Found in my driveway- Baby Gator Snappin Turtle

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eden2020

Members
I highjacked a pic from the internet but it looks identical, size and everything. My wife spotted it while we were taking our son to school this morning. We couldn't leave it, so it is swimming around in a tank in my house. He chose the right driveway I guess. Not sure what to do with it. I doubt the success rate of these are very high. And being this small I was considering keeping him until spring and releasing him in a local pond or lake- or Potomac. Anyone rescue one of these? I am familar with them but only the much larger ones having lived in Florida for 10 years prior to landing in WV.

-Marc and family..
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JasonC

JasonC

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see these on the side of the road around here... usually dead... they get over a foot in diameter from what I have seen. Personally wouldn't want to risk the painful bite to keep one as a pet.
 
ddavila06

ddavila06

Members
theyget huge!!! saw one at the zoo today =) uhmmm, let it go in the lake/pond/stream thats close to ur house. if it ended up there it must have ocme from around there....to avoid taking anything into any other waterways.
 
Andrewtfw

Andrewtfw

Global Moderators
ddavila06 said:
theyget huge!!! saw one at the zoo today =) uhmmm, let it go in the lake/pond/stream thats close to ur house. if it ended up there it must have ocme from around there....to avoid taking anything into any other waterways.
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+1

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It knows what to do in the water

eden2020 said:
I doubt the success rate of these are very high. And being this small I was considering keeping him until spring and releasing him in a local pond or lake- or Potomac.
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Not a bad plan if you can keep he/she healthy through the winter. Still a few months before freeze, could fatten it up for a week or two to give it a leg up and cut it loose in a pond/lake and let the "shell fall where it may" as well. They're pretty tough even when small - haven't changed much in several million years so some high caloric intake probably all it needs to up the odds for its over-wintering in the wild.
 
Tony

Tony

Alligator Snapping Turtle/Past Pres
What you are holding there, sir... is the greatest reptile, possibly species.... in the history of the world. ;)

Not sure if the alligator variety live this far north, but even the local species get to be some nasty characters. I say fatten him up and let him go. The longer you keep him, the more dependent he'll be on getting food artificially.
 
E

eden2020

Members
Turtle..

Thanks for the responses.. kinda what I thought too. Just wanted to give him a shot at making it. We were surprised to see one that small this late in the summer. But then again I am not a turtle expert, nor fish expert either.. LOL

Been doing a lot of ready. Didn't realize there was a different species up here. I will have to do some more reading. It looks the same as the ones we found in Florida, but as I said never one this small.

We will keep you posted. Be assured this will find its way back to nature. Odd though. These is no water source within even a 1/4 mile from us.

Thanks! Marc and family..
 
Jim Anderson

Jim Anderson

CCA Members
Have kept baby ones all of my life, it's a common snapping turtle. They are easy to keep and make great pets(of course they will bite if you put your finger in front of them-doesn't hurt badly at this size). Keep them in a tank by it's self with the water level about 6" deep, a rock or driftwood for "sunning it's self and an underwater self contained small filter. Feed them guppy's, or blackworms for now, then will accept turtle pellets and small goldfish over the winter. It will quadruple it's size over the winter and you can let it go in the spring. Have fun!
 
Jim Anderson

Jim Anderson

CCA Members
The kids will enjoy him, i kept two of them that size last winter. It's important to clean the gravel if you chose to use it every couple of weeks. Fyi- I used a 20 gallon long because that's what i had available and it was the perfect size. Jim
 
Spine

Spine

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He could have come from someones pond that's close by. If you are planning on letting him go I would just give him a good meal and cut him loose now.Cool weather and hibernation time is just around the corner.:D
 
E

eden2020

Members
Turtle..

Soup.. Hmmm.. I have this friend here in WV that might be able to work that. More like an oyster on a half shell at this size.

Update- currently fine in his/her own tank eating cubed bloodworms for now. Taking food without a hitch and sneaks up on it. (Which is relatively funny to watch).

My little guy loves him and has pledged to get it though the winter. Not sure where it could have come from, there is really no place near us with a water source. However- there is a nice pond very close by fed by a little creek. Should be perfect when the time comes.

Thanks for the words of advice.

-Marc and family..
 
rich_one

rich_one

Members
Marc,

I hope you don't mind me asking this on this thread. It is just that I am a bit confused, and given the situation, this seems like an opportunity for me to ask.

As I understand it, it is rather frowned upon to say, catch a fish locally, keep it in your aquarium for a while, then later release it back into our local waterways. The primary issue I have often seen referred to in regards to this, is the potential to release something on a microscopic level that occurs in your fish tank, but not in the local waterways. So, I guess my question is two parts:

1. Is this true? Is it frowned upon to catch a local fish, keep it in your aquarium, and then release it back into a local waterway sometime later, and if so, is it for any other reasons than the one I noted above?

2. If the above question is true, why does it not apply to other animals in general, and in particular, any animals that spend significant time in local waterways, such as turtles and perhaps other aquatic reptiles and various amphibians?

As for my two cents, I think it's cool your helping the lil guy get through winter, giving him quite a boost in survival advantage when he's released next spring!

-Rich
 
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Turtle torment

If there's no co-mingling or introduction of potential pathogens from aquarium plants/fixtures/non-native species shouldn't be a problem.

But you're right and right to ask.
 
E

eden2020

Members
Turtle

I remember growing up keeping frogs, tadpoles, snakes, turtles, etc for a while until we lost interest and let them go. Back then, we really never thought about the possible impact to the critter and figured that they would live happily ever after...

As for this little guy, I was convinced that it had no chance of survival had we not done something. That something was pick a pond, river, stream and send it on it's way or "rescue" it until spring. Trust me, taking care of a turtle was not on my list of things to do, but once in a while I'll hug a tree and always avoid splattin a frog in the road.

I can only imagine that just as the mouse I found in my house when I moved in that this little guy will be fine reintroduced in the future. Something brought it to my driveway, so I assume it belongs around here.

As for it's "wild" behavior like feeding, etc.. I feed him live food, frozen bloodworm and mosquito larvae. He exhibits the natural behavior of stalking while feeding. Kinda funny to see a turtle sneak up on a frozen bloodworm.

It will be kept by itself for the next 6 months or so until the weather breaks, and I put my faith in nature for it to live a long and healthy life.

Good questions...

-Marc and family..
 
karate626

karate626

Members
Neat! When I was younger, we kept a snapping turtle for a year, it doubled in size and loved to eat fish. We thought it was a wood turtle. We released it when we learned what it was!
 
V

vinman

Members
Spine said:
He could have come from someones pond that's close by. If you are planning on letting him go I would just give him a good meal and cut him loose now.Cool weather and hibernation time is just around the corner.:D
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I agree with Spine !!!!

Tony that is either a alligator snapper or a common snapper. It maybe illegal to keep it,just let it go in the nearest pond it will be fine. Don't let it go in the Potomac river it might die.
 
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