Over the years I've heard a lot of myths about snapping turtles (they can bite a broom in half, take off your whole hand, live to be 500 years old, etc). When I first considered keeping a common snapper, of course the first comments I got were ones saying that I should never even attempt it. More myths got thrown in my face (a hatchling will outgrow a 75 gal in six months, it'll break the aquarium glass, etc). Well, I bought a baby common snapper-- kept him in a 40 for the first few months, and by six months old he had barely grown an inch and a half (and this thing ate like a monster). I handled him very often, and he never once snapped at me (some unintentional clawing occurred but other than that no harm done).
Now, I never would have trusted this little fella with fish that wasn't three times his size, but I started wondering if he could be kept with other turtles temporarily, assuming they were the same size. Again-- "That thing will kill anything else you put in the tank within five minutes"-- not true. The thing coexisted with two RES's and a painted turtle for four months, until one of the RES's started attacking him and I rehomed all of them except the snapper.
Then I decided to get him a more permanent tank mate; an alligator snapper. I got the same usual criticism. The only problem I encountered was that the CST was slightly larger than the AST, thus often out-competing him for food (especially because the AST always tried to angle rather than chasing down his food, which made things more difficult). But, unlike what I was told, neither seemed to behave territorially whatsoever; in fact, the common would often deliberately share his food with the AST.
Sadly, my common snapper died of unknown causes several months ago. But, I still have my AST, who is still only about four inches shell length. I plan to buy another common snapping turtle eventually and try this again; but this time have a CST that is slightly smaller than the AST.
And when I was planning on doing this it got me thinking; Assuming both CST's and AST's can coexist in a tank environment under certain circumstances, is it possible that other large, aggressive turtles of the same size can be kept with them as well? The main species I was looking at were Mexican Giant Musk turtles (Staurotypus Triporcatus), Mata Matas, or perhaps a member of the Podocnemis family (which are hard to find in the pet trade). I mean, clearly little is known about snappers, both in captivity and in the wild, and there is still a lot more we can learn about these magnificent animals. These guys get a really bad rap. People have been wrong about snappers in the past. Once I've got the money for a new tank I was considering giving it a try. Hopefully more posts to come in the future!
Now, I never would have trusted this little fella with fish that wasn't three times his size, but I started wondering if he could be kept with other turtles temporarily, assuming they were the same size. Again-- "That thing will kill anything else you put in the tank within five minutes"-- not true. The thing coexisted with two RES's and a painted turtle for four months, until one of the RES's started attacking him and I rehomed all of them except the snapper.
Then I decided to get him a more permanent tank mate; an alligator snapper. I got the same usual criticism. The only problem I encountered was that the CST was slightly larger than the AST, thus often out-competing him for food (especially because the AST always tried to angle rather than chasing down his food, which made things more difficult). But, unlike what I was told, neither seemed to behave territorially whatsoever; in fact, the common would often deliberately share his food with the AST.
Sadly, my common snapper died of unknown causes several months ago. But, I still have my AST, who is still only about four inches shell length. I plan to buy another common snapping turtle eventually and try this again; but this time have a CST that is slightly smaller than the AST.
And when I was planning on doing this it got me thinking; Assuming both CST's and AST's can coexist in a tank environment under certain circumstances, is it possible that other large, aggressive turtles of the same size can be kept with them as well? The main species I was looking at were Mexican Giant Musk turtles (Staurotypus Triporcatus), Mata Matas, or perhaps a member of the Podocnemis family (which are hard to find in the pet trade). I mean, clearly little is known about snappers, both in captivity and in the wild, and there is still a lot more we can learn about these magnificent animals. These guys get a really bad rap. People have been wrong about snappers in the past. Once I've got the money for a new tank I was considering giving it a try. Hopefully more posts to come in the future!
