How to Raise a Snapping Turtle


Snapping turtles are the two extant species of the Chelydridae family of reptiles, the common snapping turtle and the alligator snapping turtle, native to the western hemisphere of the planet. Though these turtles are gaining wide popularity as exotic pets in the various parts of the world, one has to take a few aspects of snapping turtle care in consideration before deciding to keep them as pets. Why not also consider to have this Russian tortoise at home as your pet?

You need to take all the aforementioned facts about snapping turtles into consideration if you intend to keep them as pets. More instructions about snapping turtle care are given below.

Housing a Snapping Turtle: On an average, an adult snapping turtle may grow up to a length of 15 to 20 inches, which means you would require a spacious place to house your pet. These species also grows quite fast, so it is ideal to purchase an aquarium from expert acrylic aquarium manufacturer in the very beginning, instead of waiting for your pet snapper to grow. At the end of the day, only a pond setting or a gigantic aquarium can make an ideal snapping turtle habitat in captivity.

Requirements of Snapping Turtle Habitat: It is better to keep the snapper turtle habitat as simple as possible. Their voracious feeding habits and behaviour are bound to leave the habitat in a mess every once in a while, and keeping it simple would mean less efforts in cleaning. Being an aquatic turtle species, it will require some source of water within the habitat. However, you will have to change the water as frequently as possible, but at least once in a week. Ideal temperature for your snapping turtle habitat is between 75 to 87 degrees Fahrenheit.

Snapping Turtle Diet: The diet of your pet snapper can consist of a range of meats, including chicken, beef and pork, but only restricting to them can result in some adverse effects on its health. You can also include pond snails, crayfish and medium sized minnows in their diet. Young ones will feast on live mealworm pet food, ghost shrimps, night crawlers, etc. In terms of vegetables, you can include lettuce, mustard greens, etc., in their diet.

Tips:

Clean your turtle’s tank about once every couple of weeks or when needed. You want the turtle to have clean water, so make sure you have a big filter. The cleaner the tank, the healthier the turtle.

Keep your turtle healthy. Do not overfeed the turtle. You can also take the snapping turtle for a walk on grass on a sunny day for exercise.

Filed Under: Pets & Animals

Tags:

About the Author: Fred Goodson has a passion for pets and animals. He has 4 dogs and is planning to have another one. He is also a blogger who writes about pets and animals. Currently, he is living in New Jersey.

RSSComments (0)

Trackback URL

Comments are closed.