Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello all,
First of all question;
Can three baby snapping turtles fit into a ten gal nicely in a nice natural setup?

I was told that one baby snapper should be kept in a 50 gallon! I think thats baloney!

Second of all,
Being that I'm going to have a natural tank, I may decide to put one of those pleco things in. "Oh they may eat him," if they do I'll be over joyced lol!

I will also put some snails in once again, if they eat them, YAHOO!!

herpfood

If it is an absolute must I would only put one snapper in a 10 gal for a little bit.(2-3)monthes or atleast until I got a bigger tank.Me I started off w/ a 20 gal at first and now I have a 50 gal for my one common right now.A 50 gal would be good because the small guys will want to move around.Example:How would you like to be placed in a 12 square foot area with 2 other people to compete with?I am assuming you wouldnt like it.If you can not provide enough space and put those turtles on the top of your responsibility list then maybe snappers arent a pet for you.These turtles grow fast.Real fast!

Here are some things to keep in mind:Things you need!

Tank(when full grown they'll need atleast a 300gal stock tank)
Heating
Food
Filter
Space you have
Time you have to take care of them
Money Is most important!!!!!!!

There's no way tha a ten gallon is enough room for more than one hatchling. A ten isn't really good for much anywa as its very hard to keep a thermal gradient in such a small space. A 50 is a decent size for the three or four hatchlings. You could safely keep three in a thirty long though i think.

Also careful with plecos.
Firstly they are not from the same part of the owrld as snapper so who knows what foreign orgainism they may be harboring that may adversely affect the turtle

Secondly they make big poo..they are messy fish and usually make more dirt than they seem to consume (never and answer to a dirty tank)!

Third they grow fast and get huge. A two inch pleco if properly fed will be 8 - 10 inches long inside of a year.

Fourthly, There is at least one instance of a pleco decapitating a turtle and another in which a pleco attached it self to the "face" oif a larger turtle and did some damage to its eyes.

Lastly, its usually ther other way around. As you suggested, the turtle may eat the pleco (again see the first remark)