How to Care for Baby Snapping Turtles

Caring for a baby snapping turtle is not really hard, it is just a long process with a lot of time involved. When a snapping turtle is a baby it is very cute and hard to resist. However as they grow up they tend to get really large and can be destructive if placed in the wrong atmosphere. The fact that they can also live up to 40 years if cared for right can be kind of scary to some people. So think seriously before deciding if you want to keep one of these reptiles.

Now that you have decided you want to keep or go and get a baby snapping turtle here is some things that you will need.

1. A tank (A ten gallon fish tanks would be perfect for now however every inch they grow they need ten more gallons of water)
2. Rocks (some nice big outside rocks would do. I don't use the tiny ones for fear my turtle might mistake them as food and choke on them)
3. A heat lamp (unless you live in a warm sunny place and plan to keep your pet outside)
4. Water ( non chlorinated just like fish water)
5. Time and patience (not a whole lot of time but a lot of patience would be good)

Whether you know it or not your turtle likes to hide from you. It makes them feel safe and comfortable. There are several ways to build nice places for your turtle to hide from you whenever it does not feel safe. One way is to take a 20 ounce bottle and clean it out really good, then you cut both ends off of it and either paint or color it a dark color and put it in the water. What i do is i use the rocks that i already have and build little shelf's and things, when you do that natural caves will be built so it feels more natural to the turtle. IF you have the money and don't feel like doing it yourself you can go out and buy little caves and stuff from the store. Another thing that is optional is the little fake plants that you can get, although i am not sure how the turtle would respond to them and it might try to eat them.

Food is one of the most important thing for a turtle. When feeding your turtle you should not overfeed or underfeed them. If they look like their skin is folding out of the shell then they are overfed. If they go in their shell and you can barely see them than they are underfed. Snapping turtles will actually eat a whole bunch of stuff. You can go to your local pet store and by them turtle food or you can buy them crickets. Turtles will also eat a variety of home food including bread, lettuce, and bologna. My turtle just loves Bologna! If you have the time and patience you can also go out and catch bugs for this little guy to eat and just put them in the water.

As your turtle grows up he will get bigger! You should take this into consideration, there will be a time when you will either have to get the turtle a very big tank or hopefully you will have a pond near your house you that it can live in. However you should never ever release that turtle into the wild! It will not have the ability or the skill to survive in the wild. It wont know how to defend itself or hunt on its own.