Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My husband found this "snapping turtle" and wanted to keep it as a pet.

I took a look at him and his shell isn't right and he's rather docile. After searching on the internet, I would guess that he's a mud turtle, but I can't say with any certainty which species he is.

I live in East Texas. This turtle's shell is approximately 2.5-3 inches in length.

If this turtle is a mud turtle or some other semi-aquatic turtle, would it be possible to determine his age from his size? Also, can these turtles be successfully kept in captivity? My husband would really like to keep him.

Yes that is a mud turtle for sure, a very pretty one too.
I'm going to have to leave it to Mayday to say exactly what type..
My guess based on where you live is Mississippi mud.

I'm not big on taking wild animals out of the wild and keeping them for pets but.. I have box turtles from the wild who because of various problems couldn't be released back to the wild.
My own yellow mud was a hatchling when I got him. I know he came from the wild but I didn't take him from there.. it's just that by the time he made it into my hands I didn't know where he could be released around here.

They can make nice pets but you have to spend the money to get the right set up for them, foods, lighting etc. That's not hard to do as long as you are willing to do it.
Let us know what you decide!
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PHRatz

I would agree with PHratz--a Mississippi Mud. Here's a link with some care guidlines.

http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/cs-mismud.htm

Thanks.

Yep, a male Mississippi mud turtle. They are very easy to keep and make great pets. Do your homework.
What was he doing when you found him?

This little guy was heading over to the neighbor's pond (he was in our yard). However, our neighbor kills turtles on a regular basis since he's convinced that too many turtles will kill off all his fish.

He's missing his hind foot, apparently he had been in trouble once before.

We'll be getting supplies for him ASAP.

By the way, how'd you know he was male? I just guessed he was male by comparing pictures of cloaca arrangements on the internet to the turtle.

The long tail was a giveaway that your little muddy is a male.
Interesting about him heading for the neighbor's pond, but too bad that guy is so ignorant.
I missed the stumped rear leg though. Look at the bright side, now you have a nice humanitarian excuse to care for him!
But actually, I've seen many mud turtles with missing eyes or limbs and they are incredibly tough for their size.
Plus, think of the cool names (Capt. Ahab, Tripod, Stumpy, etc.) you could give him.
OK, that last bit was a joke. Please don't give him any of those cliche names.

>>This little guy was heading over to the neighbor's pond (he was in our yard). However, our neighbor kills turtles on a regular basis since he's convinced that too many turtles will kill off all his fish.
>>
>>He's missing his hind foot, apparently he had been in trouble once before.
>>

There ya go! If I were in your shoes I'd be keeping him too.
That's an extremely valid reason to keep him as a pet.
I hope everything works out for you.

Let me tell you something that happened with ours in 1998.. he got sick all of a sudden, turned out to be a gouty type of condition he was treated & cured but my vet & all the vets she consulted said then that he must eat very little commercially made food. He should be eating a wide variety of live foods that he'd be eating if he were in the wild.
That's how I got into raising my own bugs. He loves, absolutely LOVES mealworms and lobster roaches. Live fish too..
I feed him a big variety of all sorts of worms, crickets.. I do have to buy some of these foods at the pet store but heck they're small it's not that hard to keep a supply of different bugs.
Since yours is from the wild.. I just wanted you to know about this.
Good luck with him!
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PHRatz