Your kind words are much appreciated, thank you.

Yes, please keep me informed…we have a lot to learn; snappers especially seem to vary widely in their seasonal activity. I’ve seen them moving under the ice in NY, but have not been able to figure out why or even how they manage that; also, much of what we’ve learned about even relatively common species has been put to use in programs designed to breed endangered species.

Good luck and please keep me posted.

Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.

B

Thanks for your interest in our blog and vote of confidence.

A hatchling discovered in June has likely spent the winter in the nest (they commonly hatch in August-September, but in the north overwinter in the nest) or perhaps was just a very small yearling. In any event, that amount of time exposed to a natural season cycle would be enough to cause the turtle to slow down even when brought indoors for the winter. However, in my experience there is some variability in this – actually I have seen such in the same clutch of snappers that hatched in an outdoor exhibit at the Bronx Zoo – some ate over the winter, others did not.

It’s difficult to distinguish illness from semi-dormancy, but seeing as how you are experienced in raising turtles, and that snappers are quite hardy, I would say it is just slowing down. As you say, it would in any event be difficult to diagnose illness for other than a well-experienced reptile veterinarian.

As long as the animal moves about on occasion and does not “list” (tilting when swimming indicates gas from a bacterial infection), I wouldn’t worry. Offer food each week or so, but the turtle will be fine if it does not eat. They adjust their metabolisms, it seems, to fit the situation (fairly new research on this) and those that have fed well all summer lose very little weight.

Good luck and please keep me posted; I’m interested to know how the turtle behaves as the season progresses.

Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.

I previously have raised a common snapping turtle and an eastern painted turtle from hatchlings to third-year adults and successfully released them into the wild. (One was found a long way from water and the other was rescued from a raccoon Riviera.)

In June of this year I came across a snapper hatchling in the middle of nowhere, marching in a direction I knew wouldn’t take him anywhere near water, so I adopted him, too. He ate voraciously until about three weeks ago, then stopped entirely.

I found this odd because the other snapper never lost his appetite as winter approached. I live in Michigan, so the water in this snapper’s aquarium (average depth about 3 inches, with some deeper and some more shallow water, beside a window) has cooled lately. The turtle seems in good health, slightly overweight if anything, and travels his tank from one hiding spot to another.

I’m interested to know if you think this one is simply slowing down because of the season, or if I should have him checked out by a vet. I can’t say I have a lot of confidence in a vet’s ability to diagnose issues in so young and small a turtle, but I’ll go with whatever you think.

Thanks for your time and consideration. B

Thanks for your interest in our blog.

If the turtle originated from north Florida it would likely enter dormancy in captivity, or at least slow down a bit, as it would in the wild. Those living in south Florida stay active year-round; however, a captive would react to lower ambient temperatures in the home, if such occurred, by slowing down its feeding as well.

However, if it fed well last winter then something else may be involved – an intestinal blockage, perhaps, or a bacterial infection. These are difficult to diagnose in snappers – an experienced reptile veterinarian would be the best option (infections can take hold under the scutes of the shell, and spread without being noticed, for example).

Please write in with some details concerning its aquarium (water depth, size, temp., etc.), diet and any other symptoms, ands I’ll do my best to provide some insight.

Good luck and please keep me posted.

Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.