Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok I have read a lot about these guys and I am ready to get one, but I haven't seen much information on the enclosure set-ups. I understand they should have 8-10 inches of water filtered and heated and have hide spots but my question is this. Do you put gravel at the bottom of the tank or anykind of substrate under the water? Also I understand I should have rocks for him to get out of the water if he wants. How much percentage of land vs. water should I have? Thanks in advance!

Check out all the back-posts. You'll find lots of good stuff.

Water depth is going to depend on how big your turtle is.
Some people use bottom substrate. I don't. These guys can be dirty and its just easier to clean for me not to have anything on the bottom.

I can change water a lot easier .
E-mail if you have anymore questions
Good luck

Forgot...
These guys really don't bask.
No need for a dry spot really.
I have a couple rocks that stick out just for looks. One of mine did bask the one time it got sick, but in general, they aren't going to get out of the water.
They do feel most comfortable if you give them stuff to get under and hide.
They don't like bright light.
I have some light pieces of driftwood in with my small guys, and thats always where you'll find them.
Its also light enough that they can shove it around and not get caught under it.
They are very strong for their size. Even the little ones.
Little bull-dozers

The depth of the water does depend on the size of the turlte. Make sure that your turtle can reach its head out of the water while still being able to stay sitting on the bottom of the tank. That is the proper height. As it grows, you can start adding water height.

I have a common snapper and I do use gravel and provide him with a basking area. He really enjoys digging and burying himself in the gravel. I think it helps him feel protected and gives him something to do. His basking area is made consists of three rocks. 2 wide ones and one thin, long rock. I put the two wide at the bottom of the tank and the skinny one spanning across the top of them, creating a bridge. I would estimate my snapper spends about 50% of the day time basking on the rock. And most of the remaining time sitting underneath the bridge. The rock setup really works well.

I have heard of snappers basking constantly and some not at all. It is something that you will have to experiment with. Definitely have the majority of the tank comprised of water and just one bask area.

A heater is not a must. As long as the water stay around room temperature it is fine. Snappers are very hardy turtles and cooler waters do not have an effect on them.

Hope this helps.
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Mike
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2 Painted
1 Musk
1 Common Snapper
1 Cooter
1 Map
1 RES
1 Corn Snake
1.1 Water Dragons
2 African Frogs
1 Toad
1.0 Degu
1.2 Chihuahuas
0.1 Cat

I have a very light layer of smooth edged river pebbles (you can buy them at Wal-mart) on the bottom of Charlie and Hannibals tank. On top of that, I have alot of fake leaves which they absolutely love (and never try to eat). I bought the fake vines at wally world and pulled the leaves off the vine. This way they don't get tangled up in the vine and they love to bull-doze the leaves all over the tank. they hide in them, play on them, etc. It also makes the tank look alot more natural.

Just a thought,
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"People who don't like animals are the true freaks",
Jasmine Davies

0.1 White German Shepard (Fugi)
0.1 Rott/Dobe rescue (Angel)
1.0 Chi/Cairn rescue (Puck Oberon Thisbe)
1.0 Formerly Feral DSH (Ajax)
0.1 Forever Feral DSH (Chainsaw Manny)
0.1 Evil/Psychotic Ferret (Kakiri)
0.0.2 Hatchling Common Snappers (Hannibal & Charles Manson)
0.2 African Clawed Frogs (Annabelle & Clarabelle)
0.0.3 Dwarf ACF's (Winkin, Blinkin, & Nod)
0.0.1 Crayfish (Tank)

I keep about 4-5 inches of water for my hatchlings and more for yearlings. A lot of people say the water should not be any deeper than what it can do to reach the surfact with its neck outstretched. This is only true if you dont have rocks and plants in the tank. I have a few rock caves and other rocks scattered throughout my 40g breeder tank and fake plants are also very beneficial because hatchlings are small enough so all they have to do is grab on to them and just float at the top with the fake plants. They really seem to enjoy this and they have no problem getting to the surface this way. Also, for ally snappers you want the water temp to between 80-82. I keep mine around 82 at all times. Contrary to what many people think, these guys will bask. Some do, some dont. Mine like to bask every now and then so just have something that they can climb on to get completely out of the water. I have full spectrum UVB for them. It may not be a must but it is good for them if they want it. I use gravel but it is not the real small gravel but a little bigger than you normall see used for fish tanks. This prevents the little guys from accidenty swallowing them when feeding. Which i have seen happen, evident within the poop one of mine dropped. I hope this helps.

Thanks,
Dallas Quarles