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Okay so I've been thinking lately and I decided I would buy a snapping turtle from a hatchling and raise it to be friendly-ish or at least "Tolerant" to handling so that when I do need to handle it.. It doesn't just try to snap at me...

So anyways, I went to this petstore which I won't mention since I don't want to be a rat.... But they were illegaly selling turtles(it's not illegal to buy one- it's illegal to sell one in my state)... Which I honestly never liked that law to be honest since it's really "silly"... So I saw these three turtles in together and I couldn't help but notice but he had a snapping turtle(a young one--3-4inches) along with a dimond back terrapin... and a juvie RES.

So I paid 20 bucks for the snapper and 60 for the DBT in hopes he/she will get along with Blondy, so far Blondy is just curious of it and I am closely monitoring for any aggression. I already have the snapper in a small 29g(only for 2-3months) and I moved the musk turtle to the 55 g.

Do you guys think long term that the snapper will be alright in a 180 gallon aquarium? Giving the 10 g per inch of shell rule.. I feel it's appropriate but I want to hear from you guys.
P.s. Ill post photos later

P.s. I am thinking of selling him (the diamondback) because I already seeing him fighting my blondy(I thought they wouldn't-- I seperated them now but yeah)

There's a lot out there on care for snappers and DBTs, you should definitely check them out. As for the 10 gallon rule, that probably does not apply.

steve wrote:There's a lot out there on care for snappers and DBTs, you should definitely check them out. As for the 10 gallon rule, that probably does not apply.

Why wouldn't the 10 gallon rule apply? What big enclosure would he need? I ended up returning the DBT since it wasn't approved by Blondy.

SneakySushie wrote:Why wouldn't the 10 gallon rule apply? What big enclosure would he need? I ended up returning the DBT since it wasn't approved by Blondy.

Think about what the 10 gallon rule is for: making sure there is enough water to give the turtle room to move around and enough water so that the turtle waste doesn't build up too high in the water. You want the urine /poop diluted as much as you can.

Now, both of those really are more related to volume of a turtle. The larger the turtle stomach and intestines, the more waste it can produce. The larger a turtle is, the more swimming room it needs.

Finally, think of the shape of most pet turtles. Most are pretty similar to RES. a 6" typical pet turtle has the same volume as most others. The waste it produces is similar.

Not so for a snapping turtle. It's much bigger and weighs much more than a typical pet turtle the same size. Already, your snapper has over twice the volume of a RES at the same size. As it grows that ratio gets bigger.

I do not keep snappers, but I'd be tempted to take a wild guess at 30 gallons per inch minimum.

And remember, the rule for most turtles is 10 gallons per inch and a minimum depth of 1.5? 2? times the shell length.

That's so they don't end up on their back underwater and unable to right themselves.

Good luck! And, I'm not saying don't try raising one. I am saying you may want to do tons of research. I don't think anyone here has experience with snappers. I'd look for some forums with more knowledge, because we are all guessing here.

But, please keep us up to date on what you find out. I love learning more about turtles.

ljapa wrote:

SneakySushie wrote:Why wouldn't the 10 gallon rule apply? What big enclosure would he need? I ended up returning the DBT since it wasn't approved by Blondy.

Think about what the 10 gallon rule is for: making sure there is enough water to give the turtle room to move around and enough water so that the turtle waste doesn't build up too high in the water. You want the urine /poop diluted as much as you can.

Now, both of those really are more related to volume of a turtle. The larger the turtle stomach and intestines, the more waste it can produce. The larger a turtle is, the more swimming room it needs.

Finally, think of the shape of most pet turtles. Most are pretty similar to RES. a 6" typical pet turtle has the same volume as most others. The waste it produces is similar.

Not so for a snapping turtle. It's much bigger and weighs much more than a typical pet turtle the same size. Already, your snapper has over twice the volume of a RES at the same size. As it grows that ratio gets bigger.

I do not keep snappers, but I'd be tempted to take a wild guess at 30 gallons per inch minimum.

And remember, the rule for most turtles is 10 gallons per inch and a minimum depth of 1.5? 2? times the shell length.

That's so they don't end up on their back underwater and unable to right themselves.

Good luck! And, I'm not saying don't try raising one. I am saying you may want to do tons of research. I don't think anyone here has experience with snappers. I'd look for some forums with more knowledge, because we are all guessing here.

But, please keep us up to date on what you find out. I love learning more about turtles.

I might just give it to a friend once it reaches a substantial size. He has a man made pond.