Before you even read my question I’m just going to add notes
-Yes, I made sure they were legal to own
-Yes, I have room and money to supply them with the proper housing and food
-Yes, I know they get huge, live long lives, and I need to watch my fingers and toes.
-They’ve been in captivity too long for me to just let them go in the wild
I was helping my friend clean up and in the kitchen it was dark because she didn’t have lightbulbs and I saw a small fish tank with very little water in them.
I asked what was in there and she said turtles, I was appalled that they were in the dark with no heater or lighting, let alone very little water.
I asked her why they were in that kind of condition and she said they were given to her and she had no idea how(or money)to care for it. She said do you want them and I thought “Well I can’t let them live like this.” and said yes.
She said she’s had them for 4-6 months but they are still only 2 inches long which is probably an indicator that they’re malnourished.
What is everything I need to know (except what I listed above) about these snapping turtles
what do they eat?
what temperature should I have the tank at?
how deep does their water need to be? (at their current state)
should I keep small or larger gravel at the bottom of the tank?
and of course any extra tips and advice you’d like to give