Are snapper turtles ok as pets?

Question

I found a couple of tiny quarter sized snapper turtles in the road today. I wonder are they too aggressive to keep as pets? Everyone tells me they will get huge. I will try to find a pond to release them in if they are not good as pets. Any ideas?

Answer 1

I kept one for about three years and tried to handle it daily to keep it from being aggressive. Timmy got bigger and meaner, and I had to give up handling him when he was about 3". I let him go when he was about 6 or 7" long.
They are interesting pets, good eaters, just not friendly no matter how much handling. Trust me on that.

Answer 2

1.The best tortoise for a begginer is either a russian or a greek. These both are pretty friendly easy to care for as long as youset them up poroerly and they are pretty hardy oh they don't get to big. You can also look into baox turtles any US box turtle is also relativly easy as long as set up properly. 2. all of these need a large enclosure, basking light, UV light, an night heat source, a water dish that they can crawl in and out of deep enough to soak but shallow ebough to stick their heads out and stand out of the water. Safe subrtarte and Hide boxes. Depending on which you go with will determain temp and humidity as well as diet. 3. 50-100 years depending on type 4.You will want to wash your hands after handling. As long as they are kept properly(heat uvb and diet) they are pretty easy and rarely get sick. There are never gaurentees though so you should always have some money set aside for emerganceis, You should get your turtle from some one reputable and it should be captive bred that will help with its health. 5.You can let them loose when you are playing with and supervising them but they need an encloser for the other times to ensure theyare safe and are reseiving the proper heat and uv 6. This will vary greatly depend on how you make your set up. Will you buy or build your cage. The turtle will cast between 40-100 depending on which species and where you live. Lights will be around 15.00 per fixture basking bulbs are about 15.00 UV bulbs are aroun 35.00 Substrate will be 5-25 depending on what u use. Water dish I cut cat pans to make them work thats about 5.00 you can buy dishes up to 20.00 Foods will be 5-10 a week roughly 7. Most other animals are fine with a turtle or tortoise in the house just never leave them unattened together. To convinve mom assure her it will be your responsability show her your research. Save up for the cost. Good luck Hope this helps * while I love red and yellow foots and mine are amazing they take a huge cage as they get pretty big not as big as sulcatas but still my largest is 30 pounds and has an 18 inch carpace. Greeks Russians and boxes are much smaller. A yellow foot needs at least a 4 feet by 6 feet if you can provide this they are amazing tortoises.

Answer 3

Snappers make great pets fo people who will invest the time and money to provide the proper habitat.

They do need a rather large tank, and a lot of meat-based food. They can be quite aggressive and are pretty messy pets.

In general, however, I ALWAYS suggest that you not try to keep wild animals as pets- they just do not do well in captivity.

Answer 4

Most carnivorous animals can harm you,so be careful handling these turtles. These aquatic turtles can be difficult to keep as they grow because of their food & housing requirements. They need lots of water & it must be kept clean, which can be a challenge since they eat & poop in the water constantly. You can't "tame" them. They see you as either food or an enemy. It might be best to find them a nice pond & set them free.

Answer 5

They're fine as pets, for a while, at least.
Just be sure to keep your fingers away from them.
Even the little ones can give you a pretty good nip.
Keep them in a standard turtle terrarium, feed them carefully,
and don't get too attached. They can get big.

Answer 6

Get them back in the wild. That is where they belong. They grow too big and are very aggressive. I should know, we have a creek and there is a huge snapping turtle in it.

Answer 7

i have found several "quarter-sized" turtles. ( im from louisiana )
the best as pets as far as non aggressiveness--...
look for a "pond slider"
(some ppl call them red ears)

they are totally docile since they only eat plants and they will only grow in accordance with their environment-

meaning if you have a quarter size one in a fishbowl, it might "dwarf" him

if you have a quarter sized one in a 25 gallon tank, his shell could get to 6" across.

Answer 8

you need to release them back in the wild. snapping turtles when they get bigger will grow to a enormous size.

Answer 9

snapping turtles are not good pets to have i know i kept one until it was full grown. they bite the hell out you to. thats why i got rid of mine and set it free.

Answer 10

I have never heard of keeping them as pets? I do know they are a nusiance on trotlines/juglines though. I wouldnt have one..