If you’re interested in baby snapping turtles and getting one as a pet, then this article will be exactly what you need.
Snapping turtles are among the most popular species of turtles worldwide. They are also one of the largest species of turtles in the world. The snapping turtle name actually engulfs both the common snapping turtle and its larger relative, the alligator snapping turtle. Although they have an average life expectancy of around 30 years when in the wild and under best living conditions, it is known to live up to 47 years.
The snapping turtles can be found in Florida, Nova Scotia, across the southwest area of the Rocky Mountains, and southeastern Canada. If you’re really convinced that you want a young snapping turtle as a pet, then you should really know about its downsides and then make a decision. Although they might seem cute, they aren’t all that easy to take care of. Your responsibility won’t stop at getting one home and throwing it in a tank or in your backyard. It will require a lot of your time and effort.
Diet Requirements
One interesting aspect you should know about snapping turtles is that they will usually eat anything you give them. You can feed them vegetables, fruits, live meat, dead stock, and even your finger if you’re not careful enough around them. You should take into account, though, that a baby turtle is basically the same size as the food morsels they eat. If you don’t know the basics about these turtles you might try to give them the same type of food as you’d give to fish. This isn’t necessarily wrong, but it will surely be unhealthy in the long run.
You might also like my article on whether tortoises can eat celery.
Your local pet store will usually have many different types of aquatic turtle food. If not, then the online world offers you many websites with in-depth information on different types of food, and online stores are packed with food you can order for your pet turtle. You can safely feed them with all kinds of crawling creatures, mealworms, night-crawlers, and live crickets. Always keep in mind that when the food is alive, the size of the predator shouldn’t be smaller than that of its prey. They will also eat your leftover food. They would eat strawberries, grilled chicken, and even baked potatoes.
Important things to be aware of
Although up until this point you should have some basic knowledge about how to care for and feed your future turtle pet, let’s get through some really important aspects that you should know before you actually bring it home.
- If you want to buy a few snapping turtles and keep them in the same tank, then you should know that they will fight a lot and bite each other. It is always better to keep them separated, each in its own pool or tank.
- In water, they will be very well-behaved. They start to hiss when they feel threatened and they have no problem eating other animals and biting people.
- Although regular turtles can be trained up to a point, snapping turtles are untrainable.
- You will have to clean their environment every week or even sooner because these animals generate a lot of waste.
- You will also have to prepare a decent space in which the pet will live. A 10-gallon tank might work for a baby turtle, but as it grows, you will have to find a space that is at least double or triple that.
- Keep in mind that you won’t have a cute baby turtle for its entire life. It will grow considerably in weight and size reaching around 60 pounds when reaching adulthood.
Baby snapping turtles aren’t the easiest to care for, that’s for sure. These creatures are also considered endangered in many US states, which means that depending on where you live, you might not even be able to own one. Make sure you check the state rules and understand what it means to own this pet before getting one.
