Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi! My name is Jessica. I am the very proud owner of a yearling red earred slider named cleatus. I researched alot and have a pretty good setup for him. Today a friend of mine bought over a hatchling snapper, he's pretty young He still has his egg tooth. They found him where they dump the oil after oil changes at our local walmart (ugh!). I cleaned him with a toothbrush, and I think he's his normal color. He isn't eating. I put him in a 10 gal aquarium with an inch or two of water and a rock, I put three of Cleatus's pellets in there and some freeze dried bloodworms I have that Cleatus doesn't like. I don't know how to take care of him, so I need all the info I can get. I have Cleatus's heat lamp on him now...I don't plan to keep him forever I know how big they get and I know I can't house him later. I just want to nurse him to health. His shell is really soft, is that normal? I'm going to figure out how to post pictures of him later. If you google image baby snappers, most of the picture look like him. The image link attached isn't the snapper I have but one that looks like him. I think I'm going to call him Wally Thanks in advance for all your help!

If you start feeding him Gambusia (mosquito fish) or rosy red minnows from the petstore that should get him going. At that size I just fed mine minnows, small worms and reptomin and they grew fast.

Since he still has his egg tooth, he may not be very hungry yet. He may still be living off of the last of the food that he got from his yolk sack. Keep a variety of very small bits of food available to him, and he will find one or more that he will like to eat. Yes, the soft, flexible shell is normal at that age. It is what helps him to fit all crammed into his shell before being born.