14 replies to this topic

[Reevak]

So I have a baby snapping turtle and I was wondering how much I should feed it a day. It is only a few inches long. If anyone has any experience with owning common snapping turtles then I would appreciate any advice you can give me. Also, whether the little thing is male or female is still unknown, but I believe it is made due to the length of its tail. 

 

Here is a video of the little snapper (I am holding it in the thumbnail for size comparison)

 

Finally, I wanted to mention that it is still unnamed so leave a suggestion (I'm pretty picky though).

[VoidElecent]

He's so cute! I think you should go with "Spike".

[noebl1]

They are pretty interesting, but can get big, very big and aggressive.  Their jaws are very sharp, and can do serious damage to fingers and such (large ones can take fingers off.)  Their necks are also very long, so can reach just about every spot on their shell backs (big ones you often have to use their tails to move them.)    Not sure they make the great pets for long term. 

Edited by noebl1, May 4 2017 - 5:56 AM.

[T.C.]

Haha, I don't recmoment keeping it, at least not long term. I pulled huge ones out of our ponds because they were eating all the baby ducks. I was using a rake though, they are nothing to mess with once they turn into big daddy turtles.

[Reevak]

I know how dangerous they can be when they get bigger, and I have no intention of keeping it (especially because I don't want my cats to get hurt or worse). It is supposed to snow in a few days and I was worried that it would die so I was going to release it afterward. I just don't want to under- or over-feed it.

[Antsinmycloset]

I don't think overfeeding it will be a problem. I had one for a summer and it was quite content to eat itself silly once every day or two. And, as you probably saw, they really are quite docile for the first couple years.

Information is... sort of conflicted/limited, but if you plan on keeping him for more than a week or so, try to find a way to provide him a basking area. There's at least anecdotal evidence to suggest they need to bask, and mine sure loved to crawl up on his rock to soak up the mid morning sun. Maybe that was more for thermoregulation, being spring and all, but the opportunity was still clearly seized. Providing a basking area without frying the little bugger can be tricky, but vitamin deficiencies are a big deal for any animal. This goes double for hatchlings. I wouldn't want to chance it.

God knows if I did a good job or not caring for it, but it did easily double in size and appeared healthy when I let him go, so hopefully I'm not giving tainted advice.

[gcsnelling]

Tail lifting/carrying snappers is not recommended as it can cause serious spinal injuries to the turtle.

[Serafine]

I'd call him Chompy.

Also these are cute until they reach a size where they can chomp off half your foot with a single bite.

[noebl1]

Tail lifting/carrying snappers is not recommended as it can cause serious spinal injuries to the turtle.

Thank you for the correction on that, definitely a local wives tail that's terribly wrong.

[Cindy]

I have a red-eared slider and I feed a combination of feeder fish and dried shrimp, both from the pet store. I'll also give it some fruit and leafy greens weekly. It has done pretty well on this diet for the last 19 years

[Reevak]

I have a red-eared slider and I feed a combination of feeder fish and dried shrimp, both from the pet store. I'll also give it some fruit and leafy greens weekly. It has done pretty well on this diet for the last 19 years

 

How big is your red-eared slider?

[Cindy]

 

I have a red-eared slider and I feed a combination of feeder fish and dried shrimp, both from the pet store. I'll also give it some fruit and leafy greens weekly. It has done pretty well on this diet for the last 19 years

 

How big is your red-eared slider?

 

 

6.5 inches in length. He hasn't grown much since his 10th birthday and I recently cared enough to find out what gender he is. Long tail and long nails = Male

[Alabama Anter]

Name= Pac Man

[Leo]

well if you handle it from a young age frequently and do not harm it, when it is large it can be pretty tame

[klawfran3]

Name it Nibbles