Entry #1

You wrote: ' My name is Jeremy and I was wandering if my recently aquired baby common snapper could eventually go in the same tank/pond with my 5 inch now red eared slider. Ive seen them as babies in an aquaruim together, but i was wandering if they would fight if kept together when they were bigger. Thank you, Jeremy '

Answer: It is not recommended, but just for a short time should be ok. You should soon seperate them though (within few monthes). The snapper will grow much faster than the other turtle, will become big pretty soon and having big apetite might bite the other turtle. An injured turle will become target to even more biting and might die in the end. The snapper wouldn't see the other turtle simply as food at first, but might bite because of a self-defence reflex, just seing something move quickly might scare it and make it 'snap'. Then, the injured turtle might somewhat make it think of food and stimulate into more biting at the bleeding area. An adult snapper will simply think 'food' when with another creature in the same enclosure. It is recommended to keep them seperate from start. I wouldn't take the chance. Thanks for writing! Stan

Entry #2

You wrote: ' Thank you for your informative website. I was told that common snapping turtles shed their shells when they die. Could you please tell me if what I was told is true? Thank you. I've looked for this information all over the web. Sincerely, Anne Jones '

Answer: Hi Anne, No, they don't shed their shells when they die, but I wish they could leave their shells once in a while when alive! They would be like plump and quite cute lizards then, great to hold! LOL When snappers die, they basically stay as they are until the nature strips them from flesh during the process of decay leaving only bones and the shell. This work is done first by larger animals which might just eat the dead turtle, then insects, worms and eventually bacteria. The scutes that cover the bony shell, because of being fragile in comparison, will eventually peel off and what's left from a turtle after few months is a lot of scattered bones (if you could find them) and the white bare shell without the horny scutes. Marine turtles and the giant land tortoises have heavy skulls and probably you would also find it somewhere nearby. Thanks for writing! Stan

Entry #3

You wrote: ' Hello, I have a question about my snapping turtles feeding habits. Most turtle care FAQs say to feed your turtle 2-3 times a week. We feed our turtle a balance of Reptile sticks and Rosie Red live fish. How many fish should we feed him at a time? One suggestion we received was to feed him until he is now longer interested in food, but just last week he ate all 30 feeder fish we put in his tank in 24 hours. Are we overfeeding him? He's probably about 5 inches long and seems very healthy. It's just that he eats ALOT! Thanks for any advice you can give me. Morgan '

Answer: Hi, You are doing fine. Your turtle is still a baby and growing, so it will eat lots - just like it would in nature. Snappers are opportunistic and usually stuff themselves with food when hungry. If you give it few days without food then such feasting translates into a healthy snapper with a healthy appetite. Overfeeding would be giving it tonnes of food everyday - this would not be good. Just like with dogs and cats, we feed them only at certain time in a day. Snacks between meals are not recommended - they make them fat (just like they make us fat too!). So, even if your turtle will 'beg' for food give it 2-3 day break and then let it eat all he wants! They sometimes go for days without food in nature and then have a big meal, so letting it fill up during meal does not mean overfeeding. The fish that you give it is probably not very large, so actually this quantity does not surprise me. You have a growing healthy snapper, keep it up! Thanks for writing! Stan

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