, and has awhile to grow so by the time he's large I can afford a 200 gallon for him.

Any advice for this guy though? I got turtle food but he isnt interested at all. Tomorrow I'm getting him some feeder fish, crickets, and bloodworms.

Thanks

Cloudkicker · 09-07-05, 06:17 PM

Heres a link to their general care in captivity: http://www.chelonia.org/Articles/chelydracare.htm
This is a great site for caresheets on almost any species you can come up with...
Hope this helps,
-Andrew-

thunder · 09-07-05, 09:50 PM

My snappers ate commercial turtle food, floating fish pellets (made of fish, not for fish), live and dead fish of any kind, mice and young rats, small pieces of lean meat or chicken breast, earthworms and various insects, and crayfish (they really like these). I also use calcium and vitamin C supplements. Sometimes they were willing to eat some water plants such as parrot feathers or duckweed. When he is a little guy you can feed him fairly often, but as he gets bigger you should cut back on the feeding because they will eat as much as you give them, and it isn't good to overfeed any animal. The water should be about as deep as the turtle is long, with a basking rock (temp about 90 F). I don't use filters, so I change the water very often. It's really important to keep the water clean. One way to keep it more clean is to feed them off of tongs instead of just dropping food in there, because uneaten food is a major bacteria haven. The two that I raised from babies have become docile. They never open their mouths at you and don't mind being picked up. My other snapper came to me as a subadult and does not like being handled, so I have to be really careful with him. Yours looks young enough to aclimate, which is important, because a large snapper can be very dangerous, especially to the unexperienced. The good news is that it'll take him several years to get big, so you have plenty of time to get him used to you. Snappers are generally very hardy. If you keep him outside in the warm part of the year, make sure he is very well protected from raccoons and possums. Also, he will grow algae on his shell that you should clean off with a sponge. I can't think of anything else right now, but feel free to pm me with any questions.

HerperHelmz · 09-11-05, 02:01 PM

He'll eat anything.

thunder · 09-11-05, 08:16 PM

It's true that they'll eat anything, which works against them in captivity because they have specific dietary needs, and folks feed them just any old thing, like cheese and dogfood.

snappa · 12-04-05, 10:28 PM

hey heard bout you r new find.I hope you have a good passion for these turtles because they get large and will take up alot of time and room when they get big.When its little water changes are easy, but when it gets big you'll have to have a bigger setup which means more water and alot moree difficulty changing.I recommend having a filtration system whenever possible, especially when it gets bigger.These turtles can handle dirty water(not rcommended though)but it can't become stagnant, meaning it should have some sort of flow.This can be created by a filter or at minimum an air bubbler that blows air into the water.

You should keep the water temp. between 68-80.Snappers like to feed around 70 -75.A basking spot should be availeable because even though its not to often, they do come out to bask once in awhile.Basking spot can be from 85-88degrees fahrenheit.

Water depth should be the lenght of the turtle or less.If the water is too deep(especially for young ones)they can panic and use up too much energy trying to fight to stay at the surface.If you want the water to be deep then make sure you have plenty of rocks or other things for them to hold and cling on to ,to get to the surface and to stay there.To have the water this deep isn't nesessary.

You can feed your snapper turtle pellets that float such as Reptomin.Mine eat this readily.Pieces of raw beef and chicken can also be offered.They will also take mealworms,crickets ,earthworms,small minnows, and pinky mice as well.Variety is important as with any reptile.

Unlike alligator snappers these common snappers grow fast with aproper diet and your little baby could be 7 -8 inches by its 2nd year.

Make sure it has a hiding place as well so it can feel at ease.This may help it feed better as well because they ar e sometimes quite shy when young.

this turtle like all other turtles has a long life expectancy at least 40 years (estimate)

I think these turtles are the best and are so fascinating and fun to watch.They are so ancient looking and i love them to death.I hope you can appreciate this little guy and I'm sure you'll do just fine with him.I'm always willing to lend advice and what i've learn't and if you have any other concerns I will do my best to help you to take the best possible care of you r new little "SNAPPA".

Good luck to you