Baby snapper rescue.

[Reygan2]

Having read over a few threads here I'm sure I'm in the right place. Yesterday it came to my attention that a 5th grade student of mine had his pet turtle in his back pack. I was quite shocked when he pulled out what looked to be a tiny snapping turtle. He told me he'd had it for some time and that he was feeding it worms. He said he found it on it the side of the road a couple of months ago. Considering this is one of my most mischievous boys (love him) and also notorious for stretching the truth, I have no idea how much of that is true. The turtle is just under the size of a silver dollar. It was lethargic, but still moving when I first saw it. He agreed to let me take it since I already have a 5" YBS in the classroom and I told him I'd help him take good care of it.
My questions....my guess is that this little guy is dehydrated and malnourished. Should I keep him dry in a heated enclosure with occasional trips to a shallow container to eat and rehydrate? Or should I leave him in the tank? I have a 15g long that I'm going to set up until he needs something larger. Also I'm getting conflicting info online as to the water depth of a snapper tank. Most importantly, this is a snapper, right? Any idea if it's a common or alligator? I live near Asheville NC and it is bitterly cold, so I don't think releasing him is an option at this point. Plus, I've become a turtle lover since rescuing my YBS and it'd be great to keep this guy if possible. Oh, I was finally able to get him to try thawed mysis shrimp. He won't eat anything else yet, but he is getting much more active. Any info would be greatly appreciated.


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[Coursair]

This thread has a lot of snapper related info. The OP also may have advice. http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f136/what-type-of-snapping-turte-321390.html

Check your state laws as well. In some states it is illegal to own Snappers and they may want to QT him before releasing him.


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[Brookster123]

Ultimately you'll have to release him, they get humongous! Def a solid move in housing him for the winter and nourishing him back to health..he'd surely perish at this time in the elements. I think they go dormant in the mud right??

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[Reygan2]

Just spoke to a wildlife rehabilitator for the state and he said it was fine to keep one. He said it would be fine to release it in a few years if needed, but that I should keep it as wild as possible and let it "search" for its food. I don't handle my turtles anyway. He recommended I keep it in shallow water until it regains its strength. Also, he said the tank would be fine at room temp. I've read that snappers don't bask, but shouldn't I still provide a basking dock with a heat source as well as UVB?


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[Reygan2]

Here's his little swamp for now. It's not shallow but he has lots of places to be near the surface while staying submerged. He's smaller than the nano anubias leaves lol. This is gonna be fun! I'll be setting up my 15L for him in my classroom while he's still so small. Oh! Better get to Petco's $1 per gallon sale while it's still on!! I see another 40b in my future. Luckily I'm getting better at building stands for them.

FWIW I should add that the wildlife officer said it was def a common snapper. I know that was debated in the other thread and this one looks identical to that one.


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[Reygan2]

Guess the pic would help


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[Coursair]

Sounds good. Yes, I would provide basking. If space is limited you can get a bulb that is a combo for UV and heat.


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[Reygan2]

Thanks! There should be room for a small dock in the 15.


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[ppo8820]

def a little snapper. What a cute kid carrying it around, but the thing needs to be in water. One night when I was heading out clubbing, it was raining pretty hard. I noticed a ton of little turtles all over the parking lot and road outside my apartment. The rain had distorted their sense of direction and some had been run over. I was outside, fully dressed up, with a bucket picking up baby snapping turtles for a good hour. I got 14 all together, saw about 5-6 run over, and released them in the pond I suspect their mom had come from. I never made it to the bar that night.

 

[Reygan2]

Sniff...that is beautiful....


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[Reygan2]

The little guy is eating thawed mysis shrimp and a bloodworm here and there. He doesn't seem all that eager to eat but at least he's getting something. He won't touch the commercial food at all. Should I be offering him anything special? He's a lot more active now, but I'm still worried that he's not getting what he needs nutritionally, especially since he's had such a rough start.


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[ThatsCrayFish]

I don't know how much commercial food I'd feed him knowing you're going to eventually release him, but kudos for saving the little guy , he looks awesome.


55 - Soon to be Cichild tank
46 - Livebearer/Marmorkreb tank
20 - Cobalt Blue Lobster Tank
10 - Betta Tank

 

[Reygan2]

Lots of improvement tonight. He hit the shrimp as soon as he discovered it! He has eaten quite a bit. This is promising. He is actually moving around in the feeding container "hunting" for the first time. He is the cutest thing ever! I'm naming him Spike


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[Reygan2]

I don't know how much commercial food I'd feed him knowing you're going to eventually release him, but kudos for saving the little guy , he looks awesome.


55 - Soon to be Cichild tank
46 - Livebearer/Marmorkreb tank
20 - Cobalt Blue Lobster Tank
10 - Betta Tank

Thanks! Didn't think of that. I need worms!
Ran into a little problem though. The student that brought him to school was counting on getting "Michael Angelo" back. That's what he named him. I don't think he realized that when we discussed me taking it, it wasn't just for the weekend. He said that his dad told him it is a mud turtle. I'm trying to contact the parents but as usual they refuse to answer the phone. The school has tried to contact them for several reasons but can't. It's sad. They have 2 small girls and it's just not safe to have a snapping turtle in their home as a pet. The wildlife officer agreed. Regardless though, the turtle was obviously not going to make it under their care. I hope the boy understands. I spent quite a bit of time explaining the situation to him and we even googled snapping turtles and talked about how dangerous they could be. He seemed ok with it. If not I don't have any idea what to do. I'd hate to surrender him back to certain demise.


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[ThatsCrayFish]

I wouldn't do it, unless it may jeopardize my job, unfortunately I'd have to put my families well being first, but it's easy for me to say that when it's not me in the position! Best of luck to you, I hope you find a solution to the problem that makes you both happy !


55 - Soon to be Cichild tank
46 - Livebearer/Marmorkreb tank
20 - Cobalt Blue Lobster Tank
10 - Betta Tank

 

[NigelK8485]

I used to have a snapping turtle. Definitely do not give it back to the family, they aren't meant to be pets. I got mine at like 3" and within three months he was too big for a 40g breeder tank. The waste he made was incredible. I was young so I had in my mind the thought of me taking him out of his tank and petting him daily would make him tame and a docile pet and that wasn't the case at all. They can move very quickly for a turtle, and the alligator ones can extend their necks to their hind legs and bite you. Luckily I had a common which is what yours looks like.

As far as feeding him live fish I noticed the aggression level of mine spike immensely after doing so. He began snapping at me through the glass, the tank was next to my bed and I'd wake up to him staring me down. I guess you're doing the right thing by strengthening him up a little but I'd recommend giving him either to the wildlife refuge or releasing him as quickly as possible as opposed to holding onto him for years. It's just not fair to the turtle, you won't be able to provide the environment such a large aggressive turtle needs and by attempting to mimic it to the best of your ability you will probably do more damage in the long run than you will good.

I was in Texas at the time and they had a huge lake with snapping turtle breeding grounds, wildlife center, everything. I got their permission to release him there and as soon as I dropped him in the lake he took off. He looked so much better off being able to stretch out in a lake and being in nature. They even tagged him for me and kept me up to date on his progress for as long as I asked about him.


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[Reygan2]

I used to have a snapping turtle. Definitely do not give it back to the family, they aren't meant to be pets. I got mine at like 3" and within three months he was too big for a 40g breeder tank. The waste he made was incredible. I was young so I had in my mind the thought of me taking him out of his tank and petting him daily would make him tame and a docile pet and that wasn't the case at all. They can move very quickly for a turtle, and the alligator ones can extend their necks to their hind legs and bite you. Luckily I had a common which is what yours looks like.

As far as feeding him live fish I noticed the aggression level of mine spike immensely after doing so. He began snapping at me through the glass, the tank was next to my bed and I'd wake up to him staring me down. I guess you're doing the right thing by strengthening him up a little but I'd recommend giving him either to the wildlife refuge or releasing him as quickly as possible as opposed to holding onto him for years. It's just not fair to the turtle, you won't be able to provide the environment such a large aggressive turtle needs and by attempting to mimic it to the best of your ability you will probably do more damage in the long run than you will good.

I was in Texas at the time and they had a huge lake with snapping turtle breeding grounds, wildlife center, everything. I got their permission to release him there and as soon as I dropped him in the lake he took off. He looked so much better off being able to stretch out in a lake and being in nature. They even tagged him for me and kept me up to date on his progress for as long as I asked about him.


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I explained the situation to administration and they're covering my back on this. The principal said there was no way were going to send the turtle home with the student, and if the family wanted it back badly enough, they'd have to call the school and set up a time to pick it up. Thankfully I haven't heard anything else about it and none of us are expecting to. I'll give him to the reptile rescue center before I give him back to them. He's too little to release at this point, plus it's extremely too cold.
Thanks for the info on your experience. I agree that it wouldn't be a good idea to try to keep him. There is a pond a few houses down from my house and I'm going to ask the owner if I can release him when he gets larger. There are lots of options in this area if he refuses to allow him in the pond, and if all else fails I have the number to a turtle rescue.
I'm happy to report that he is active and feeding ravenously. He looks so much better, and I am enjoying watching him grow and act more and more like a true snapper. He looks so prehistoric!!

 

[Reygan2]

Just curious...Spike is growing and doing great, but he never, ever hauls out. This is normal right? He has a basking platform with UVB and heat, but never uses it. He usually stays under the platform unless he's begging for food at the front of the tank.
Other question..my YBS hasn't basked since winter started. She used to bask daily. It's well into spring now, but she still won't. She's eating and active, acting normal as ever. Her tank is at around 72. I don't know how warm the basking spot is, but it's warmer than the tank. When I had a thermometer under it I had a hard time getting the temp above 90 using a 60 watt bulb.
Anyway, will she start again? I know they hibernate in nature, but is it normal for them to refuse to bask during the winter in captivity?

 

[PassengerTN]

My RES never basks. He will climb halfway onto his haul out, leaving his lower half in the water and chill but very rarely get completely out of the water.

 

[Nils]

Hey there! I live pretty close to you, and there are a ton of lakes, ponds, streams rives etc. that you can let him out into. I would recommend letting him out in a swampy area of Lake Norman, it wouldn't be too hard to find one. You're doing good, and a lot better than the kid! Kind of cool of him to do that though.

Nils