Bert the Destroyer!

[ballpython2]

how big in length/lbs will these turtles get?

 

[arachnochicken]

Bert

I bought one years ago from Pa , he was about 4" when I got him and he outgrew a 55 gallon tank when he passed . His shell was 16" the last time I had measured him and that was 2 years before he died . So I figure another couple inches of grow in 2 years . He was my garbage disposal what ever left overs we had he got (nothing bad) and he would eat anything that ended up in his tank , including me , I underestimated how long his neck was one day .
Just a word of advice , DO NOT let a 10" snapping turtle bite you , it hurts , it bleeds and they don't let go . lol So eventually you going to need a small pond for him .

 

[DooM_ShrooM]

yeah u have to make a pond for him maybe 5 times his own size for the space and barriers(so it wont eat people that watches it and signs so people won't get eaten by ur pet (lol) and by the way she is cute.........i would want to see that in full grown size and eating ur neighbors lol

 

[TomM]

Another pic of Bert:

 

[pouchedrat]

Cute! snappers get freaking huge, though, lol. I've moved many of them from our backyard back into the pond across the street, one was a female laying eggs!

Ever look up pics of big snappers online? yeah, they're massive things. i've heard of people keeping them in large enclosed ponds, or huge bathtubs with custom filtration systems.

 

[Tleilaxu]

Dude you can raise that water level way up snappers are better swimmers than people give them credit for, I kept a hatchling in a full 90 gallon tank for awhile and it was happy as could be, just be sure they have decorations to climb up to the surface incase they are feeling lazy. Any luck with the veggies?

 

[TomM]

Dude you can raise that water level way up snappers are better swimmers than people give them credit for, I kept a hatchling in a full 90 gallon tank for awhile and it was happy as could be, just be sure they have decorations to climb up to the surface incase they are feeling lazy. Any luck with the veggies?

That's the shallow side of the tank, there is usually around 6 or 7 inches of water and I piled some river rocks on the one side of the tank so that he could reach the surface while resting... as for the veggies, still no real interest yet, but accepts mealworms, aquatic turtle pellets, and the occasional platty (those fish that look like mollies) maybe 1 every two or three weeks. You can definitely tell that Bert is going through a growth spurt just by looking at the shell. There are those growth rings on each plate (forget the proper term) on his shell. Anyways, I'll still try to introduce him to some veggies.

 

[TomM]

Oh, and thank you, Tleilaxu, for your help with Bert. I'm sure I'll keep posting updates and pictures and your input is always welcome, I'd rather be corrected and caring for him properly than thinking that everything I do is right.

Any updates on Buster?

 

[Tleilaxu]

I moved Buster in to a 120 gallon aquarium over the holidays, he loves it and has even lost some weight, which was good as he was getting fat, and still no veggies or plants last long with him.

Also just a thought go to petsmaert, buy some anacharis, and hornwort and place it in berts tank, these aquatic plants are good eating for turtles as well, and they have the added benefit of lasting awhile in a tank as well. Also now that he is eating pellets, its a good time to feed him alage pellets as well, along with other brands of pellets, the more varied diet you give him now, the more likely down the road that the turtle will accept new foods easier.

 

[TomM]

I give Bert an algae wafer every now and then, and I definitely will get a plant or too. I didn't know which ones were ok for turtles. Again, thanks for all these tips.

 

[TomM]

YouTube really butchered this video...but here it is anyways.

Bert eating some pellets during a periodical water change (w/ music):
[YOUTUBE]UYaxzY_ELcE[/YOUTUBE]

 

[arachnorama]

Awww she's so freaking cute!!!!!!