Recent Photos of Axle (Common Snapping Turtle)

[king2005]

I know they look dark, but u can still see him.. They looked bright on the digi viewer, ohwell.

Axle will be 7 this July & hes about 25 pounds. When I can afford a scale, I'll get him weighed :)

[Sophist]

What a cool pet! Thanks for sharing. I loooooove all herps, but snapping turtles are yet another pet that is banned in California :( .

Has he been with you the whole 7 years? Does he ever attempt to bite anymore?

[king2005]

What a cool pet! Thanks for sharing. I loooooove all herps, but snapping turtles are yet another pet that is banned in California :( .

Has he been with you the whole 7 years? Does he ever attempt to bite anymore?


I know if you get a permit you can have a snapper in CA. I inquired about it several years ago, as there was a chance I might have to move out there... I was told I shouldn't have any problems since I've had him sinch a hatchling & he was strictly a pet.

Yep, I've dad Axle pretty much from day 1. I rescued him from sure death. The poor guy couldn't swim & was heading over a waterfall. He was nearly 2 months old until he was able to even try to swim. Also the town was known to kill snappers, so if he managed to get past the 5 foot Carp & the hard sharp rocks at the bottom of the watefall, he would have been hunted anyways.

Axle is a big baby. He's harmless out of water & likes to hang out with the dog (well when I was living with dogs)... I raised him to be fearless, so I wouldn't have any snapping issues, as snappers snap in fear (just like dogs do). I can give him nose kisses, pet him, screatch his beak, top of head & chin. Hes only snapped at me once, but it wasn't fast at all. I accidently scared the hell out of him (it was 100% my fault) & he stretched his neck over his back & opened his mouth wide & then closed it, after he realized it was only me.

I've had kids pet him, but I always keep his head in my hands, just incase. Everyone LOVES his feet!! cause his claws are over 1 inch long!!

[Flatcoatluver]

He is so cute!! I love seeing your turtle, king2005

[king2005]

He is so cute!! I love seeing your turtle, king2005

Thanks :)

The first picture is of him fast asleep in his tote. thats how safe & relaxed he is.. Its not often a person can do daily chores/life & have a turtle fast asleep heheh

[Sophist]

I know if you get a permit you can have a snapper in CA. I inquired about it several years ago, as there was a chance I might have to move out there... I was told I shouldn't have any problems since I've had him sinch a hatchling & he was strictly a pet.




:confused: I am VERY curious to know who told you this... last time I checked they were still destroying seized snappers, or shipping them back out east b/c the non-nativce established populations are already getting out of control...

[king2005]

:confused: I am VERY curious to know who told you this... last time I checked they were still destroying seized snappers, or shipping them back out east b/c the non-nativce established populations are already getting out of control...


It was a department that handels that kind of thing.. mind you I did do this a couple years ago. But I don't see why one couldn't bring ones in as a pet. I understand destroying them in the wild, but not the ones someone has as a pet.

[Sophist]

It was a department that handels that kind of thing.. mind you I did do this a couple years ago. But I don't see why one couldn't bring ones in as a pet. I understand destroying them in the wild, but not the ones someone has as a pet.

Because that's where all the ones from the wild came from...

What do you keep Axle in?

[king2005]

Because that's where all the ones from the wild came from...

What do you keep Axle in?

Right now hes in 160 pond in the basement.(that pond use to be in my bedroom back home, for 5yrs).

In a week or less, he'll be removed from his lovely pond & kept in a tote for a couple of months :( As soon as I can buy him a giant tote, He'll be moved into that. I just hope the small tote doesn't = death for all his goldfish friends.. I've never had this many last so long & grow this big. Normally only a couple survive & grow HUGE. I like goldfish so having 50 surviving & getting big is a lot of fun!.. If I have enough room, I'll catch the biggest ones & my fav long tailed white one & put them into a 20gal tank, until I get the huge tote.

If your wondering, I'm moving into a small apt & cannot fit a 7' x 4' pond in there. But I can still get a large tote that will hold 100+ gallons of water

[buttercup132]

He has HUGE claws!!!! But hes cute in a reptile way lol:p :confused:

[king2005]

Axle has lovely eyes & his beak is very stunning during the summer months.. If you ever wanna see Axle in person, let me now. I can tote him up & bus to an area where we can meet :) I prefer a park of some sort so I can put him down & it must be above 10c (15c is best) other wise he'll just sit there & fall asleep hehehe

[king2005]

I even wanna look into getting him registered at the vets & to get him a set of tags, so NO one can say hes a wild turtle & have him taken away (its very unlikely, but don't want it happening)

[Sophist]

Good luck with the move, I'd for sure take out any fishies I was attached to, though!

[IRescue452]

Good luck. Make sure to clean the goldfish water often as the ammonia will build to toxic levels almost daily if you have several in a 20 gallon. If you start seeing white scales on their sides, those are chemical burns. I wonder if the totes you speak of are strong enough to hold that much water.
1 gallon=8 pounds, 100 gallons = 800 pounds. You might be better off buying a kiddie pool.

[king2005]

Good luck. Make sure to clean the goldfish water often as the ammonia will build to toxic levels almost daily if you have several in a 20 gallon. If you start seeing white scales on their sides, those are chemical burns. I wonder if the totes you speak of are strong enough to hold that much water.
1 gallon=8 pounds, 100 gallons = 800 pounds. You might be better off buying a kiddie pool.


No worries about the fishies :) They only get fed once a week, so the ammonia levels are never high :) I know fishies :D

There are strong totes out there, wasn't going for a cheepy. I thought about a kiddy pool but the hard ones aren't deep enough to put the filter in. I discovered a pond store on my way to the new place, so I'm hoping I can do a trade, as Axles pond has never been kept outside & its still in fab. condition!