Found a snapper baby in my chicken's beak

[TammyJ]

I just love him to pieces.

 

[Careym13]

I just love him to pieces.

Me too!

 

[Moozillion]

Me too!

Me three!!!

 

[Careym13]

I still can't get Scratch to eat anything other than pellets, mealworms and red shrimp. Going to keep trying. He is stubborn.

 

[BloodbucketXXL]

I still can't get Scratch to eat anything other than pellets, mealworms and red shrimp. Going to keep trying. He is stubborn.

You might try leaving the food in overnight, though I do realize that you don't want food sitting in the tank and making the water go bad faster.

Alternatively, you could simply leave the food in there for an hour. And then if he doesn't eat it within that hour, then he just doesn't eat today. Granted, I wouldn't go more than a few days using the "starvation method", especially for a turtle that small. But he'll be fine without food for 2 or 3 days. But I'm betting that if you devote the next 2 or 3 days to only feeding it what you want it to eat, that he'll be eating it by thursday.

Just out of curiosity, how often are you feeding it? Just curious, because if he's so picky that he won't even accept scraps of chicken, then it doesn't sound like he's THAT hungry.

 

[Careym13]

You might try leaving the food in overnight, though I do realize that you don't want food sitting in the tank and making the water go bad faster.

Alternatively, you could simply leave the food in there for an hour. And then if he doesn't eat it within that hour, then he just doesn't eat today. Granted, I wouldn't go more than a few days using the "starvation method", especially for a turtle that small. But he'll be fine without food for 2 or 3 days. But I'm betting that if you devote the next 2 or 3 days to only feeding it what you want it to eat, that he'll be eating it by thursday.

Just out of curiosity, how often are you feeding it? Just curious, because if he's so picky that he won't even accept scraps of chicken, then it doesn't sound like he's THAT hungry.

I feed him twice a day, is that too much?

 

[chin_lee]

skip one day of feeding and try new food. if he doesn't "bite" then wait another day and try again. Tortoises/turtles are more stubborn than we are weary and patient. Primal instinct is survival and food is survival.

 

[Moozillion]

I feed him twice a day, is that too much?

When my mud turtle was a baby I only fed her once a day.
Now that she's bigger, she's gotten picky about food! If I try to feed her daily, she will ignore food she doesn't care for. I feed her every other day now, and that works well.
If she had HER way, she'd only ever get sushi-grade raw salmon!!!! She loves it and will absolutely STUFF herself. Then she totally ignores the catfish I give her for the next week or so. So salmon is only an occasional treat.

 

[BloodbucketXXL]

I feed him twice a day, is that too much?

Well, I guess that depends on how much food you offer during a feeding. But yeah...I'd wager that you're feeding the turtle too much.

Not only is that a good way to get abnormally fast growth (and possibly obesity and other health problems), that's also a good way to ensure that your turtle is NEVER hungry enough to eat what it doesn't like since it knows that it's got another meal coming shortly.

For a turtle that size, I wouldn't feed more than once a day. And even then, you still have to keep an eye on them to make sure they aren't getting fat. But snapping turtles will DEFINITELY gorge themselves on more food than they need. And just like a fat kid who refuses to eat his salad because his parents keep giving in and buying him cheeseburgers, he's going to turn down the food that he doesn't like if he keeps on getting cheeseburgers. A fat kid who begs his parents for cheeseburgers and then turns down a salad isn't REALLY hungry. He's just a fat kid who likes cheeseburgers. If he were REALLY hungry, he'd eat his salad.

If you want the turtle to eat something that it doesn't like, I recommend cutting down on feeding. He'll eat it if he gets hungry enough. Common snapping turtles are generally not so picky that they'll starve themselves because they aren't getting fed their preferred food. Just like most people, they have preferences but if they get hungry enough then they'll eat what's available. I defeinitely don't recommend actually starving the turtle, but a few days without food ought to get him hungry enough to eat what you're giving him. Then after he's recognized it as actual suitable food, it ought to be easier to get him to keep on eating it.

 

[TammyJ]

I agree with everything BloodbucketXXL said.

 

[Careym13]

Well, I guess that depends on how much food you offer during a feeding. But yeah...I'd wager that you're feeding the turtle too much.

Not only is that a good way to get abnormally fast growth (and possibly obesity and other health problems), that's also a good way to ensure that your turtle is NEVER hungry enough to eat what it doesn't like since it knows that it's got another meal coming shortly.

For a turtle that size, I wouldn't feed more than once a day. And even then, you still have to keep an eye on them to make sure they aren't getting fat. But snapping turtles will DEFINITELY gorge themselves on more food than they need. And just like a fat kid who refuses to eat his salad because his parents keep giving in and buying him cheeseburgers, he's going to turn down the food that he doesn't like if he keeps on getting cheeseburgers. A fat kid who begs his parents for cheeseburgers and then turns down a salad isn't REALLY hungry. He's just a fat kid who likes cheeseburgers. If he were REALLY hungry, he'd eat his salad.

If you want the turtle to eat something that it doesn't like, I recommend cutting down on feeding. He'll eat it if he gets hungry enough. Common snapping turtles are generally not so picky that they'll starve themselves because they aren't getting fed their preferred food. Just like most people, they have preferences but if they get hungry enough then they'll eat what's available. I defeinitely don't recommend actually starving the turtle, but a few days without food ought to get him hungry enough to eat what you're giving him. Then after he's recognized it as actual suitable food, it ought to be easier to get him to keep on eating it.

Oh great...my turtle is a fat kid . I picked up more chicken, will stick with that for a few days and report back. Thanks for all the help!

 

[Careym13]

When my mud turtle was a baby I only fed her once a day.
Now that she's bigger, she's gotten picky about food! If I try to feed her daily, she will ignore food she doesn't care for. I feed her every other day now, and that works well.
If she had HER way, she'd only ever get sushi-grade raw salmon!!!! She loves it and will absolutely STUFF herself. Then she totally ignores the catfish I give her for the next week or so. So salmon is only an occasional treat.

Well who doesn't like sushi!

 

[Careym13]

He FINALLY ate some chicken this morning! Going to try beef tomorrow.

 

[Careym13]

Scratch is up to 130 grams. I've cut back on his food to make sure he doesn't grow too fast or get fat. So he gets a few pellets and some meat in the mornings. As a treat every few days I give him some red shrimp or mealworms. I have a feeling by spring he will be needing a tank upgrade.

 

[TammyJ]

A few new pictures of this little sweetheart would be nice!

 

[Careym13]

A few new pictures of this little sweetheart would be nice!

I'll post some soon! He is up to 164 grams now

 

[Moozillion]

I'll post some soon! He is up to 164 grams now

You may have to change his name to "Chunk!"

 

[Careym13]

Here are some new photos

 

[Taylor T.]

Getting bigger! Is his leg any better?

 

[Moozillion]

Here are some new photos
View attachment 221450View attachment 221451View attachment 221452

[emoji33]WOW!!!! He has really GROWN! [emoji2]