Pedigree of the snapping turtle, behavior in nature, reproduction, appearance, keeping at home, safety precautions, buying a pet and price. In our modern era, keeping familiar and beloved cats, dogs and guinea pigs at home, of course, is possible and welcomed by everyone, but who can already be surprised and amazed by the fact that a German shepherd dog, a Rottweiler is running around your site, or a lop-eared person is resting on the sofa scottish kitten? It is quite another matter if friends or relatives come to your house, and they are met by someone out of the ordinary, someone whom it was previously possible to see only in pictures of books and encyclopedias, and even then not all of them.
Today, animals such as the raccoon-raccoon or lemur are also considered very common pets. But who, then, should you bring to your house, so as not to be like everyone else? Various reptiles and reptiles are gaining momentum in popularity, for example, pay your attention to turtles. Yes, of course, people used to start them in their home aquariums before, but there is such a representative of their squad who definitely cannot be ignored by people who have an interest in everything original and exotic - this is the snapping turtle.
Seeing her in a picture on the Internet or meeting her gaze at the zoo, many people may wonder: "How can such a monster live in a house next to children?" And this is indeed, to some extent, a justified thought. If you had such an opportunity to see an adult specimen of the cayman turtle, then either you will be frightened of it, or otherwise you will have an irresistible desire to acquire such a friend and settle him in your house.
Some consider her to be a real monster, but some are not afraid of either her peculiar appearance, or her huge dimensions, as for a turtle, or frightening stories about her character and behavior.
Despite all the nuances, this is one of the most unpretentious and undemanding exotics that they make as friends of their smaller ones. But in order to initially create the necessary living conditions for the tortoise representative, you will have to not only work a little, but also spend quite a lot of money.
The choice of a pet is a responsible and purely personal matter, because it does not matter how handsome and sweet your friend is, the main thing is that he is comfortable and good next to you, and you, in turn, joyfully return home, knowing that there is something waiting for you there. nature miracle.
But before you start such a pet, it would be nice to get to know him better.
Home territories and origins of the snapping turtle
The snapping turtle is a fairly large representative of the large animal kingdom, which scientists have classified into the class of reptiles, the order of turtles, the family and the genus of snapping turtles.
This amazing representative of the world fauna is distributed in countries such as Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, French Guiana, Guyana, the Republic of Suriname, Ecuador and many others. For the first time this species was registered in the USA in the state of Florida.
In her native habitats, she prefers to populate reservoirs in which the water is either stagnant or just slowly flowing, it's good if there is silt at the bottom of her home, this beauty burrows into it with great pleasure.
Features of the behavior of a turtle in open nature
If we talk about these peculiar descendants of the order of turtles, then with firm confidence it can be argued that they cannot live without water, moreover, they spend almost all their time in water bodies. In the event that you are lucky enough to contemplate such a miracle of nature that takes a walk on earthly firmament, then this means that the turtle wanted changes in her daily life, and she simply decided to change her place of permanent habitation and just you found her in transit time to another body of water. Also, females come to land after the mating process in order to lay eggs.
These reptiles have amazingly good health, they are not afraid of temperature extremes, or cold, even ice-cold water, they also feel comfortable there.
In order for this aquatic inhabitant not to know the lack of food products, nature rewarded them not only with indiscriminate food, but also with an amazing sense of smell, with the help of which the snapping turtle can smell goodies a mile away. A variety of fish, amphibians, reptiles and even mammals and water birds can be useful as food for these large "animals"; it usually hunts them for a long time, waiting for the most opportune moment to attack from its ambush. But if difficult times come in the turtle's life and it becomes tight with prey on the territory it occupies, then it does not hesitate to feed itself with carrion, which it seeks out with its sense of smell.
The behavior of these reptiles on land is very different from how they behave in water. In reservoirs they feel safe, although even there they do not lose their vigilance for a minute. If the snapping turtle has got out on land, there it is carefully buried in the sand, from which only the eyes and nostrils are visible. So she can rest for a long time and bask in the sun, but as soon as someone or something approaches her, she regards "this" as an enemy and immediately pounces on her very strong limbs.
Continuation of the genus of the snapping turtle
The beginning of the mating season for these animals falls in the middle of spring. At this time, the representatives of the stronger sex begin to actively win the attention of the female turtle, which they liked, and they "fight" in the truest sense of the word. If on the way to their beloved they come across other males, then bloodshed can no longer be avoided. But sometimes male turtles do not behave like a gentleman. The thing is that, desperately fighting off other contenders for the attention of the female, the most powerful male does not at all think that he may not even be interested in this very representative of the female sex, then his nerves can no longer withstand, and he can afford to use strength and to the resisting female.
But such unpleasant cases are rare, if everything happens by mutual consent, then the male cayman turtles are still suitors, they can very beautifully give attention to their "lady of the heart", making a movement around her that is somewhat reminiscent of dances.
The mating process takes place under water, immediately after that the expectant mother begins to equip the nest, she does this at a sufficiently large distance from the water source. As building materials, the female uses everything that catches her eye - it can be sawdust, small branches and even plant waste. Usually, if the turtle has chosen a location suitable for the nest, then in the future it will lay eggs only there. Sometimes they like it, the places on the side of the roads are cozy, then it also happens that the masonry is destroyed by passing vehicles.
At the chosen place with its paws, the turtle pulls out a kind of mink, in the lower part of which there is a depression for eggs. One clutch usually contains from 15 to 30 eggs. The incubation period usually lasts about 2, 5-4 months, at the end of this period rather active babies are born, showing aggression, their gender depends on the environmental conditions.
Puberty in pups occurs at the age of 18–23 years.
Characteristics of the exterior of the snapping turtle
Considering the appearance of this animal, we can conclude that nature, when creating this living creature, showed maximum imagination. The length of the shell of this inhabitant of the waters can reach up to 35–40 cm, its mass ranges from 13 to 30 kg, and it has an oval shape. The color of the shell can be different, it all depends on the subspecies and age of the reptile. It is usually colored dark brown with a slight swampy tint.
This natural armor in its structure has two shields - dorsal, its other name is carapace and abdominal or plastron.
On the carapace, it seems possible to notice 3 large ridges, which are located longitudinally. They are very well expressed in young individuals, in older representatives of a kind they are smoothed out. The back of the dorsal shield has a certain serration. The plastron is relatively small, cruciform in shape.
The caudal process is rather long, in size it reaches about 60% of the tortoise's entire body length. Well-visible teeth are located longitudinally along its entire length. Thanks to this feature, it looks a bit like a crocodile's tail.
On a fairly large and massive head, powerful jaws and relatively miniature eyes can be seen, which are located closer to the olfactory organ. The neck is quite long, its entire surface is covered with tubercles, which are very similar to warts.
Turtle limbs, both front and rear, are a universal remedy, at their ends are not only powerful claws, but also swimming membranes.
Keeping a snapping turtle at home
Before you bring such an extravagant companion into your house, you need to take care of his personal roof over his head. For this pet, you need to purchase an aquarium or aquaterrarium, which should not only be spacious enough, but very large, given the maximum size of this animal. Of course, a dwelling of a more miniature size is also suitable for a small turtle, but one must take into account the fact that this biting turtle grows throughout its entire life cycle. The most optimal dimensions for a personal "apartment" of such a pet are 0.7-1.2 m high, 1 m wide and 1.5-1.8 m long.
One of the most important attributes in a turtle's house is a light source, simple fluorescent lamps are great as the latter, but they can only be used as a simple light source, but ultraviolet light is needed for your buddy to develop well. To do this, you need to install an ultraviolet lamp, which will not only provide your reptile with the right amount of rays, but also some amount of electromagnetic radiation, which is also good for these pets. The length of daylight hours for the snapping turtle should be at least 12 hours.
Considering that by their nature turtles are animals that live in water, getting out on land only in certain situations, it is not necessary to equip a corner of the earth in the terrarium, because your friend will have nowhere to move, and he will not lay eggs, looking at your sexual characteristics. After all, keeping more than one individual in one dwelling is fraught with outbursts of mutual aggression, and, as a result, the loss of one of the favorites. Such are they egoists.
There should be a lot of water in your lodger's personal house, the calculation of its amount can be done taking into account the height of the animal, namely, when your friend lies down on the bottom, he should be able to stretch his head to the surface. The liquid in the aquarium is always kept clean - this is the key to the good health of your foster child. It is best to use filtered water, without a variety of impurities.
For a comfortable life and normal metabolism of the turtle, it is necessary to maintain the water temperature at the desired and constant level. For a cayman reptile, the optimal readings on a thermometer should be within 24-28 degrees. When the water cools, your friend becomes less active, lethargy appears, and the state of health of the whole organism deteriorates accordingly. To constantly monitor the temperature level, you can purchase special liquid heaters for aquariums.
In order not to change the water in the aquarium every day, it is recommended to install an external filter in it, it will clean it not only from turbidity, but also from the remains of food and waste products of your friend. The internal filter, of course, is more effective, but these biting turtles are still lovers of change and not some interior designers, with their strong paws they can easily tear it off the glass.
As for the interior, you can place various decorative elements in your pet's home, the main thing is that they do not have sharp corners about which the turtle can be injured, and these decorations should be several times larger than the size of the animal's head in size. Because everything small that is in her field of vision, she will begin to taste and swallow, even if these are stones.
If in the summer you are always accustomed to leaving for the country, then you can safely take your new friend with you. On the territory of the summer cottage, a garden pond is equipped for it, in which the turtle will swim. Around the pond, you can make a piece of land strewn with sand, the main thing is that this turtle's abode is reliably fenced. Otherwise, this lover of travel and relocation will simply go for a walk around the site or even around the village, and even if she does not bite anyone, then everyone who is not familiar with exotic animals can be frightened. And you will have to calm people down and look for your pet, but with his speed, he will not run far.
If we talk about feeding such an exotic animal, then we can admit the thought that the diet should be very exotic and original, but this is pure delusion. Feeding such a pet at home will not be difficult. You can safely treat your home turtle with lean meats, fish, seafood, and even offal. From time to time, you can pamper your friend in shell with frogs. The snapping turtle is not famous for being particularly demanding on food, but if some new goodies are periodically introduced into its diet, this will have a very favorable effect on its development. A big plus in feeding this reptile is that it swallows food whole, so you do not have to constantly clean the fish and butcher frogs with your own hands.
Safety when handling the snapping turtle
When starting up such an animal as a biting turtle, you should not hope that she will gladly walk into your arms, and you should not try to teach her this. Such training will not only be unsuccessful, but may also result in serious injuries. This cute pet can easily not only bite, but also bite through your hand, so you need to take it in your arms with great care and in the most extreme cases, for example, when you decide to make general dressing in the aquarium or clean the shell of your dangerous friend.
Snapping turtle purchase and price
For the reason that these living creatures are increasingly being made as friends of lesser ones, it will not be difficult to buy a turtle on the territory of Russia. Try to choose animals that are small in size, it is still better if the turtle lives at home from an early age. The life expectancy in captivity for these representatives of the world fauna is sometimes over 50 years, so be prepared to live a long and happy life with it. The price for one individual of the snapping turtle ranges from 6,000 to 50,000 rubles.
For more information on the snapping turtle, see the following video:
