found a baby snapper at work close to a creek. took it home while changing the water in the tank i looked at it and noticed a round soft spot or growth on it,s belly. will turn it lose as soon as it grows a bit it is about less than 1 inch in diameter. has anybody seen these before on a baby,s belly. thank you

That is where the yolk was, the belly button of the turtle. As the yolk is absorbed up into the body, that area will eventually harden up. My page on hatchling snappers (which also pertains to other aquatic turtles) is at http://www.fishpondinfo.com/hatchling.htm

I guess it's that time of year again. The snappers are starting to hatch.

ok that makes sense. is there anything i should do to care for it? and also the baby i caught it eating for the first time last nite. a turtle stick from the pet store. the belly spot is as big as a pinky nail. how old would you guesstimate it is? and lastly youre site is very informative . thanks for the fast response

you really shouldnt be taking animals out of the wild unless its a bad situation.

if you do plan on putting it back in the wild you should stick with more natural foods. rosey reds, small nightcrawlers, and other live foods would be better. in virginia in order to put something back it has to go to the same area, not have been exposed to any other animals, be in captivity for less than 4 weeks, and must be back by sept 15 to allow for proper time to prepare for hibernation. i think you have to have a permit too, but the other parameters insure the success of the animal in the wild. if you have deviated from these requirements, in virginia you would have to keep the animal in captivity forever. obviously a nature park or something like that may be a better home and some good will come of it. if you have fulfilled these requirements, return to the wild is the best thing.

also adult snappers require tanks around 75 gallons, its worth putting it back.

a tank bigger than a 75 is needed for something that can be over a foot in carapace length. thats like keeping you or me in a bathroom our whole life, it can be done but its not pleasant. most snapper enthusiasts recommend at least 150 gallons per snapper, this does not apply to alligator snappers as they are much larger. most people with snappers as pets usually end up putting it in a pond, indoor or outdoor, because the cost and fragility of a glass tank of this size is not worth it.

You have to agree that no tank will be big enough to substitute the animals natural enviroment. Snappers dont actually move around that much but yes they do need heavy filtration because they are predators, and large tanks. a 75 gallon minimum is okay. But hey anything bigger is better.

that is true, but if i encourage people to do a lot bigger than what is NEEDED, they are more likely go big enough, if i tell them the absolute minimum, they may not do it thinking there is room to spare, like you said around 75 gallons, saying at least 75 would have been more effective, kind of liek how people yield at a stop sign, if they said yield, people would barely slow down, but by saying stop, people end up at least yielding.

i meant to say at least, actually i believe the standard 75 gallon is only 1 foot wide, not really great for a snapper.

75s are 4ft long and about 1.5ft wide and tall.

Brian

i thought they were taller. i still think you would need wider.

21" tall, ur right, thats still about 18" like u said, bigger is better

Full sized snappers should be in ponds. Smaller ones can be in tanks like the 120 gallon I have for my lizard. See this snapper-keeping page:
http://www.chelydra.org/

I do think your best option is release now. Technically, as Reptile Guy outlined, you would have to release the baby right away to be legal but unfortunately not many people even follow the law. I released the snapper I had once in the spring because I didn't get him until early winter (from a relative who stupidly took him to begin with), and he needed to have his health improved first and couldn't go out in the snow.

A hatchling won't be able to eat fish or earthworms just yet. I suggest live blackworms. Because of the time of year that it is, I suspect the baby that you found has hatched within the last few weeks. I'm surprised he/she ate the turtle sticks. Snappy (the one I had) refused non-living foods for a few months at first.

this is my opinion but snappers shouldnt be taken or sold. they are not friendly and can injure you easily. Its like keeping a tiger cub and when it gets bigger it can kill you (snappers cant)

i dont know why everybody is so excited. i never said i was keeping it just wanted to help it out anyways i was changing the water set him to get some sun on the porch and it ran off in the blink of an eye so now it,s gone and everybody can relax

k.

I found a baby snapper turtle today when I was jogging in the park. I went by it once and thought it was a rock so then I stopped and walked back up to it real slow (it was just off the path) and its head was turned to the right awarkwardly and when I picked it up it didn't move. As I was carrying it to the creek it started to move and its right front leg/arm is twisted funny and it won't turn it's head away from the right and it just sits there with its mouth semi-open. I do not even think it's eyes are open yet. It is almost 1.5" in length and 1" in width. It's belly is still soft also. I put it in a large plastic container with warm spring water and a flat rock for it to sit on. It sits on the rock and just makes right circles and then it sits in the water opening and shutting its mouth. The water is barely an 1/8 of an inch deep because since it appears injured I was afraid anymore water and it would drown. It refuses to eat anything I give it. Lettuce, earthworms all chopped up, baby crickets. And since it looks injured I'm afraid it's just going to die. :( Any ideas what is wrong with it? I've been reading and perhaps since it is still so small it is being sustained by it's yolk still, hopefully? I can get pictures sometime this evening if anyone is interested.

Most snappers are about an inch (not including tail) when born. They may open their mouth in defense but it sounds like something may be wrong with this guy. Having its head in one direction or spinning in circles may indicate problems with the inner ear, infection, head tilt, etc. Can you find a turtle club, vet, or rehabilitator to take him to? It's best to keep him in very shallow water and offer small live foods like blackworms. The other animal foods are probably too big or awkward. Baby snappers don't really want plant foods. If the belly button area is still soft, the snapper is probably newly born and still has some yolk.

http://www.fishpondinfo.com/hatchling.htm

I changed the water again today and used spring water. It's just barely deep enough to get his belly wet. He still won't open his eyes much and it's front right arm doesn't work properly and his still keeps his head turned to the right almost all the way and only makes right hand circles. I'm thinking since when I found him he was almost dead that something got a hold of him and hurt him. :( I went to petsmart and got a lamp with a 40w nightime bulb and a 75w daytime bulb. I have a digital temperature sensor that is on the peice of slate with it and the temperature at night is between 80-82 degrees F. During the day it's around 85 without the light so I wont' be using it until it gets colder in there. I bought some mealworms for it that are dead and he opened his mouth and I put the tip of one in it's mouth and it bit the end off but didn't swallow it. I threw three in on the slate for him to stare at if he changes his mind. I'll call a few vets on monday and see what they recommend on what to do, or who to take it too. I really wish I knew why his front right arm is twisted and weird (but still moves) and why he keeps turning only right and keeps his head turned to the right hard.

Thanks for all the help. Your webpage and info on hatchlings has been awesome.

-adam

It does sound like he was hurt. Was the dead mealworm freshy dead and juicy or one of those dried up ones they sell? I think he will only go for live or juicy (ew!). I hope you can get some help from a vet. Hopefully you can find one you can trust who won't just chastice you for taking an animal from the wild or insist you let him go or send him to a rehabilitator. If you can find a rehabilitator who knows about turtles, that would be best but it sounds like this little guy may be permantely disabled. A turtle aficionado may be able to take him if you can find one with the proper permits.

I contacted a local vet that specialized in reptiles and they referred me to a woman who was more able to help the turtle. I called her and explained his only turning his head to the right and only moving in right circles and she said he probably has an upper respitory issue and then asked me to watch him carefully for a clear discharge from his nose or mouth. There was. She said to bring him down first thing Sunday morning for her to see him but when I arrived home from work at 3am sunday morning he hadn't moved from the last spot he was in and both of his eyes were open. I tried to get him to respond to me and he wouldn't even blink. It died sometime between 9pm-3am while I was at work. :( Thanks for your help though everyone.

-adam

I'm so sorry that he died. I feel stupid that I didn't think of a URI (upper respiratory infection). It's extremely common in turtles. Normally the symptoms are nasal discharge and closed or gooey eyes as well as raspy breathing. You hadn't mentioned those things so I didn't think of it. In advanced stages, the URI can cause infection to spread into the ears causing balancing and orientation problems, head tilt, and spinning. It's likely that he was beyond saving for a while now but I still feel guilty.

Hi Everybody,
First of all thanks for the great site. Secondly I too have found a baby snapper, well really it found me. We have an inground pool that we left closed over the summer. I normally keep the water down under an inch but with all the hurricane rains we've had its up to about 8 inches deep. Well this morning I was leaving for work and saw alot of movement in the water near the edge. Low and behold I found a baby snapper struggling to keep it's head up. Searching through the site I think i gathered enough info to make it a happy temporary home where it won't get to comfortable. Right now I have it one of those plastic baby pools with about an inch of water in it with a variety of rocks and leaves to give it ample room to bask and hide. I just left it outside figureing that it would be subject to the same temperatures as it would in the wild. I used the water from the pool so it's got a variety of insects in it for it to snack on (I'm hoping it can catch its own mosquito larva or water spiders), and his yoke is still there. My first thought was to keep him as a pet but after doing a minimal amount of research that is not going to be an option. He's about an inch and a half long and an inch wide. He seems healthy and strong and was very happy to get out of the bucket I kept him in all day. My question is where do I bring him to release him or since its so late do you think I should keep him till spring? I don't know where he came from. I don't think there is a creek with in 4 miles or so. There is a park with a lake near but I'm afriad he'll be found by some other person that doesn't know how to take care of him. Is he to young to try to get back if I bring him to the creek near my parents house? Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks again for the great site.

Dennis

the best thing would be to contact your local wildlife authority, they will be able to either place it where needed or care for it. let us know what you do.

Those are all hard choices. It's still pretty warm here in MD. What are the temperatures like where you live? It's probably warm enough to still release him instead of keeping him until spring which is a lot of work. Legally, you aren't supposed to interefere with him at all.

Since you found him nearby, some female snapper laid eggs nearby and must think the area is good for her babies. Are you sure there's no water closer than 4 miles? How close is the park with the lake? That may be your best bet. Because he just hatched, he's probably not going to have the homing instinct, and, if left in an adequate environs, he should stay there. Still, I would try to find the closest snapper-friendly spot (where his parents are most apt to live). Yes, there are risks from predators including some other human then picking him up and not having a clue but such is life in the wild.

its still fairly warm. We just kinda had a cold snap where it gets down into the upper 40's at night. I was told about a creek in the subdivision behind us. I didn't even know it was there. As long as you guys think it's still warm enough I'll just release him there tomorrow. From what I've heard its fairly senic and not many people mess around back there. I sure hope that is where his parents are.

I hope he does well there!