Ordered Something Pretty Cool Today...

[Trevelyn1015]

Well, considering how rare it is around here to even see one in a pond, an alligator snapping turtle is a sight to see.

They rarely ever come out of the water, and when they do, it is typically only to lay eggs(female)...

Finding a baby alligator snapping turtle is next to impossible.

You can buy them online at about 3" long for $75+.

Seeing how I would probably never catch a baby one, I started looking online to buy one. I found a guy selling 100 of them, getting out of the turtle business, going into the snake business. He sells them for food, most of the time. I guess alot of people eat them?

Anyway, so for $10(plus about $15 shipping overnight) I ordered myself a baby alligator snapping turtle. He is a couple of months old and about 1.5" in length.

In case you don't know, alligator snapping turtles are thought to be the most aggressive turtle in the world, and the largest of all freshwater turtles(can get up to 3ft in length and 300lbs)...

Here are some pictures of alligator snapping turtles:

 

[Raechal]

Where are you going to keep him? They have one in a large tank at the pet store where I used to work. They kept him in there with some adult Oscars.

 

[penguinpimp1990]

lol i would just be afriad it would snap off my arm

 

[OohFeeshy]

LOL, all I can say is I hope you are very certain of what you are doing You don't want to miss out on tff because you got your arms bitten off.

 

[Raechal]

They aren't that bad. Well the one at the pet store I used to work at was pretty tame. I'd feed him and the oscars all the time and I'd have to stick my arm in the tank to get the food down near the bottom where he would rest. He never snapped at my arm, thankfully. Although, people did call me crazy.

 

[RandomWiktor]

Ungh... I really do not like the idea of selling an animal that gets to such a size that no one can keep one as a pet unless they have a bloody lake in their back yard. Snapping turtles are very territory-oriented and will continually return to the place of their birth to breed and lay eggs. By breeding them captively then sending them out all over the world, the poor things are going to be terribly mixed up. Furthermore, by releasing them into an ecosystem that can't necessarily support them, you can cause a devastating impact on established fish, amphibian, and bird (who compete for prey with the snapping turtles) populations. They aren't domesticated, and thus are not pets and are not accustomed to the captive situation.

At any rate, I'm glad you seem knowledgeable, but I do hope you have a massive body of water on your property which you control the population of, because the turtle at adult size will not be easily kept in an aquarium. I'm a bit dissapointed with the man selling these, however; you may be a very good home, but I'd bet many of the buyers don't have nearly enough knowledge of the species to properly care for a snapper.

 

[Trevelyn1015]

it will go into a stocked tank (thousands of fish) out in the middle of the country, with other alligator snapping turtles, red eared sliders, musk turtles, etc...

you name em, we've got em...

we used to kill the ones in our stocked tank, because they were eating so many fish, but now that the fish population is so high and well established, he won't make much of an impact...

and that is like 10-15 years from now...

for now, initially, he will have his own 10 gallon tank... then he will move into the 55 gallon tank with my other turtles and native fish(all too big for him)...

once he gets there, i will figure out how to keep him well fed... i have a 10 gallon tank that i breed minnows in, and i catch them in the local creeks. i would guess i have about 100 minnows, and my other turtles do fine catching and eating them...

 

[RandomWiktor]

::nods:: As I said, you sound like a very well informed turtle owner who has what it takes to provide for your animals, I was just voicing concern as this man was indiscriminately selling low-cost snapping turtles, which leads to the potential for ignorant or ill-equipped pet owners purchasing them. Though, I suppose that's the risk of selling ANY animal.

 

[Trevelyn1015]

well, i am not too knowledgeable, yet... but i gotta learn somehow...

i think he'll be a neat animal to watch...

 

[RandomWiktor]

Oh I bet! I think alligator snapping turtles have got to be one of the most interesting species of turtle out there. They are such efficient predators, and they are so powerful and awesome when they swim and strike. Def. going to be a fun critter to watch. ^^

::looks at the section of the forum this has been moved to and frowns dissapprovingly:: Hm... last time I checked, they were reptiles, not amphibians or invertabrates.

 

[MegTheFish]

Holy sh*t those things are HUGE!!!!!!!!!!



Good luck!


Edit: I thought you were aloud to curse on here?

 

[Trevelyn1015]

reptiles, not amphibians or invertabrates.

that is why i put it in "chit chat"

 

[tank212]

Hey if it gets to big you can make some turtle soup!

 

[Synirr]

::nods:: As I said, you sound like a very well informed turtle owner who has what it takes to provide for your animals, I was just voicing concern as this man was indiscriminately selling low-cost snapping turtles, which leads to the potential for ignorant or ill-equipped pet owners purchasing them. Though, I suppose that's the risk of selling ANY animal.

Most people buying the turtles from him aren't buying them as pets... they're buying them to stock in ponds and kill for turtle soup later
I don't think many of them will be wasting away in tanks all their lives.

Great find, by the way! I'd be too afraid of one to keep it as a pet, but they're a very interesting animal
I've seen them crossing the road between ponds on occasion.

 

[GSD]

be careful i saw theses on pet rescue once! they are dangerous animals and can take off your arm!anyway you sound like you know what your doing!im sure youll be a great owner