What kind of food would a baby snapping turtle eat?

Question

I have a baby snapper that I saved and I dont know what to feed it. What kind of food do I need to buy that it would eat?

Answer 1

Well, it just so happens that I saved a good number of snapping turtles from a former workplace of mine (they would lay their eggs in our sand pit). Getting the hatchlings to eat is no easy task. Each turtle has his/her own preferences, and you have to find out what each prefers. The best thing to do is try small pieces of fish and beef. The beef can be cooked, the fish should be raw. Put a small piece on the end of something (I used a black plastic knife) and dance it in front of the turtle. Usually it will bite at whatever meat it prefers.

Once the turtle gets a bit larger and stronger, you can start offerring it turtle food. Make sure to purchase the kind designed for aquatic turtles. Note: Do NOT feed them strictly the pellets, they won't get the nutrients they need! At this point the turtle should be able to hunt on its own, so release a dozen small guppies into the bowl. You'll know it has figured out the whole hunting thing when those guppies start magically dissappearing.

After a year, the turtle should double in size. When the spring rolls around, it is probably time to release the turtle, unless your really attached, in which case another year should be alright!

I hope this helps!

Answer 2

My advice is get 2 kinds of foods. First, buy a VERY GOOD commercial food, one that has designed for baby turtles. It is important to get one with calcium, vitamins and minerals to help with it's shell development.Second, I have found that very small guppy type fish, frozen then thawed will help fill in the nutritional gaps left buy the store bought food. It is also vital to get a reptile light, either a basking type or a fluorescent tube for the UV light the turtle needs to help in digestion.

Answer 3

I used to save and raise them when I was a kid.I used to feed them flies.Crickets,just about any kind of insect I could find.In the winter months I would use small pieces of chicken liver.Hope this has helped you and good luck with the snapper.

Answer 4

You may not need to buy anything. Snapping turtles are carnivores, so try it with some worms or insects. If that doesn't work, I suppose you could always ask someone at a pet store.

Answer 5

Worms
Minnows
Meal Worms

Answer 6

Definitely greens and maybe some tiny pellets of foods from the pet store or Walmart for turtles.. you could even try some fish flakes (if he is really small) as the environment they live in are similiar.. good luck.. :)

Answer 7

Catch a fly & put it on the end of a toothpick hold it in front of the turtle, and wack it's gone, but bits of other foods will work also

Answer 8

The only time I seen a snapper eat was when it was attached to my finger.

Answer 9

Basic turtle food from the pet store, meal worms, some fruits, and maybe chicken or beef...

Answer 10

You "saved" it? The best way to "save" it is to let it go in a proper habitat. Wild caught reptiles can take very poorly to captivity. He will be VERY expensive to properly maintain, especially as an adult, and will become VERY large and EXTREMELY dangerous. Please let him go as soon as possible so he can get his bearings before the weather cools off anymore. It's in his best interest.