From a previous post:
"Snappers and other aquatic turtles can't eat out of water b/c their tongues are "fixed" to their bottom jaws. They have to have water to help them swallow food."
I have seen statements like this in the literature as well.
Obviously, my snapper cant read.
I have a half-grown common snapper that I exhibit at public events like fairs and festivals, along with the rest of my herp exhibit. He is exhibited in a commercial "puppy corral" set up on a lawn. Also in the corral along with him, are an assortment of medium sized tortoises-redfoots, hermanns, greeks, and eastern box turtles. All day long people walk by and throw fair food at the chelonians-pizza, hot dogs, plates of potato salad etc,. Of course the tortoises and boxies chow down on this ravenously and beg for more, to the amusement of the spectators. At first the snapper ignored the food. But eventually he adapted to the situation and would approach it and try to eat offerings if it was something meaty like hot dogs or hamburgers. He would bite pieces off and try to swallow with his neck extended horizontally. You could see his throat filling up with pieces of food but he was unable to get it past the thoracic inlet. Eventually he raised his head and neck vertically with his mouth agape, seemingly in an attempt to breath. With his head extended upward, the force of gravity seemed to help him swallow the food and he was eventually able to succeed with this technique. You could see the peristaltic contractions of his throat moving the food bolus down. While it was laborious for him, eventually he was able to do it, and in successive years and after many other events, he eventually got efficient at eating out of water by learning raise his head to swallow every bite, instead of stuffing his neck and having to work a big bolus of food through the thoracic inlet. Eventually his feeding became indiscriminite and he would swallow carrot and celery sticks, and eat other vegetables and fruits like the tortoises. I am just posting this to show that where there is a will, obviously there is a way. It may also be that the belief that turtles cannot feed out of water may merely be a misconception derived from lack of observations to the contrary. Clearly, it is not their preferred way of feeding and they are vulnerable and more wary out of water. In the presence of human observers, turtles may be too stressed out to make a determined attempt to feed. However, once they get used to a situation like that, they may eventually get comfortable enough to make the attempt.
This is not to be construed as a recommendation to keep snappers in a terrestrial environment or to feed them junk food.
Ed Stone, WI Herp. Society
WI Herp. Society
