Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a watergarden/koi pond, i was cleaning out the filter today and a hatchling snapper was in the leaf basket trying to hibernate. I took him out and put him back in the pond so he could dive to the bottom to hibernate in the leaves but it seems he doesnt have the energy too since the water temp has dropped over this past month. I fear he will die if i do not take him into captivity. I guess im wondering, if i take him in to my care over the winter, come next winter is that going to affect him hibernating then too? Should i give him a little help and push him down to the bottom of the pond, because he clearly does not have the energy to do so on his own. I cant take him in as a pet, so my options are to take him in for the winter, but if thats going to affect how he lives in the wild and affects him hibernating next winter i dont want to do that! or the other option is to give him a gentle guide to the bottom of the pond.

Need replies ASAP, im in MA, and its getting cold here, the temps are averaging mid 40 to high 40s and id like to have this resolved in the next couple hours before nightfall, its even colder when the sun goes down. Right now i have him in a little baracade in the shallow part of the pond so i can find him when i have an answer on what to do!

No need to panic. I'm in Ma also and found a hatchling late Sept. I now have the baby snapper in a ten gallon tank in my house at room temp. Ambient temps are low 70's and water temp is low to mid 60's. Perfect for the little one. I offer pellets every other day and the turtle eats them. When its cool the turtle is less active and will move about more during the mid morning and early afternoon. I had him/her in a sterilite container and changed out the water every couple of days prior to setting up the tank. I'll release him in the early summer. They will follow their own body clock and cycle themselves so don't worry about interrupting anything. If you want me to take the turtle I'll take care of it until the summer.

Yea i took my little guy in too for the winter season. I plan to release him back into my watergarden come this spring. Ive offered him food once so far and he didnt take it. Figured id let him settle for the 1st couple days before i tried getting him to eat. Today was the 1st day i offered food but no success so i will try again tomorrow. I put 2 small sized meal worms in the water and let them float and wiggle around for a little over an hour. Im going to research a little more tonight and look into some food options for hatchlings, any suggestions are welcome.

Mine eats tiny turtle pellets. I'm sure it would eat worms fish tubifex worms or anything else I offered. The lack of appetite is due to the time of the year and water temps. Raise the temps to the low to mid 70's and it'll eat.

Earth worms are more appealing to turtles.