Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey i just found a baby snapping turtle today and am going to keep it i got a 10 gallon aquarium for it. he is about the size of a half dollar. i just need a little bit of starting info on what i need to feed him and such. i was also wonder what a good setup would be for him in the aquarium like water and rock or what. if anyone could give me some help from personal experience on what they did for there little guy at that size that would be awesome . thanks alot Drew

I found a baby snapper this year too. I started him out in a 55 gallong tank full to the top, with a 10" canopy hood. I have large driftwood, and lots of aquatic plants for him to play around in. He started catching his own fish after about 3 weeks. He has more than doubled in size in the past month. I just finished the stand for the 120 gallon ill be getting in a couple of weeks. A 55 really is way too small for a snapping turtle. I figure the 120 will do for at least a year, then Ill be moving up to a stock tank.
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I think the 10 gallon is a good size for a baby snapper. I have my hatchling ally in a 10 with a couple pieces of driftwood and fake plants. I have the tank filled half way with water and the driftwood just touches the top. For filtration I have one bubble up filter in the corner and I do water changes every 2 weeks. As far as food, I give my hatchling ally and big common Bowser basically the same foods, just different sized portions. I feed turtle sticks, cichlid sticks, veggie pellets, feeder guppies and minnows, crickets, mealworms, wax worms, earthworms, frozen krill,prawn,and silversides, pieces of fruits,veggies,and greens, chicken breast, aqaurium plants, and I keep sun fish and some other fish I can catch locally in my stock tank with Bowser.

I would agree, a 10 gallon will be fine for a couple of weeks. I have a friend who raises snappers anually and this is what he starts them in. You need flourescent full spectrum lighting of course, but don't worry about heating the water, despite what you may hear they really don't care. Many plants should be provided for hiding, and just a small log or rock for them to come out of the water a little bit. Feed them live prey, small feeder fish or chopped crawfish. Commercial food is OK for babies. You will soon need a large aquarium...55 gallons is good size, once the turtle has a 3" carapace, that will be SOON. They grow superfast when this small. They simply won't grow in a small aquarium. If you can't provide a very large enclosure then just let the little guy go. I would reccomend going to www.chelydra.org . This is a site dedicated to snapping turtles. Seriously, check it out.