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I have just be given a 1 weekold snapping turtle and i have no idea what to do with it, i cant let it go becuase its a house pet now & im scared it will die if i try to set it free. i need to no if i can keep it in a 10 gallon tank like u would a fish becuase fish only get as big as the tank will allow is it the same thing with turtles? and if i feed him rite and let him out and stuff in a bigger area in the summer....idk give me some help people..please

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Only one week old? Not nearly long enough to have it's instincts messed with yet. If you don't have at least 50 years of your life to spend taking care of this animal, and the housing it will require further down the road, I suggest (AS LONG AS IT'S NATIVE TO WHERE YOU LIVE) releasing it back as close to where it came from as possible. If you decide to keep it, it will need about 10 gallons of water for every inch of shell length, a filter (unless it's marketed as being for turtles, you'll want a filter that can handle at least twice the water volume it will be filtering... turtles make more waste than fish), UVB lighting, a heat source, etc., etc., in other words, plan on spending about $200 for a proper setup, because if you take care of it properly a 10 gallon tank WILL NOT HOLD IT... reptiles don't grow to the size of their enclosure and stop, and when it comes down to it, reptiles continue to grow throughout their lives...

Snapping turtles are notorious for being aggressive (thus the name) and getting one to settle down in captivity is a rarity... Also keep in mind that as it matures, it will eat everything from fish to rodents and small children...
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okay here's what you do you bring him to the local pond/river and let him loose
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If it came from the wild, let it go as close to 'home' as possible, as soon as possible. Believe me, you DO NOT want a pet snapper!
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The turtle is not a "house pet"; it is a wild animal that you are totally unprepared for. I have several snapping turtles, and they are not beginner pets.

Here is my advice:

Find out where it was captured, and release it. Do NOT release it anyplace else.
Report (0) (0) | earlier
You must let it go. turtles aren't like monkeys. They run on instincts they don't get taught. No you will probably need a few thousand gallon pond to keep it satisfied. It will bite you... Your finger looks just like a fish to it.
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below is a website with pictures of adult snapping turtles. snappers naturally live in the wild so you have no fears about it dying. please just let it go, for the sake of the turtle.
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You can let it go.It will survive.Turtles instinctively know how to catch food.Find a nice pond or lake and let it go,ideally near the place where it was found. You would need a huge pond for it if you kept it and it survived to adulthood.They eat a lot and they make a real mess!!
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neither fish OR turtles grow to fit the tank size...
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ok i love turtles so i can tell you that turtles do grow but not HUGE if its only a week old it'll get bigger over the course of its life and it is not the same as fish. turtles grow to how big they'll get depending on what u feed them and depending on the breed.
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