My Old Snapper

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armaggedonx

armaggedonx

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Dec 17, 2006
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www.herpforum.com
I have just took out my snapper, I havent looked at him in like 8 - 9 months atleast, I've fed him etc but thought i'd leave him completely alone but ive got him out right now and he looks wayyyy bigger than what I remember (ill get pics). Im just looking at factfiles about them and ive found this one, I thought this growing thing was a myth but whats you guys opinions on this? http://www.rainforest-pets.com/snappers.htm, Read the "Important Note #1", what do you guys think? And what about that they can "learn their names".

Keith
 
Absolute.
Bullsh*t.

Can you limit their size, stunt their growth? Sure. Oh but didn't we mention? The turtles internal organs don't slow growth at the same pace, and their development will be hindered, effectively destroying the long-term ability to process nutrients and waste properly, significantly shortening their life and altering their "mood" and activity levels in the meantime. In reality, a small enclosure hardly ever (if, in fact, ever) stunts growth to a noticeable degree. What usually happens is the water quality becomes so bad that the turtle ends up dying before any real stunting might happen. The only way to avoid this is to have absolutely insane amounts of filtration for the amount of water you have, or to do an absolutely insane amount of water changes. (EDIT: or just get an acceptable enclosure)

As far as learning their names... turtles are rarely responsive to anything other than mating opportunities, territorial aggression, or food. My turtles know that I mean them when I say ''turtle'', probably because I usually say this when I'm doing something they don't like (like handling them or cleaning their enclosure, or just getting too close for comfort) or when it's feeding time. If you can get one to respond to a name or term for any other reasons, I'd be impressed as hell.

Josh H
 
Just so you're aware you CAN actually get salmonella just from touching a turtle... it is true that the bacteria lives in the GI tract but when the turtle defecates...into the water... some of that bacteria comes out... into the water... where the turtle is sitting... so it is now all over the turtle. Most people are NOT immune and most mammals do NOT actually carry it in their own systems... many birds and reptiles do and it actually aids in digestion for them, but when it gets into us it makes us very sick. You are far more likely to get it from under cooked chicken than you are from a pet reptile but it is certainly not impossible. Easy way to avoid that is to simply wash your hands after messing with the turtle or it's tank.
 
anarchir said:
Someone should get in contact with the owner of that site. That is so full of misinformation that its probably killing pets.
Click to expand...

There are thousands of sites with the same sort of information, and just as many with proper info. If the owners of these sites wanted proper info, it's out there to be found. Most often they make it clear that what they want is not to give proper care information, but to give care information that makes keeping these animals convenient for the keeper. They don't understand that keeping certain creatures requires more sacrifice than some people are willing to make. Because of these things, informative emails, even with the best intentions at heart, usually fall upon deaf ears.

Josh H
 
pics?? what do U mean you haven't seen ur snapper in 9 months???
 
lix.ma14 said:
pics?? what do U mean you haven't seen ur snapper in 9 months???
Click to expand...

I took that to mean he hasn't closely looked at the turtle in that period of time, not that he hasn't seen it at all in that time. Then again, the latter wouldn't be all that strange, were it in a pond.

Josh H
 
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