Jumat, 31 Juli 2009
i found a baby snapping turtle. what do i feed him,what do i keep him in,?
Answers:
First of all, wild caught reptiles nearly always carry parasites and diseases which will flourish and even kill the animal quickly in captivity. It's a wild animal and will do much better if kept that way.
Second, snapping turtles in general do not make good pets. Even captive bred individuals need specialized care, and generally must have an experienced handler dealing with them. They are very aggressive and won't hesitate to bite if aggravated. As this baby grows, it could literally inflict serious injury on you, or someone else.
Snappers absolutely do not make good pets. They are rather too much to handle, and if this is your first turtle, please don't keep it. Release the youngster where you found it. Wild snappers are no fun to deal with, not to mention the fact that a wild turtle can carry quite a large load of parasites.
Snappers grow very fast, and get extremely large. They are also rather nasty-tempered, and dealing with an adult is quite a challenge. They are ornery, aggressive, and have a lightning-fast strike. They are truly powerful turtles, and need to be treated with a great deal of caution. If you don't know what you're doing, a large adult snapper is entirely capable of taking off some of your fingers! They are totaly unsuitable captives for a novice.
There are two species in the U.S., the Common Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina) and the Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macroclemys temminckii) . The common snappers will easily grow to 13" long, and 20lbs in weight in captivity. Larger and older 40-60 lb giants are not uncommon.
let him out. dont hold wild animals captive. its not only cruel but unsafe. they arent pets.
There are 2 possible outcomes if you keep him.
1. he will quickly die because he is a wild animal.
2. he will do well and one day bite the end of your finger off. (they aint called snapping for nothing.)
Find a good swampy river or lake and LET HIM GO!
it depends on the size.a baby could mean 1/2in. to 4in..
a baby snapper needs fish. baby gold fish.there called feeder fish. You can go to any pet store and ask for feeder fish. Get tiny tiny tiny fish about 5- 10 of them. Always keep food in the tank.
You'll need a big tank about 50+ gallons fill the tank about half way full so he can swim around. He needs a floating, flat wood branch from any pet store. A flat temperture thingy to tell you the temputure.(that sticks to the side of the tank were you can see it clearly) the water needs to be about 70-75 degrees also get a filter. something small to get the water flowing and keep the temp accurate.ie..the water should be about the same temp as ponds!!
When its shell gets to be about 4-5 inches you can feed him baby mice.then mice when it gets bigger.it needs a cover for the tank and a fitted light that runs the length of the tank.
Feed him mostly fish.and the mice as a delicasey.. two of them about once a week(the same day, just drop them in the water theyll swim to the log.if the fish and mice are too big then hell just rip them up to eat them) Make sure you hold him alot so he gets used to you.take him out of the water and watch him crawl on your floor for about a half hour everyday. there awesome pets now but, when he gets bigger hell beable to bite your finger from the back of its shell.then youll have to let him go back into the wild were you found him, or some quite pond somewhere. There fresh water turtles.remember that. Dont put salt in the water.
Change his water about every week to week and a half.
they are very easy pets to take care of just make sure theres plenty of food..but not too much cause then hell kill them . there territorial. ok good luck write me back if you have any other ??'s
O and I forgot ALWAYS WASH YOUR HANDS AFTER HANDLEING AND REPTILE. DONT TOUCH YOUR FACEOR YOU CAN GET SALMINILLA POISONING..
feed him your finger and keep him in a pond
Hello
You did not find him,,he knew where he was going and was not lost. You caught him.
Let him go. You dont keep him.
Snapping turtles do NOT make good pets. Turltes found in the wild often carry salmonella also.. not a good thing
I would take him to a local lake or pond and release him,..he will be fine on his own.
It is important you do this ASAP if you live in a cooler area as he needs to get acclimated for winter..
It is also illegal to capture and keep ANY wildlife in all 50 states in the USA.
Really. if you want a turtle I suggest an eastern Box turtle from a pet shop. much better pick..
IF you insist on keeping this.. I suggest you call a rehabber or sanctuary on what to feed it.
Also please know that turtles are on thier own as soon as they hatch.. I know this guy may seem tiny and helpless but he is not at all.. and in fact as he grows he will happily bite off your fingers.
He is VERY able to live well on his own right now.. it would be best to let him go again by a pond or lake.
Good Luck
Wismom
if its a baby snapping turtle let it go but not on the lake i live near by they always steal my fishing baits.maybe keeep it in a big pool until it gets older then cook him.just dont let him lose in the lake i live by
keep him in atleast a 5 gallon tank and feed him feeder fishes
get a fish take make sure there is no water like full water but water to drink and carrots.
worms, minnows, strips of raw chicken
he would need to be in something that will hold water
and he should have some way to crawl out of the
water if he wants to
Please take him to the closest body of water near where you found him and let him go before it gets acclimated to being feed by a you. the turtle will be much happier in the wild.
I caught two soft shelled turtles while fishing last week and had to let both of them go. They wouldn't have been happy in a tank or small backyard pond. I also have a turtle I rescued from someone who thought they would keep it and it was starving so they gave him to me since I have lots of animals. It cannot be let loose now but I do the best I can to replicate its desired environment. The vet said returning it to the wild this late in the game would endanger other wildlife with bacterial issues.
I have to agree with the others who know what they are talking about. Put him back! Snappers are extemely dangerous.
Please don't listen to people who say keep him in a 5 gal aquarium, or ones that say, he doesn't need a tank with water, only drinking water. Snappers are water turtles! Yes they come out on land, to mate, nest, bask, and such, but they need water to swim in too! And not just regular tap water! It's needs a conditioner! What are you keeping him in now?
if you have a 10, 20 gallon tank. fill it about 2 - 2.5 inches up with water. put a rock or 2 in there that breaks the surface of the water. make sure he can submurge his body but with him still touching the bottom, he can reach his neck up and breathe. keep the tank inside. feed him trout worms or just dig in the garden. see what you find. dangle it infront of him still holding it. he should snap at it and he wont bite YOU. theyre normally very friendly. well atleast mine is. convinence stores sell trout worms by the 24 usually or crawlers by the 12. good luck.. email me if you have any problems
Bottom line, they make BAD pets, let the poor thing go. They become VERY expensive to house properly, they get huge (if you can keep it alive that long) and potentially VERY dangerous. Also, depending on the species, it may be illegal to keep where you live. Do yourself and it a favor and let it go now before the weather gets any colder.
you need to put him in a fish tank with water and a big rock and to feed you you should go get it some turtle pebbles.
feed it dog food (let it set in water so it gets mushy). keep it in a good size tote with some dirt in it and alot of water but make sure the turtle has a place to get out of the water. if you have other pets than you should keep it up on a table or somewhere else where the pet can't get to.
Hello,
for one it is up to you if you really want to keep it and you should decide not anyone else. Also any questions you may have you can contact me on my group. I run a turtle rescue and I'm willing to help you with anything that you have questions on. Also you shouldn't feed them fish all the time because it will make them aggressive. You can go to the pet store and get turtle food for them and it will have all the right things in the food so that it will stay healthy.
If you keep it, get advice that is accurate- a lot of the other answers here are not. Try http://www.chelydra.org for good info.
Please consider releasing it. Bottom line, if I may be blunt, if you don't know what you are doing, you have no business trying to keep an animal that requires rather specialized care. People who try to keep pets under these kinds of conditions tend to kill the poor things.
turn it lose they make bad pets
Snapping turtles are omnivorous. In the wild, snappers will eat small mammals, birds, other reptiles including smaller turtles, amphibians, fish, crayfish, crabs, clams, snails, earthworms, leeches, insects, carrion, and many kinds of plants like Elodea, Polygonum, Nuphar, Nymphaeca, and Typha (Ernst and Barbour). In captivity, snappers will eat just about anything, but you will want to give them a varied and healthy diet from the following list:
Aquatic Turtle Foods - Buy the floating turtle pellets like Reptomin and not fish foods.Turtle pellets make a good staple and should be offered regularly.
Live Foods - Night crawlers, meal worms, crayfish, crickets, and minnows are a few choices. You have to be careful, though. Don't buy night crawlers grown in animal wastes or bait shop minnows that have been raised in chemically-treated water. Don't get worms, slugs, or insects from fertilized lawns or roadside ditches. Goldfish may carry bacteria and snails may have parasites like flukes that can kill your snapper.
"People" Meats - Never give your snapper fatty or raw meats. Always cook chicken which can carry salmonella. Feed only as an occasional treat.Plant Produce - This is a good way to get some vitamins into your snapper. The author's snapper loves chunks of microwaved sweet potato and butternut squash which are loaded with carotenoids, collards with some calcium, and strawberries with Vitamin C. Float some red-leafed lettuce in your snapper's tank and watch it disappear. Wash all produce thoroughly before giving them to your friend.
Supplements - You won't need to give your snapper vitamins if you are providing a balanced diet, but offering pieces of cuttlebone as a calcium supplement is recommended. Chip the soft front of the cuttlebone into the tank and throw away the hard backing. Discard any uneaten pieces with each water change or sooner if they start to smell.
Feed your snapper in a separate tub to keep your tank clean longer. The water temperature in the tub should be about the same as in the tank or just a bit warmer. Turtles often defecate within an hour of being fed, so wait awhile before returning the snapper to its tank. Feed hatchlings once or twice a day. Small bits of earthworm have often been successful in enticing them to eat. Wave the worm piece in front of them with a toothpick. Larger snappers can be fed three times a week. If your snapper appears to be bulging out of its shell, cut back on its food. If its skin looks loose and baggy, feed it more. You will find an even keel through trial and error.
I agree with the person above me. This turtle was not "found".he was caught. He knew what he was doing.he knew where he was going. YOU were the one that was in his way, not him.
I suggest that you find the closest pond/river near where you found him and release him. He is a wild animal and nature would like to have him back please.
If that isn't enough advice to steer you into releasing him, please remember this: Large snapping turtles have a bite strength of about 1,000 pounds per square inch, compared to the human's bite strength of about 120 pounds per square inch. Translated: If the turtle got angry enough at you one day, he would gladly take one (or more) of your fingers clean off.
Snapping turtles are a very commen turtle pet but yes you could get a huge fine so remove it asap please. They need 10 gallons per inch of turtle so please release it!
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