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Alligator Snapper Hatch ling Help /Housing

P

pacoparrot

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First time posting on Fauna and I am looking for help taking care of my hatchling snapping turtle.
I would say that it is roughly 3 to 4 months in age and is similar to the size of the turtle in the attached photo.
My question is related to its housing. Should it be completely aquatic, meaning deep water with stacked rocks to reach basking spot
[F]OR[/FONT] should the water be only be a few inches deep with sand for a spot to walk completely out of the water. Help is appreciated. Thanks.
 

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A tank with shallow water and heat lamp is all you need.

They will feed on small fish and crustaceans.

They do not need a basking area but it's ok to provide one.
 
Jacob,

Depending on if you have a common snapper (in your photo) or an ally snapper, the care for hatchlings of either species is quite similar. I do suggest you provide a basking spot with a heat lamp 1/2 the day to simulate sunlight and night/day transition.

Common snappers and ally snappers will leave the water to bask or to just explore their surroundings. I've had both and am relating from personal experience here. Provide them with an area to get 100% out of the water.

As Tim stated, they eat live fish, and pretty much anything live. Try offering the little guy commercial turtle food as well as live foods to give him/her a well balanced diet.

I suggest you use a bare-bottom enclosure because it's easy cleaning ... unless you have a really good filter or filters. I use bare-bottoms on all my turtle tanks now and have been for many, many years and cleaning is few and far between. Just a suggestion though.

Good luck Jacob!

mjb
 
Also make sure the ph of the water is low.

High ph will cause skin infections and eventual death.

This applies to Alligator Snappers but not the Commons.
 
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