anyone know if an alligator snapping turtle can be kept in a thick pond liner pond?? Or will they chew on the liner and puncture it?

Landonious

Black Skirt Tetra
MFK Member
Jan 15, 2018
38
22
13
46
I am not afraid of their claws as the liner is pretty thick. but nothing survives an alligator snapping turtle bite. Do they randomly bite on rocks or liners to test its sturdiness?

anyone know? I really appreciate it as I am trying to see if i can put an alligator snapping turtle in a pond liner pond.
 
  • Like
Reactions: tlindsey

tlindsey

Silver Tier VIP
MFK Member
Aug 6, 2011
23,254
24,112
1,660
Ohio
I am not afraid of their claws as the liner is pretty thick. but nothing survives an alligator snapping turtle bite. Do they randomly bite on rocks or liners to test its sturdiness?

anyone know? I really appreciate it as I am trying to see if i can put an alligator snapping turtle in a pond liner pond.
If the liner is flush against the base of the pond I doubt they would bite it. Had a common in a aquarium he would snap and hit the glass but that was because it could see me. Gammara was a angry turtle lol.
 
  • Like
Reactions: SBM

Landonious

Black Skirt Tetra
MFK Member
Jan 15, 2018
38
22
13
46
oh no its not totally flush... thats cause of the pond corners, really hard to flush that. my alligator turtle is kinda chill. i dont remember reading them ever have the random need to bite rocks or wood or dirt, have u? im leaning toward releasing my 40 lb beast into the pond....
 
  • Like
Reactions: Matteus

krichardson

Bronze Tier VIP
MFK Member
Jun 19, 2006
27,560
14,448
480
Datnoid Island
If the liner is flush against the base of the pond I doubt they would bite it. Had a common in a aquarium he would snap and hit the glass but that was because it could see me. Gammara was a angry turtle lol.
What eventually became of Gammara?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Matteus

krichardson

Bronze Tier VIP
MFK Member
Jun 19, 2006
27,560
14,448
480
Datnoid Island
My Mother got rid of him but someone at the lfs took him. He was still a juvenile.
Ah...in the nearby creek there was a huge old snapper that I used to spot when would catch minnows.It would float just under the water surface and then disappear in an instant when I would closer for a better look.
 
  • Like
Reactions: tlindsey

skjl47

Goliath Tigerfish
MFK Member
May 16, 2011
4,397
3,777
179
Tennessee
Hello; This story may not be relevant but it is about snappers. When I was less than ten years old there was a creek close to my home. There was an old man (maybe he just seemed old to me) who caught snappers. The creek had dirt banks. The old man would wade in the water poking a stick in along the bank under water. Not sure what he was feeling for but I watched him. When he found what he was looking for, he would stick his hand into the bank. I guess there was a hole dug into the bank. He would pull out a snapper by the tail.

I have thought about this many times over the decades. I have made up a story line but much is just guesswork. My first guess is somehow he knew the snapper would be headfirst in the hole. Why headfirst I am hot sure. I do not know if the snapper could somehow breathe when in the hole? Did the snapper dig up at an angle so there would be an air space?

I do not have many answers as the old man never explained things to me. I would follow him quietly when I saw him and just watch. I suppose this was just another of the multitude of things adults did that one under ten years old just accepted at the time. I do often wish I had asked a lot of questions, but maybe the old man would have run me off. That was a different age when pretty much any adult could discipline a kid, not like today when you are not even supposed to look at or talk to kids.

Snappers have claws and I do figure they can dig with them. My guess (and a guess only) is the digging with those claws might be hard on a pool liner. I also never got the nerve to try to catch snappers the way that old man did. Plus they smell bad.
 

krichardson

Bronze Tier VIP
MFK Member
Jun 19, 2006
27,560
14,448
480
Datnoid Island
Hello; This story may not be relevant but it is about snappers. When I was less than ten years old there was a creek close to my home. There was an old man (maybe he just seemed old to me) who caught snappers. The creek had dirt banks. The old man would wade in the water poking a stick in along the bank under water. Not sure what he was feeling for but I watched him. When he found what he was looking for, he would stick his hand into the bank. I guess there was a hole dug into the bank. He would pull out a snapper by the tail.

I have thought about this many times over the decades. I have made up a story line but much is just guesswork. My first guess is somehow he knew the snapper would be headfirst in the hole. Why headfirst I am hot sure. I do not know if the snapper could somehow breathe when in the hole? Did the snapper dig up at an angle so there would be an air space?

I do not have many answers as the old man never explained things to me. I would follow him quietly when I saw him and just watch. I suppose this was just another of the multitude of things adults did that one under ten years old just accepted at the time. I do often wish I had asked a lot of questions, but maybe the old man would have run me off. That was a different age when pretty much any adult could discipline a kid, not like today when you are not even supposed to look at or talk to kids.

Snappers have claws and I do figure they can dig with them. My guess (and a guess only) is the digging with those claws might be hard on a pool liner. I also never got the nerve to try to catch snappers the way that old man did. Plus they smell bad.
There is noodling and then there is turtling or snappering.
 
  • Haha
Reactions: tlindsey
zoomed.com
hikariusa.com
aqaimports.com
Store