Are common snapping turtles, at full grown state, trainable?

Question

I want to know if i can train my snapping turtle (common) to go to the bathroom in a certain place when it is fully grown. Are theyre muzzle type things for them when theyre full grown?

Answer 1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snapping_turtle
http://s10.invisionfree.com/The_Snapper_Forum/

I think that you should check out this site. They can become quite tame and be capable of being trained. I take my kids to a wildlife refuge annually and they have one there that has a shell that is almost 18" long. It is very friendly and when they open the tank it comes over to them right away so they can take it out and show it to the kids. It has lived there for years and does not bite people.

Answer 2

No... it's very hard to train turtles and most reptiles for that fact. You may be able to entice it to climb up somewhere to feed, or something similar. Trying to potty train it is impossible. First of all, common snapping turtles are aquatic and only come on land to lay eggs. They may come and bask on land occasionally. They must submerged their head to swallow food and they deficate and urinate in the water. However, if they are picked up and annoyed, they will urinate. To make it feel at ease and comfortable, it needs to live a pond size container. The stress from being out of water will affect its health adversely and make it unecessarily aggressive. They are quite docile in water and avoid any humand contact while in water. They will rarely snap at you when in water, but may do only if is feeding time. If you are swimming in the water and encounter a snapper, it will swim away or stay still. Only when you taunt it and put your hand near it, will it snap towards you as a deterrant.

There is no need for a muzzle, since they rarely hit what they strike for and they cannot out run and catch you. Hold the shell from behind and watch out for the scratching of the back legs.

Also, if there were a muzzle, I'd love to see you put it on, since they will retract their neck.

Just be careful and don't hurt yourself and stress the snapper too much. I think it is best if you enjoy the little guy and return when you get a chance.

Answer 3

Can a duck pedal a bicycle? Can you litter train a snapper? The answer to both questions is-----no! No offense, but turtles have the intelligence of a breath mint. I guess if you really have a lot of time on your hands, you could try to train a turtle, but if I were you , I'd try something useful ,like painting clouds.

Answer 4

I think if you had it since it was a little baby it could be a very friendly turtle.My friend actually found a hatch ling and had it for years and it was friendly as can be!I think an adult snapper is pretty set in his ways and there's really nothing you can do.I wouldn't even attempt it..they can cause some serious damage if they bit you!

Answer 5

-they are reletilvily bright, and become freindly, you won't need a muzzle!
They eat,and defecate, in the water. Paying attention to when/where they go to the bathroom is not natural to them.
You can, perhaps, pay attention *for* your pet--
If you put him in a wash-tub to feed him--(which makes it easier to keep the main tank clean)-Learn *how long afterwords* he shits--put him back into his 'feeding tank' just before then, till he is done---If he gets used to the routine, he May cooperate.

the dirty water make excellent plant fertilizer, by the way

Answer 6

What!? Why do you even have a snapping turtle? Anyway to answer your question I seriously doubt it. But good Luck trying.

Answer 7

No, reptiles of any kind can't be trained. I learned this while working at the Audubon Zoo. They can become use to people but they can not be trained.

Answer 8

That really belongs in the wild.
And no I don't see it being trained, but they train humans to stay away from their mouth.

Answer 9

No but they sure are tasty, if cooked right

Answer 10

ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE WITH A LOT OF WORK