Reptile & Amphibian Forums

how long does it take for alligator snappers to grow to about 6"?
I have had mine for about 2 months and although I notice some growth I keep wondering the same question.
I live in british columbia and I can only put it outside in the summer. It lives in a 10Gal aquarium with a submerseable heater, filter and a few rocks and plastic plants for cover and a UVB lamp for lighting. I feed it every day and it eats all kinds of fish as well as trout chow and the occasional piece of deer or goose.Gold fish are only given sparingly if at all. Any help would be apprieciated.
thanks in advance

i got mine when it was about an inch and a half. at one yr it was 4 and a half inches shell length. 2 yrs it was 8 inches. ints been 3 yrs and a couple months and although i have yet to measure it, i think its about 10-12 inches in shell length. i too started it off in a 10 gallon. water temp was in the mid to upper 70s. so to answer your question, i think in about 1.5-2 yrs your turtle will be about 6 inches. but thats just going by hwo mine grew. good luck

I totally agree. Those sizes and ages sound pretty consistent with what I've seen in my 6.

With all animals, metabolism and food source will have an impact.
Any animal kept warmer over a period of years will eat more. If there is abundant food available; they will grow faster. Especially live food.

When I used to write articles for tropical fish publications ( I was a breeder on a large scale) We did many studies on growth rates. The things that affected it most were temperature, live food and constant fresh water changes.
Its a lot different with alligator snappers because of their long life span. Some of the fish we studied only live a couple of years tops. Alligator snappers live so much longer, there growth is much more spread out. We have found a relationship to fresh water changes also. Not as drastic as in fish.
The turtles seem to have a better appetite when given clean fresh water on a regular basis.

your correlation with availability of live food is likely do to the predator animal recieving a more balanced diet when getting whole prey. Whole prey has all kinds of substances in it not available in fish fillets (which are only muscle meat) or pellets. The whole animal contains bones, gut contents, and all kinds of differently mixxed protiens and fats, making it a healthier meal for a predator animal.