I mean it was still very weak acting and didn't seem to get any better but I was honestly supprised when I saw it as I left for work today!
Alligator snapping turtle?
- Thread starter weston
- Start date
That's too bad. Well, at least he's cooperating and getting you a hopefully healthy turtle.
I'm actually not sure if he will send one now I'm hoping he will the problem is my girlfriend didn't know I needed the body and threw it away while I was at work, I searched through the trash for awhile but I can't find this guys anywhere I messaged John saying what happened I guess I'll just wait and see now. If not and I get ****ed over is their anyway to order one through my LFS or petstore?? I actually got a huge tank today on CL so I'm in too deep not to stick with my plan I picked up a 48x36x24 figured that should last awhile!
Keep your fingers crossed. Most places require a picture of the dead animal if you want a replacement or refund.
If things don't work out and he doesn't ship you another, I wouldn't try and get one from a LFS, for a few reasons. The first being, most pet stores never even get AST's in stock. If they claim to, chances are they're really common snappers (I see this so often it's ridiculous, the same applies to alligator gar, which usually end up just being Florida gar).
If your LFS DOES get them in stock, then by all means pick one up (assuming they are in good condition). However, if your LFS doesn't get them in from time to time, you should probably just look for one online. You could ask them if they can order some, but chances are the price will go up a lot, especially if it's not something they normally get.
If you know of a LFS that gets them in sometimes but won't have them for a while, you might be able to see if they'll put your name on a waiting list or something. It really just depends on the store, tbh.
I'd check Kingsnake and faunaclassifieds from time to time, I see ads for AST's quite frequently there, and I actually got my AST from a guy on Kingsnake. But hey, if you can't find an AST anywhere and you want something else cool to put in your tank, there are lots of other cool monster turtles, or you could go with fish too. Whatever floats your boat.
I know, I'm hoping he does right in this situation provided I can't provide pictures! I explained what happened so I mean he should work with me especially after what he put me, someone who chose to order from him, through I mean sending the turtle as he did in poor health and everything was really uncool. but hopfully he realizes that and it helps out in my crap situation. I'm not holding anything against him personally so far and I've offered to send him pics of the tank it looks cloudy and nasty probably from the turtle sitting in this water overnight and this morning I'm seeing the flys in the tank my girlfriend mentioned.
Anyways just wondering what other turtles did you have in mind Im thinking I'll stick with a AST because I've always kinda wanted one and I'm liking the idea of a wild caught tank which would be really cool as these guys are native in my area as well as I could get my hands on some really nice Texas cichlids, sunfish, small bass, gar, catfish, etc. and the best part about all of this is that all of these fish are free. I'll probably just dip net them all at small sizes and let them grow out in the tank with whatever turtle I end up getting survival of the fittest right? I could also provide small feeders to help distract the turtle for some time. Lol plus dropping feeders in this setup would be a truly awesome sight. but yeah like I said I'm just really interested in hearing about what other monster turtles people enjoy keeping? And don't get me wrong there are other turtles I've heard about/seen that I would enjoy having I'd love a Fly River turtle or something, maybe one of those giant softshell turtles or even a penny turtle but their both illegal and good luck finding a FRT under $1500, plus I don't even think most of the ones you can find online are legally imported so once again illegal! Anyways I'd like to hear your thoughts or opinions on turtle options because if John isn't willing to work with me I doubt I'll be ordering from him again and he seems to be the only guy around breeding these. Also the 180 I have in its size and shape which is 48x36x24 inches I'm just wondering what you think would be a good fit fish and turtle wise like how long would you assume I could house a AST in this tank size wise and how many fish could I house comfortably with one of these guys also I'm just assuming most other turtles would fit for life unless I get something else huge?
If you're sure you want an AST, there are breeders out there other than Loggerhead Acres. Not sure when AST's will be hatching, but if you check faunaclassifieds or the classifieds section on Kingsnake every few weeks you're bound to find some.
The native fish with the snapper could work, as long as you don't mind potentially losing some of them. But if you're getting a hatchling, a 180 gallon is honestly way too big. There's no way a young turtle like that can handle water that deep, mine is pushing 4 inches and still can't swim to the top of a 40 gallon tank without a struggle, so I have to give him lots to climb on (and even then it's difficult). So the water level would have to be ridiculously low, and the tank would feel totally empty with just one tiny turtle and only a few inches of water. And like I said, these guys grow slow. If you managed to get your hands on one a bit bigger, you could give it a try, but a 75 gallon would be fine for even a 5 or 6 incher.
There are TONS of other turtles you could keep in that 180 gallon... But from the sound of it you're looking for something a bit more beastly than a plain old stinkpot. You could try a common snapper, those are cheaper, easier to find, and grow quicker (be sure to check you local laws though). If you like CST's but want something a bit more unique, Florida snappers are becoming more popular. They are a very similar subspecies, but they do have a slightly different appearance.
Keep in mind that although common snappers don't get to be 150 pounds, big ones still max out at around 80. So don't think you can get away with a 180 gallon for life.
Most of the other monster turtles start to get a little pricey, even more so than AST's... a Mata Mata housed alone would probably do well in a 180 gallon for live (in the wild they are said to max out at 18 inches but in captivity they rarely get to that size).
There are also the Mexican Musk turtles (Stayrotypus Salvinii & Staurotypus Triporcatus). Salvinii is the smaller of the two, but still gets quite large. I don't know much about these species, same with any of the giant softshells (truthfully softshells sort of freak me out). There are also members of the Podocnemis family, but those are pretty difficult to find and also very expensive (and they get MASSIVE... Not as heavy as AST's but sometimes have a longer/wider shell when full grown).
If none of those ideas intrigue you, if you do a little digging I'm sure you'll be able to find some great ideas all over MFK.
The native fish with the snapper could work, as long as you don't mind potentially losing some of them. But if you're getting a hatchling, a 180 gallon is honestly way too big. There's no way a young turtle like that can handle water that deep, mine is pushing 4 inches and still can't swim to the top of a 40 gallon tank without a struggle, so I have to give him lots to climb on (and even then it's difficult). So the water level would have to be ridiculously low, and the tank would feel totally empty with just one tiny turtle and only a few inches of water. And like I said, these guys grow slow. If you managed to get your hands on one a bit bigger, you could give it a try, but a 75 gallon would be fine for even a 5 or 6 incher.
There are TONS of other turtles you could keep in that 180 gallon... But from the sound of it you're looking for something a bit more beastly than a plain old stinkpot. You could try a common snapper, those are cheaper, easier to find, and grow quicker (be sure to check you local laws though). If you like CST's but want something a bit more unique, Florida snappers are becoming more popular. They are a very similar subspecies, but they do have a slightly different appearance.
Keep in mind that although common snappers don't get to be 150 pounds, big ones still max out at around 80. So don't think you can get away with a 180 gallon for life.
Most of the other monster turtles start to get a little pricey, even more so than AST's... a Mata Mata housed alone would probably do well in a 180 gallon for live (in the wild they are said to max out at 18 inches but in captivity they rarely get to that size).
There are also the Mexican Musk turtles (Stayrotypus Salvinii & Staurotypus Triporcatus). Salvinii is the smaller of the two, but still gets quite large. I don't know much about these species, same with any of the giant softshells (truthfully softshells sort of freak me out). There are also members of the Podocnemis family, but those are pretty difficult to find and also very expensive (and they get MASSIVE... Not as heavy as AST's but sometimes have a longer/wider shell when full grown).
If none of those ideas intrigue you, if you do a little digging I'm sure you'll be able to find some great ideas all over MFK.
It's fine if the turtle outgrows this tank I just want something I can keep in this aquarium for some time before upgrading and I thought about flordia snappers before I ordered mine however I figured if I was getting something to look like a AST I might as well go all out and get a AST however this is an awsome substitute they really need basking area which I was glad to find out AST did not. Also the Matta Matta sounds awsome but I don't think I'd be happy with this long term. Anyways thanks I'll keep you updated on my order
I'm sorry to hear about the turtle and I would have told you all the same stuff as TroyMIfishkeeper. one thing i would add is its a lot of stress to be shipped so one thing I do whenever I get a new animal is leave it in a warm dark place with plenty of water and food for at least 24 hours checking in every few hours. but i don't pick it up for at least a week. I do this with all reptiles and amphibians I get.(except snakes i offer them there first meal after a week)
and I don't have pics of my AST I sold mine a few years when he was about a foot but I'm going to get another one someday soon
and I don't have pics of my AST I sold mine a few years when he was about a foot but I'm going to get another one someday soon
Ok and l'll do that with any other turtle I receive but I doubt that had much to do with this individuals death. You've made me curious I'm just wondering now how many turtles do you have and what types have you kept in the past?
at this moment just a common snapper that is pink from the food I give him.
I've had RES,yellow belly sliders,cooters,northern panted,spiny soft shell,smooth soft shell, AST,false map, Russian tortoise. I have baby sat friends collections before with mata mata, musk,stink pot,chinese soft shell, nile soft shell,red foot tortoise, greek tortoise, sulcate tortoise,and probably a few I forgot about.
I've had RES,yellow belly sliders,cooters,northern panted,spiny soft shell,smooth soft shell, AST,false map, Russian tortoise. I have baby sat friends collections before with mata mata, musk,stink pot,chinese soft shell, nile soft shell,red foot tortoise, greek tortoise, sulcate tortoise,and probably a few I forgot about.
