# New turtle...



## 94NDTA (Jul 14, 2003)

I have a spare 10 gallon, this thing is tiny, so he will do well for a while. What are some things I should get for this. It is a snapping turtle.










Thank you.


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## Death in #'s (Apr 29, 2003)

nice little snapper and big fingers








fill the tank half water and lots of gravel a basking spot on the dry side.turtle bite floating sticks are great


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## 94NDTA (Jul 14, 2003)

Any tips for maintanence, or lighting?


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## Death in #'s (Apr 29, 2003)

petco online has these great filters that lay at the bottom of the tank and light could be anything.the heat lamp should be enough light

filter


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## PunkRockSkater39 (May 31, 2004)

Tight turtle! i wish i had one, anyway just a heat lamp and ur good


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## 94NDTA (Jul 14, 2003)

bump. I was wondering what a good tank set up would be for my 10 gallon. How much water to put in, what to feed, heater, filter, when to clean, how to clean, etc etc.


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## rbp75 (May 2, 2004)

QUOTE]bump. I was wondering what a good tank set up would be for my 10 gallon. How much water to put in, what to feed, heater, filter, when to clean, how to clean, etc etc.[/QUOTE]

If in a 10 gal give enough filtration for atleast 30 gallon or more. I would fill it atleast half full and give a basking area, doesnt need to be very hot. You can feed it turtle sticks, night crawlers, feeder fish, although they should be quarantined. Common snappers dont need any water heaters nor do they need a very hot basking spot. Do water changes often, more than you would for fish, you can do large changes too 50%. And focus more on mechanical filtration than anything else. You can not over filter a turtle tank. They grow slow but will eventually need a small pond for a home in a few years.


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## Bawb2u (May 27, 2004)

I keep my smaller turtles in deeper water than most people, a filled or 3/4 filled tank with a log or rock for them to climb out on, no dry land just a dry protrusion. Most snappers won't bask especially small ones, they become prey in the wild too easily. Heavy mechanical like other people said. They grow pretty quick up until about 5 inches then slow down.


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## 94NDTA (Jul 14, 2003)

I can't afford a filter right now (no summer job yet) so I was wondering if it would be ok to just do water full water changes once a week. Also, do they need cycled water?


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## Bawb2u (May 27, 2004)

Chances are the water will smell real funky in a week. Put him in something smaller and change it every 2-3 days. I keep little commons in "Critter Keepers" that are about 6"x8" with almost no gravel and just do a total water change every couple of days. They don't need cycled water and I keep them at room temp.


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## mrodge (Nov 13, 2004)

a turtle that big, not half water prolly maybe a quarter


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## smokinbubbles (Mar 25, 2005)

i keep all my baby snappers and stink pots in about 2 inches of water. i would say maybe 4 inches for that one. my snapper is about 2.5 inches and in about 4 or 5 inches of water. i never use filters for my baby turtles. i just change the water every once ina while. snappers are ususlly found in small boggy areas so still water is what they live in. i always find mine sittin in small ponds made by a stream or something. turtle sticks work great and so do crickets, mine also loves superworms.

J-Rod


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## 94NDTA (Jul 14, 2003)

smokinbubbles said:


> i keep all my baby snappers and stink pots in about 2 inches of water. i would say maybe 4 inches for that one. my snapper is about 2.5 inches and in about 4 or 5 inches of water. i never use filters for my baby turtles. i just change the water every once ina while. snappers are ususlly found in small boggy areas so still water is what they live in. i always find mine sittin in small ponds made by a stream or something. turtle sticks work great and so do crickets, mine also loves superworms.
> 
> J-Rod
> [snapback]1051453[/snapback]​


I don't know if you can tell from the photo, but his shell is only about an inch, maybe an inch and a half across.

I have beenb feeding him raw shrimp for now, should I stop that?


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## RAYMAN45 (Oct 2, 2004)

this one is about 5 years old


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## smokinbubbles (Mar 25, 2005)

94NDTA said:


> smokinbubbles said:
> 
> 
> > i keep all my baby snappers and stink pots in about 2 inches of water. i would say maybe 4 inches for that one. my snapper is about 2.5 inches and in about 4 or 5 inches of water. i never use filters for my baby turtles. i just change the water every once ina while. snappers are ususlly found in small boggy areas so still water is what they live in. i always find mine sittin in small ponds made by a stream or something. turtle sticks work great and so do crickets, mine also loves superworms.
> ...


shrimp should be fine but i would try to get em some other types of food as weel, like turtle sticks and crickets. here is a pic of a baby snapper i gave to a member on here about a month ago.

J-Rod


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## Zeno (Mar 6, 2005)

Looks like he's being cared for very well 94NDTA,















I think I'll buy one snapping turtle one day, they rock






















Try to give him a (living) huge grasshopper, allways fun 2 watch


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## DucatiRave21 (May 27, 2005)

Zeno said:


> Looks like he's being cared for very well 94NDTA,
> 
> 
> 
> ...


the more live food the better for turtles!!!! make sure he can get out and dry his shell off and be sure to add a little aquarium salt as well! this will help to prevent fungus on it! if your planning on letting it go back into the wild try to buy some minnows for it so it can get used to catching live food! try any bait shop for them! also if you plan on feeding it mealworms or anything buy them at the bait shop! a lot cheaper usually unless you buy bulk!!! also if he is inside a heater isn't really needed but be sure he has access to sunlight! and with out filtration be sure to change your tank at least every two days! you might be able to change it about every 5 days if you buy a small air pump and a box filter (at any walmart! cost around $15 if that for both!) it'll supply oxygen if you decide to use minnows so they survive and it also helps to clean the water! try not to use any gravel or anything else on the bottom unless you have a real filter setup! only makes it hard to clean out the tank!

i hope this helps you! its just a few things from the top of my head!


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## rbp75 (May 2, 2004)

> if your planning on letting it go back into the wild try to buy some minnows for it so it can get used to catching live food!


dude your just begging to be flamed posting a sentence like that. You should never release a captive turtle or any captive fish, reptile, or any other animal. Nor should you even give advice on how to prepare for it.







All thats doing is condoning the release of reptiles which is what gives responsible keepers a bad name.


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## DucatiRave21 (May 27, 2005)

rbp75 said:


> > if your planning on letting it go back into the wild try to buy some minnows for it so it can get used to catching live food!
> 
> 
> dude your just begging to be flamed posting a sentence like that. You should never release a captive turtle or any captive fish, reptile, or any other animal. Nor should you even give advice on how to prepare for it.
> ...


if its a CB then yea i wouldnt advise putting it back into the wild! if your not planning on keeping it forever best to get it back to the wild! keeping a turtle in a tank just isn't fair treatment for it! it needs its space!!!!!! a small pond would even do well for a turtle! anything but a tank!!!!!


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## rbp75 (May 2, 2004)

> if its a CB then yea i wouldnt advise putting it back into the wild! if your not planning on keeping it forever best to get it back to the wild! keeping a turtle in a tank just isn't fair treatment for it! it needs its space!!!!!! a small pond would even do well for a turtle! anything but a tank!!!!!


I disagree that it would be best to put back into the wild. it shouldnt even be implied to set a captive reptille in the wild for more reasons than I feal like typing. one being though the damage you can do to the eco system that you are releasing it into. If anyone ever gets a turtle who releases it into the wild for any reason, they should have never gotton a turtle to begin with.


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## 94NDTA (Jul 14, 2003)

rbp75 said:


> > if its a CB then yea i wouldnt advise putting it back into the wild! if your not planning on keeping it forever best to get it back to the wild! keeping a turtle in a tank just isn't fair treatment for it! it needs its space!!!!!! a small pond would even do well for a turtle! anything but a tank!!!!!
> 
> 
> I disagree that it would be best to put back into the wild. it shouldnt even be implied to set a captive reptille in the wild for more reasons than I feal like typing. one being though the damage you can do to the eco system that you are releasing it into. If anyone ever gets a turtle who releases it into the wild for any reason, they should have never gotton a turtle to begin with.
> [snapback]1056031[/snapback]​


I live less than 2 miles from where I found it. I could release it withing a foot of where it was foundI was just planning on giving it a fighting chance to get bigger because in this area, they get picked off really fast. Give me some more reasons why it would be bad to place this wild caught turtle right back where I found it.

EDIT: guess it would have been better if I said I found it and didn't buy it.


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## RAYMAN45 (Oct 2, 2004)

tuesday i should have plenty of gator snappers to go around
pm me for info


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