Breeding pair of snappers

[Crispy]

I take care of a small pond (about 300g) for an old man who has a breeding pair of common snappers. They hibernate all winter in this small pond and have bred for the last 4 years. Turtles are about 8 years old and were wildcaught when very small. They lay their eggs in the corner of the fenced off garden in the dirt (even though there is a sandpit nearby). Laid them in the same place the last 3 years in a row. We put a screen over the nest to keep out predators and to collect the babies when they hatch in the fall.

They do not bother with the 8 goldfish in the pond, but voraciously eat any bluegill, bass, or perch we put in for them. They have eaten birds who get too close to the pond and this year even got a possum!

female has the algae covered shell, male does not. weird.

 

[Danzig86]

nice work!

 

[evilxyardxgnome]

That is cool, what do you do with the babies?

 

[Crispy]

That is cool, what do you do with the babies?

They go to local hobbyists (who can care for them), or get released back into the wild. They are native and still hunted for their meat around here. Sad to see so many big turtles get caught and butchered, so we try to do our part.

 

[Vicious_Fish]

That's pretty cool. I'm really surprised they don't eat the goldfish.

 

[Crispy]

Thanks. Also should be noted that the male never leaves the water, but the larger female frequently wanders around the garden.

Pond has 2 streams. One coming from the paddlewheel of the small cabin on the left, the other a waterfall basin on the right. Filtered totally by plants.

 

[devder1]

wow that is sooo cool makes me miss chicago

 

[evilxyardxgnome]

Thanks. Also should be noted that the male never leaves the water, but the larger female frequently wanders around the garden.

Pond has 2 streams. One coming from the paddlewheel of the small cabin on the left, the other a waterfall basin on the right. Filtered totally by plants.

That's crazy that the male never leaves the water yet isn't covered by algae and the female frequents outside the pond and is covered.

 

[Crispy]

That's crazy that the male never leaves the water yet isn't covered by algae and the female frequents outside the pond and is covered.

yeah, a bit odd.. I believe the female is at least 2 years older then the male. I think she gets much more sun than he does, maybe why she has the algae and he doesn't?

 

[Louie]

Great pics and set up nice to see breeding snappers.

I would think the 300 galls freeze solid during winter, do you use pond heating device?