Snappy

My pet Snapping Turtle has reached the age of two years nine months.  Posts of Snappy as a hatchling and yearling are two of my most often viewed posts.  Baby Snapping Turtle is number one out of 18,215 search terms used by people to reach this blog.  Since there is so much interest in this topic, I thought it appropriate to provide an update on Snappy’s progress.

Snappy has prospered on a diet of prepared turtle pellets supplemented by live food items.  He associates movement with food and investigates any movement inside or outside of his aquarium.  Even though the glass cleaning sponge is too large to swallow, he keeps up with its movement back and forth across the glass.

I’ve never seen a captive snapping turtle that was as constantly active as Snappy.  In those rare instances when he pauses from prowling the tank, his head and eyes are still scanning for any signs of movement.

My plans are to construct an outdoor habitat that will house Snappy year round.  I had planned to have it completed by now, but because of the drought, the ground is too hard for me to dig the pool.  This project will stay on my todo list until we get some rain. 

When startled, Snappy tilts his shell to appear larger in the eyes of a potential threat.  In the wild, snapping turtle shells often develop a coating of algae and other debris.  I periodically clean Snappy’s shell with a soft bristled toothbrush.  Since he operates primarily on instinct, I don’t assume that he will recognize me as non-threatening.  I never allow any part of my fleshy self to get within range of those jaws.

Movement on the water’s surface causes him to adopt his ambush pose.  He ignores floating bubbles, but will come after anything that appears more substantial.

The attack is too rapid for my camera to capture.  Snappy doesn’t miss anything edible.

After eating, Snappy usually scouts around for anything that might have been missed.  He’ll be comfortable in this tank for a while longer, but I’d like to get him outside as soon as possible. 

Baby Snapping Turtle Update

Last October I posted about a baby snapping turtle I found in the water garden. Since I didn’t want to end up with a large snapper in the water garden, I took the baby out. It’s been living on my desk for the past year and seems to be thriving.

The egg tooth is gone from the end of its nose, although it’s kind of hard to tell because of a water droplet coming out of the left nostril. Some people have asked me why I’ve kept this turtle. The answer lies in part with Ohio law. I didn’t want the turtle in the water garden, but Ohio law states that a captured reptile or amphibian must be released near where it was found. My only release option, besides putting it back into the water garden, was to let it go in the yard. It was very cold when I found this guy and the nearest suitable habitat was a quarter of a mile away. I didn’t think it would survive a release of that kind and I didn’t want to just smash it beneath my boot heel, so I put it in an aquarium.

The yolk attachment area has healed nicely. So why didn’t I release the turtle when the weather warmed in the spring. Again, it had to do with Ohio law. If kept for more than 30 days, a wild caught reptile or amphibian cannot be released.

Using the photo I took last year, I positioned the turtle so the rear of its shell was exactly where it was before and then I framed the shot so the scale would be the same between the old and new shots. Shell length has gone from 1.1 inches to 1.8 inches in one year. You might wonder why I didn’t just give the turtle to someone else. Ohio law says that reptiles taken from the wild in Ohio may not be bought, offered for sale, traded, bartered, or given as a gift. It looks like the two of us are stuck with each other.

The head has become much more wedge shaped. Most of that is caused by the thickening of the neck. So you don’t think that Ohio law is designed just to make baby turtles stick to you like fly paper, I should point out that each rule is designed to protect the health and vitality of wild reptile and amphibian populations. Moving animals from one location to another is an easy way to spread disease organisms. In these days of mysterious declines of reptiles and amphibians, it’s important that people don’t become disease vectors. Animals kept in captivity are apt to become infected with disease, so it’s best that they don’t rejoin the wild population. The law is also designed to keep Ohio’s wild reptiles and amphibians from being taken for commercial purposes, such as the pet trade.

The little guys do a wonderful job of mimicking the adults. On land, the turtle acts as though its bulk is too great to move without being buoyed by water. If it had the brains for it, I might think this guy was trying for a little sympathy.

I took the turtle outside in a little carrier filled with water, so he could stay warm while I was setting up for the shots. When I brought him back in, the only thing on his mind was getting something to eat. I think that’s all he ever has on his mind.

He downed a few mealworms before returning to his normal home.