Reptile & Amphibian Forums

What to feed hatchling common snapping turtles?

I have 2 of these at the moment. I saved them from being run over in the roads around my hometown (I live near the confluence of 3 wildlife refuges, so there are lots of ponds and lots of turtles here).

True ÒhatchlingsÓ (i.e. just out of the nest by only a few days and identified as hatchlings by still having their egg tooth) donÕt really eat much. They are still living off food carried over from their egg.

I always place mine in a deep (to prevent the turtles from escaping), straight-sided, light-colored plastic bowl, with just enough water to come to the tops of their shells (a CoolWhip container works fine). Every morning I rinse out their bowl with fresh water, then put in 2 ReptoMin floating food sticks that have been pre-softened in a separate cup of water for about 5 minutes. The food needs this pre-softening so the tiny mouths of the turtles can bite it. It often takes a few days... even a week or more... for the turtles to get hungry enough to start looking around for new things to eat, so, even if they havenÕt fed on the food at all the previous day, I throw out the old food when I clean their dish and give them new food. Then, one day, youÕll notice that, not long after you put in the food, there is a tiny crescent-shaped bite mark in one of the ReptoMin sticks. Now you are on your way. (YouÕll also notice that the baby turtles are quite active and the food thatÕs not eaten gets trampled on and smashed during the course of the day. If this mess bothers you, feel free to rinse out the bowl more often.)

ReptoMin is an excellent choice for aquatic turtles. Though there are other brands that are cheaper, IÕve never found another food that aquatic turtles like as well as ReptoMin. As the turtles grow, add more food sticks, enough that it takes them 15 to 30 minutes for the turtles to eat it all. When their mouths are big enough, you can add tiny live (or dead) fish, or mealworms, to their container, and eventually move them into an aquarium.

Getting them started eating is the biggest challenge in keeping hatchling turtles of any kind, but, once you get them going, common snapping turtles are one of the easiest turtles to keep.

i would not recommend using reptomin for any aquatic turtles because it does not contain any vit D3. this is essential for absorbtion of calcium. without these and uvb lighting turtles will develop softshell. i use hagen's nutrifin max turtle gammarus pellets. they are a complete diet and small enough for even hatchling sliders and painteds, which are smaller than snapper hatchlings, to eat without problems. when i got baby snappers they didnt have an egg tooth. i put them in a 10 gallon with water about as deep as the length of their carapace. i just started giving them pellets and they took them fine. the way the previous poster described sounds more like when they refuse to eat at first. a cool whip container isnt exactly the least stressful place for them, and stress can lead to refusal to eat. thats why i start with a 10g. i also wouldnt feed live food because they can introduce parasites, bacteria, viruses, and many other sicknesses. the food i mentioned gives a full diet without the risk of introducing who knows what. if you use a different food just chack that it has a source of calcium and a source of vitamin D3.

thanks for your help!!!!....Where food I find this brand of turtle food?

If UVB lighting is used then no D3 supplementation is necessary.

Live food is also very stimulating, and adds a balance and variety to whatever staple food you choose. I definately agree that prey items should not be wild-caught, but disagree that they should be avoided altogether.

Ian

if ADEQUATE uvb light is provided vitD3 shouldnt be necessary. however i have read in magazines and other published pieces that most 'full spectrum' lights may have some uv, but it is almost always in the wrong part of the spectrum or not intense enough to truly simulate the necessary uvb. i have heard of more vitD3 deficiencies than overdoses so i think it may hurt more to not give any than hope they are getting enough and give extra, especially since almost all turtle foods have it as an ingredient, i dont give it as a powder, i just give foods that contain it. as far as feeding you are right, but i like to be extra careful. i dont want to have to deal with even the possibility of infection or disease, and so far i have been able to give them complete diets this way. but thats me and i understand and dont oppose your methods. the best way to feed live fish is to keep them in a seperate ten gallon or so tank with a filter for at least a week. this allows observation for disease, preventative medication if desired but be careful because they may build up to deadly levels in the turtle, and feed the fish to boost their nutritional value because almost no stores feed their feeder fish, and whatever is or isnt in the fish is what goes in the turtle.

While we have slightly different opinions and methods, I think we do agree. Two things I'd like to add...

1)Vitamin D3 overdosing is not a problem. Calcium overdosing is; albeit deficiencies are more common, a new growing problem is people overdoing things. If the herp can regulate it's own Calcium intake via producing it's own D3 then there is no worry of an overdosage. Feeding foods that contain natural D3 need not worry either. As for light, you can't beat the sun. For bulbs, I feel safer with the newer, more advanced products, and am a big fan of trying the mercury vapor bulbs. If in doubt, you can always get a light meter.

2)If feeder animals need medication of any kind; discard them instead of feeding them. Gut-loading goes without saying

Ian

gut loading SHOULD go without saying, but out of over 4 years of working in pet shops i cant remember anyone saying they dont just throw the feeders into the the tank of whatever it is that they are feeding. i just got the zoomed powersun mercury vapor bulb for my water turtles. it is great so far and i will keep people posted on whether or not is it worth the money. what do you mean by foods with natural vitD3? what would be an unnatural form? i know D-activated animal sterol and cholecalciferol are forms of Vit D3. are there others or are one of these natural and the other not? are you saying that if there is D3 in the diet from a natural source you can give as much as you want without worry of overdosing on calcium?

I think reptomin is an excellent choice for hatchling turtles. I usually feed mine in a small container before I go to work and then clean them out when I get home and put them back in their larger container. If you alternate feeding reptomin, chopped baitstore minnows and worms your turtle will grow fast. I have several musks and snappers and the growth is amazing feeding them that regime every 2 to 3 days.

They take fish, try small guppies. You can supplement with reptomin sticks or a commercial diet. I have even raised them on koi pellets. But again, their natural prey consist of mostly fish and nothing will put size on them faster.

Here is what I fed my hatchling (which was with me for 10 years before I donated her to a nature center).

- Small insects
- Chopped fish
- Cooked chicken

Eventually she was able to take Zoomeds aquatic turtle pellets. In the wild, juveniles hang out on shores of lakes and rivers, hiding within the muck and leaves. From my personal experience, they feed heavily on aquatic insects and other small invertebrates as wild juveniles. Duplicating a natural diet worked wonders for me. I have been keeping snappers since 1989. Good luck with your turtles!

Hello,

I am fairly new to the turtle world. I came across this site from an article in a magazine I got at Petgoods yesterday. I recently got 3 red eared slider turtles. They are 6-9 weeks old. I've had them now for a week. We set up an aquarium with filter, heater, lights, sunning dock. My biggest problem is getting them to eat!

I read your post and it says it takes a while etc. I have hatchling food by Zoomed and I bought the baby reptomin sticks. I also bought blood worms. All they will eat are the blood worms. I find it's very frustrating not having them eat.

I also noticed that the shell of one is softish. That is not good I know. Do you know of a vitamin I could give with an eye dropper? I was at 2 pet stores and couldn't find any type of vitamin that didn't have to be dusted on food. I know they need calcium and Vitamin D3 but being new am not familiar with the resources available other than the local pet stores. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I would suspect snapping turles are similar to the slidders?

Thanks.

Joann

I say that petco and some reptile specializing stores carry calcium, d3, and other vitamin supplements. I found that zoomed carries water conditioners, some that are enhanced with vitamins. Pour a little in thier water and they shold ingest it.