Found a snapper baby in my chicken's beak

[Careym13]

Found a baby snapper about 2 inches SCL in the mouth of one of my chickens last night. I don't have any water around my house, just woods. There are large drainage pipes that run through the wooded area though to prevent the gravel road from washing out in storms. The baby does not seem to have use of it's right rear leg but looks ok otherwise. I don't know anything about water turtles so I'm not really sure what to do for this baby. Right now I have him in a 30 gallon tank with shallow water and two terra cotta saucers flipped over for him to bask and get out of the water. I have heat at one end from a bulb and the basking temp is about 89. The only food I have to offer is dried mealworms and the greens I feed my tortoises but I can get other stuff if someone can give me some suggestions. I'm hesitant to just plop him back out in the woods since there is no water and he is so tiny and our woods are filled with creatures that will eat him (apparently including chickens). So what should I do? Keep him till he gets bigger then find him a pond? Let him go now and hope for the best? Neither? I'm trying to find a rehabber who will take him but haven't found anyone willing yet.

 

[Pearly]

Goodness!!! All i know about turtles is that they can't eat on dry land they have to be in water and their food floating there. Basking over the dry land in the enclosure and good UVB and with tiny baby I'd assume they should be kept warm like baby torts, temps never below 80F day/night. Post pics, I'm curious must be adorable

 

[Len B]

A chicken carrying a snapping turtle would have been a great picture and probably a first. If it cant use a leg it wont have much of a chance in the wild being so small.I would keep in a smaller container until you are sure it's eating. Any floating pelleted water turtle diet and most floating pelleted fish food should get it eating in time.The adult females sometimes travel great distances to nest so it's not uncommon to find the hatchlings far from water.

 

[Careym13]

A chicken carrying a snapping turtle would have been a great picture and probably a first. If it cant use a leg it wont have much of a chance in the wild being so small.I would keep in a smaller container until you are sure it's eating. Any floating pelleted water turtle diet and most floating pelleted fish food should get it eating in time.The adult females sometimes travel great distances to nest so it's not uncommon to find the hatchlings far from water.

Thanks Len. What kind of temps should I be aiming for day/night/basking?

 

[Len B]

For youngsters I don't do anything special, room temps and enough lighting to provide a day and night differential as it would have in the wild.Most likely wont even attempt to bask. OH I do provide hiding spots for them. They are tough little devils but naturally will hide to feel secure and survive .In time it will be begging for food like every other turtle.

 

[mike taylor]

I go to my fish store and buy minnows. They eat live fish . They lay on the sides of lakes, rivers ,and ponds in water deep enough to cover themselves but shallow enough to poke their heads up to get air . They will eat turtle food that have dried shrimp, and worms .They eat a small amount of plant matter. Sounds like you got him setup right . Keep the water clean . They make great pets . I have a few of them . Here is a wild one I found in the second picture.

 

[Careym13]

I go to my fish store and buy minnows. They eat live fish . They lay on the sides of lakes, rivers ,and ponds in water deep enough to cover themselves but shallow enough to poke their heads up to get air . They will eat turtle food that have dried shrimp, and worms .They eat a small amount of plant matter. Sounds like you got him setup right . Keep the water clean . They make great pets . I have a few of them . Here is a wild one I found in the second picture.

What are the plants in your first picture? I'm planning to get a filter for the tank...I'm guessing that is the best way to keep the water clean? Do they need water conditioner like fish or is tap water safe?

 

[mike taylor]

I use tap water out of my water hose . That is what I call water hyacinths or water lettuce .

 

[Careym13]

Here are some photos of the baby. You can see how the right rear leg just hangs there. He does have use of the toes on that foot at least.

 

[mike taylor]

Good save. He's probably a year old . They grow fast . You need to start thinking of a bigger setup in the next year or so .

 

[Tom]

How in the heck did your chicken carry that? I'm not sure my emu could carry a turtle that big...

 

[BloodbucketXXL]

Hmm, that one actually has a good start. Normally when people find "baby" snapping turtles on land, they're talking about "just hatched" snapping turtles. This one seems to actually have some good size on it.

Anyway, unless you're planning on keeping it for good, I'd personally find a good spot for it and get rid of it. Bad leg or not, that's not necessarily a death sentence and I'd be inclined to just find a good spot and let it take its chances.

I suppose you could just keep it for a few weeks and hope that its leg heals up a bit, but I really would set a definite deadline for release if you're not planning on keeping it. It's easy for "a few weeks" to turn into "a few months", and before you know it you've got a turtle that's been in captivity for so long that it would be irresponsible to release it. Which isn't really desirable when you're talking about a turtle that's likely to get big FAST (for comparison, my one year old snapper is already 2 pounds, and my 3 year old snapper is 20 pounds).

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely LOVE snapping turtles, but I generally think it's a bad idea to start getting attached to them. The bad leg is a liability, no doubt about that. But as long as the turtle is eating well and seems to be able to get around reasonably well in water, I wouldn't think that its chances of surviving in the wild are THAT bad.

EDIT: As far as temporary care, I think room temperature is fine. I live in Florida and don't use any additional heating for mine. Granted, you're farther north than me, but this time of year I think room temperature is fine. I also just use plain tapwater. Whether that's sufficient for you depends on the quality of your tapwater, but I'd wager that tapwater is perfectly acceptable (as long as you're only keeping the turtle for a few weeks at most). Also, at that size these turtles lean heavily towards animal proteins in their diets, so i wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't bother with the lettuce. While I don't consider dried mealworms to be an acceptable staple, I figure they ought to be fine just to determine if your turtle is actually eating. But if you end up keeping it any longer than a week or two, you really ought to get it feeding on something better. Worms, fish, shrimp, and commercial turtle pellets are all fine. I'd stay away from live fish simply for the reason that even healthy snappers are largely scavengers and can have difficulty catching fish. So I wouldn't give this turtle any extra difficulty feeding, especially when it's already injured and the main purpose here is to just keep it eating until you can find a spot to release it.

 

[Careym13]

I measured and weighed him, exactly 2 inches and 38 grams.

 

[Careym13]

How in the heck did your chicken carry that? I'm not sure my emu could carry a turtle that big...

She is a big girl, about 12 pounds. She is also the alpha hen and tends to take food, or whatever, away from the other chickens when she can.

 

[Careym13]

Hmm, that one actually has a good start. Normally when people find "baby" snapping turtles on land, they're talking about "just hatched" snapping turtles. This one seems to actually have some good size on it.

Anyway, unless you're planning on keeping it for good, I'd personally find a good spot for it and get rid of it. Bad leg or not, that's not necessarily a death sentence and I'd be inclined to just find a good spot and let it take its chances.

I suppose you could just keep it for a few weeks and hope that its leg heals up a bit, but I really would set a definite deadline for release if you're not planning on keeping it. It's easy for "a few weeks" to turn into "a few months", and before you know it you've got a turtle that's been in captivity for so long that it would be irresponsible to release it. Which isn't really desirable when you're talking about a turtle that's likely to get big FAST (for comparison, my one year old snapper is already 2 pounds, and my 3 year old snapper is 20 pounds).

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely LOVE snapping turtles, but I generally think it's a bad idea to start getting attached to them. The bad leg is a liability, no doubt about that. But as long as the turtle is eating well and seems to be able to get around reasonably well in water, I wouldn't think that its chances of surviving in the wild are THAT bad.

EDIT: As far as temporary care, I think room temperature is fine. I live in Florida and don't use any additional heating for mine. Granted, you're farther north than me, but this time of year I think room temperature is fine. I also just use plain tapwater. Whether that's sufficient for you depends on the quality of your tapwater, but I'd wager that tapwater is perfectly acceptable (as long as you're only keeping the turtle for a few weeks at most). Also, at that size these turtles lean heavily towards animal proteins in their diets, so i wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't bother with the lettuce. While I don't consider dried mealworms to be an acceptable staple, I figure they ought to be fine just to determine if your turtle is actually eating. But if you end up keeping it any longer than a week or two, you really ought to get it feeding on something better. Worms, fish, shrimp, and commercial turtle pellets are all fine. I'd stay away from live fish simply for the reason that even healthy snappers are largely scavengers and can have difficulty catching fish. So I wouldn't give this turtle any extra difficulty feeding, especially when it's already injured and the main purpose here is to just keep it eating until you can find a spot to release it.

Thank you for the info. I filled the tank with more water last night to see how well he can swim and so far he is looking pretty gimpy. But maybe the leg just needs a few days to heal. If he doesn't improve I'll have to keep him, which I don't mind doing since I have the space and means to care for a large turtle.

 

[Loritort]

Thank you for the info. I filled the tank with more water last night to see how well he can swim and so far he is looking pretty gimpy. But maybe the leg just needs a few days to heal. If he doesn't improve I'll have to keep him, which I don't mind doing since I have the space and means to care for a large turtle.

Good for you

 

[Careym13]

Can anyone recommend a UV bulb for aquariums that isn't CFL style?

 

[Tom]

Can anyone recommend a UV bulb for aquariums that isn't CFL style?

The tubes work well. They make fixtures with waterproof end caps that you can hang over the enclosure.

@Markw84 has linked them before...

 

[Careym13]

The tubes work well. They make fixtures with waterproof end caps that you can hang over the enclosure.

@Markw84 has linked them before...

I found a reptisun full spectrum t8 and a basking bulb.

 

[Careym13]

Ordered a 40 gallon tank and a Marineland filter rated for like 100 gallons. I know the 40 gallon won't last very long but I'm hoping it'll work for him for a little while. Still no improvement in the leg.