guess what i picked up at the family reunion!

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
You received all good advice. Beware though, they bite and chase you actively..Take care when picking it up, utmost care, it has a very long neck and it will try to bite you. Also take care during tank maintenance.

It won't be afraid of you. It will try to catch your hand, ok?

G Luck
 
Miguel is right - they are bold and not shy once they are settled in. He will associate your hand with food, or even just decide that your hand is food. And trust me, you do not want to get bitten. I have never given one the chance to do so, for good reason. Even at this size.
 
thanx eveybody. Looks like i am on the right track. I will add some water from my other tank. I got spare rocks, and rivergravel, and false plants that stand up by themeselves (should i use them, i am afraid he migh try to eat them and die). I have a whisper 20G in-tank filter (held by level adjustable suction cups). My lights are blue lights, made for nocturnal fish. Will that work? If not i have heating lamp (really a reading lamp with really powerful lights. i use it to evaporate liquids). Would the blue lights and heater on low work, as long as i make it so it cant touch the heater? Someone said that they like plants as well as fish. Any thin i can get from my lawn/garden? Sounds like i can get up a nice setup by the end of tonight:D . (Along with pics)

P>S> how long will it take for it to get active, happy, adjusted?
 
I still say return it to where you found it. And no, you certainly cannot use "lawn and garden" stuff. From everything I'm hearing, this is not an ideal pet for you, neither are you an ideal owner. I applaud your desire to learn, but not at the expense of the turtle.
 
it will adapt very quickly.

it doesn 't eat vegetables. Feed it every orher day, while a baby, with pieces of fish, shrimp, mussels, krill, and so on..take care with the water cleanliness.

Once it's grown ( and they grow faaast ) feed it sparingly and give it space. These guys moove around. They are nothing like the Alligator Snappers ( who are ambushers ). Common snappers ( Chelidra Serpentina ) are very active stalkers.

How I envy you! I miss mine terribly!!
Enjoy and keep posting.
 
if you follow the advice of releasing it ( and one must admit it is sound advice, of course ) do it quickly. Today or tomorrow, at the latest. And release it where you caught it, ok?

If not, take care and enjoy.
 
i don't think i can release it exactly where i caught it. I f i release it, it will be in the other place i was talking about. THe species is found there, it is aman made lake. And this guy will not mess up the population of food. there is more fish because it is bigger. The place i caught it is a place with water runoff. I think a descent sized pond, with clean streams and smaller ponds, is much better than a 3-4 foot wide waste stream that is not even a foot deep. There is a few preditors at the other place, snakes, ducks, gess, larger fish, otters(or some other large rat like thing that swims in a lake) and a couple other snappers, i think even some other mudsliders. The bluegill are in breeding overdive. There are too many young. This guy can't eat the big guys. He will just participate in natural selection. And no, he won't have any deseases. He is already checking out the tank.
 
i set up a nice shady cave. He can breath easily with his tank. I set up a powerful filter. he can climp on top of his cave. He even ate a peice of frozen bait shrimp. So there u go. Basking areas, proper water level, good filteration, land, caves, he eats, hes walking around the tank. eating. Looks prety solid to me. Pics and updates cooming up
 
What size tank is this? You have obviously decided to go against what is natural.... so... what size tank is he in now? He will need at least a 2 to 3 foot long tank by next year.
 
10G
my old and new science teachers both like aquarium stuff. one of them has a river system tank. he had a snapper in it, but it died. He is always happy to take things off my hands.
I will take care of it well. I don't know why this is raising a bunch of red flags. People catch wild fish and keep them as pets all the time. There are a bunch of kids that catch gartner snakes and keep them. As stated this animal is Far from endangered, and is very hardy.
 
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