Other pets (pics and discussions)

[Invisible Snake]

The battle to get Tank (Chelydra serpentina- Common Snapping Turtle) to include vegetables and fruits into his diet continues.
It was a difficult decision to let him get hungry but I thought it was worth a try. This evening he woke up and headed to his water. I went and got him a strawberry and bing cherry.
Dropping half a strawberry in front of him was met with and immediate strike and grab. He held it in his mouth for a couple seconds then spit it out.
I waited a couple minutes and dropped half a cherry in. He grabbed it and swallowed it. I was on a roll so I offered the other half of the cherry. It too was grabbed and eaten. Finally I've found something he likes. Out to the kitchen I went for a few more cherries.
My hopes were quickly dashed as he refused to eat the cherries after grabbing them.
I'm happy that he at least ate one. I hope things will change as he matures.
The really cool thing was he never grabbed me as I reached in to retrieve the cherry halves. He knows fingers are off limits. Even when he's hungry.
He's a smart turtle.

What if you scented the fruits and vegetables with some of his favorite foods, would that work?

[Greg'sGarters]

Or maybe get a nice fillet of chicken breast and roll that around some fruits and veggies, a snapping turtle burrito!

[guidofatherof5]

Or maybe get a nice fillet of chicken breast and roll that around some fruits and veggies, a snapping turtle burrito!

Good idea but this is a turtle that take in a mouth full of trout chow both fresh(hard) and softened and sorts them out in his mouth spitting the softened one back out. He only likes the crunchy ones.

[Greg'sGarters]

How about this?

You take chicken breast, strawberries, and greens
Put them all together in a blender and puree it
Pour it out and add a little flour (to help it stay together and snappers like bread/dough)
Ball it up and feed him that

Does that sound good?

[guidofatherof5]

Everything but the flour part.

[Greg'sGarters]

Sounds great!

[guidofatherof5]

Tonight while I worked on my laptop Tank woke up and stuck his head out from under his blanket. After a few moments I notice he was giving me a strange stare. It appeared he was looking at the top of my head. Then I realized he was looking at the head set I was wearing. I took it off and let his see it up close and smell it. He is such a curious turtle and very observant.
After that was done I spent some one-on-one time with him. We were as close to each other as the photo suggests. He is such a calm turtle.
I have never worked with a turtle like him. He seeks out interaction and wants me as close to him as I can get. If he's in his water he will stretch his neck out to be close to me. I can honestly say we have bonded. Very unusual behavior for a snapping turtle or any turtle for that matter. His attitude is the same whether he is hungry, tired or full. I hope to get many more years with this awesome turtle.

[guidofatherof5]

I've said it before that I thought Tank had bonded with me.
Tonight I got more evidence that is what has happened. I was sitting on the couch watching some football. Tank's enclosure is behind me (the couch sits in the middle of the room) My daughter Hailee yelled to me that Tank was out of his water. A few moments later I see Tank climbing up the side of the couch. Once on my lap he went to sleep.
Crazy snapping turtle.

[Light of Dae]

Steve maybe you should try to marinate his veggies in steak blood overnight... I think that would work..

[ConcinusMan]

I think that Tank is bit smarter than that. I mean, would putting frosting on brussel sprouts make you think it was cake?