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Dear snapping turtle people

At which temperature does AST start to eat in spring?
Does anyone know?

Greatings,
Tobias

I got my 100lb snapper from a guy in missouri. in december several years ago. by mid febuary he was eating everything in site. the daytime temps were probably in the high 60s to low 70s but he wouldnt eat in the day, only at night.

Thanks....
I would guess that eating and digesting starts around 70 degrees.
The reason I ask the question is, that I do not know if it can harm the turtle to feed it at lower temps. Or perhaps it might just not eat at lower temps...?

You must be living somewhere in the south with those temperatures in february! I live in Denmark, average summer day time temp is around 70 degrees - so my snapper is in a heated tank, but hibernates at 45 degrees in winter time.

Tobias, yes i would imagine it does get cold there.I would not worry about digestion though. If he is warm enough to go on feed,he is warm enough to digest his food. The best temps for that are between 74 to 80f. But I would worry about the air temperture he is breathing. If the heated water is 70f and the air is alot cooler this will shock his lungs and make him sick.Anyway goodluck with your ally snapper. they are a pretty hardy turtle and easy to take care of. Steve

Thanks, it is good to know about digestion.
The turtle is in a heated tank indoor (exept when it hibernates) and has a lid on it, so the temperature of the air above the water is as high as in the water. But I did have a problem once a few years ago: there was not enough ventilation under the lid, and the turtle got a cold. I opened the lid in both ends of the tank and thereby increased ventilation, and the turtle got back to good health during the next couple of days. Good air flow and high air temps are VERY important!

I have read that common musk turtles usualy started eating when the water temperature went above 60 degrees F.

I also read where common snappers in the northeast have been observed feeding in the low 40s.I believe it is in Reptiles Magazine.

I also live in the South and my outside snappers started eating when the water temp got up into the low 60s with daytime air temps in the 70s. I started them off slow with very small portions but they let me know pretty quick that they wanted more. I have not fed them for the last several days because we are getting a cold snap now. Hopefully it's Winter's last gasp.

Thank you for all the answers - it seems that the average temperature for AST to start eat and digest in spring, is somewhere around 60 - 70 degrees.