Mata Mata & Alley Snapper Pic

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Arachnobaron
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Jul 22, 2004
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538
I have posted in this fourm in a long time. Walking by my turtle tank a second ago I saw both of my turtles (Mata Mata & a Alligator Snapper) hanging out in the same area- great time for a picture. So far I haven't had any trouble mixing them...they are getting along fine. Both are housed in a 40gal. tank with2 submersable filters and LOTS of hidding places...Enjoy!
 

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AneesasMuse

Arachnoangel
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Jul 31, 2006
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Wow! They look very cool! Nice pic, too. :)

My hubby is the turtle person around here... as he had them as a child.. but I do have a tortoise that follows me around for food. :rolleyes:
 

beetleman

Arachnoking
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Jan 5, 2005
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yeah they are awesome turtles, i had both aswell,but i kept mine seperate,the ally was a very aggressive eater{D the mata mata also,but still i didn't want to take the chance,that's great ya got them together w/no problems. very cool.
 

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Arachnobaron
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Jul 22, 2004
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Yeah- I was worried too about keeping them together but i had saw another hobbyists doing it.... They were both roughly the same size when I purchased them...the mata mata is growing quicker.... I will probably seperate them in the next 6 months or so... they tend to ignore eachother. Man can they put a hurtin' on some feeder minnows!
 

compnerd7

Arachnobaron
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Apr 6, 2007
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freakin awsome turtles!!! I didn't know that u could keep them in captitavity, very cool:clap:
 

froggyman

Arachnoangel
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Nov 26, 2006
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yes mata mata are pretty expensive last time i checked(300-400)
oh and theres actually a pretty big capitivy breeding project for the ally's(both for restocking and captives)
correct me if im wrong
 

dtknow

Arachnoking
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Aug 18, 2004
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Where is the ally going to live when it gets bigger(a long time, but eventually)? Got a big pond with carp/ducks lined up? LOL
 

Gsc

Arachnobaron
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Jul 22, 2004
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Where is the ally going to live when it gets bigger(a long time, but eventually)? Got a big pond with carp/ducks lined up? LOL
I've had a few large alley snappers in the past. A large feed trough (6' - 8' round) in the back yard works great here in Texas. They have drain holes at the bottom...easy for water changes... they've always done well.

The alligator snapper is Captive Bred at Loggerhead Acres.... The Mata Mata was last years import.... they can be "spendy" but are well worth it!
 

Bigboy

Arachnoprince
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Nov 18, 2004
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They're so clean! How are you managing to keep algae from growing on them? Do you clean them?
 

Gsc

Arachnobaron
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They are kept indoors... subdued lighting...VERY good filtration and lots of water changes... even the tank doesn't grow algae!
 

beetleman

Arachnoking
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I've had a few large alley snappers in the past. A large feed trough (6' - 8' round) in the back yard works great here in Texas. They have drain holes at the bottom...easy for water changes... they've always done well.

The alligator snapper is Captive Bred at Loggerhead Acres.... The Mata Mata was last years import.... they can be "spendy" but are well worth it!
loggerhead acres! yes that's where i got my alligator snappers from years back john richards "turtleman" he is the ally snapper king very cool guy. i remember when there were baby import mata matas that's when i had mine aswell they were pretty easy to raise,and subdue lighting is what they like,that's how kept them also. but now all you see are 6" up for mata matas,man do these turtles rock.if i had the space i'd get me somemore{D
 

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Arachnobaron
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Jul 22, 2004
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John at Loggerhead acres has a DVD out now on his facility and the Alligator Snappers...pretty cool. Another cool thing about loggerhead acres is- If your turtle gets too big for you to handle, John will arrange for you to ship it back to him. He'll send smaller ones to replace your big one. The big ones go into his captive breeding program and not back into the pet trade.... he was great to deal with!

I was able to get my mata mata at 4" (I would kill for a baby). I asked an importer why you don't see smaller ones in the hobby (most nowadays are 8"-12"+). Guess there is a certain set number that are allowed to be imported into the US every year. Since they are so few and far inbetween, people importing take what they can get.... Turns out that the larger ones are easier for the trappers to catch.... The gentleman who imported the group of small ones that mine came from gave the trappers EXTRA money to search out smaller ones. Too bad no one has done much captive breeding with them. It SHOULD be possible in S. Florida to breed them outdoors in ponds (kinda like the tropical fish farmers)...
 

beetleman

Arachnoking
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oh yeah, when i had my matas(2) i bought them when they were about 2 1/2" and the color of their bellies was beautiful,amazing turtles,john had a show on AP awhile back which i saw,that's proberly the 1 that's on dvd i think, yup,that's what i did whith my allys(4) they got pretty goodsized and he took them back for babies(2) but now my buddy has them,he breeds turtles aswell,so they are outside in a pond:clap: northern fla.the leucistic allys are awesome too,with their pink hues,but i would love to get the white morph now that's killer!
 
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