My baby common snapper has a soft shell. I have read that babies usually have softer shells. He is eating meal worms and earth worms so i think he is getting enough calcium. I recently added a UVB light. Any suggestions?
thanks.
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Soft shell....?
danbob987
Dec 13, 2006 01:21 PM
Replies (1)
Tektum
Dec 13, 2006 08:48 PM
How small is the Snapping turtle? The best thing you can do is feed it a more diverse diet. The UVB light is really pointless unless your trying to grow algae. Snappers rarely bask and the UVB rays don't penetrate the turtles water deep enough to make a difference.
Your snapping turtle should be eating whole vertebrates (whole fish, whole mice (pinks for babies) they need Calcium to grow properly. Calcium is pretty much absent in the invertebrates you are currently feeding it, they have a shell of Keratin. Changing your turtles diet will dramatically change the condition it is in.
In addition, you can also get soft shelled clams at the suprmarket (or collect them yourself if you are near the ocean) feed them to the turtle shell and all. Hope this helps you out, Leo
Skin & Scales
