This is Veteran's Memorial Park in Sioux Falls, S.D. According to the people who gave Tank to me this is where he was found walking across the parking lot. He was probably headed to one of the water sources in the park or the creek that runs along the property. They didn't want to see him get killed so they brought him back to Iowa. Little did they know how this action would impact my family and myself. I'm so glad he was saved.
This is the earliest photo I have of Tank . Weighing only a few ounces he was just a baby. Thinking back to those days I could see he was different but I hadn't recognized that yet. At first, Tank lived much the way many wild caught turtles do, living in an aquarium. He lived this way for the first year with us. Pretty basic, being fed and the water changed. He wasn't given much interaction, certainly not like later in his life. Tank grew and eventually was big enough to spend sometime in the small pool that was on the deck.
This photo was taken on Sept. 29th 2009.
As you can see Tank has done some good growing. I love looking back at these early photos, much like the early photo I have of my 5 kids. Life is happening fast for them but with Tank it was about to explode even with a near death experience.
As you can see Tank has done some good growing. I love looking back at these early photos, much like the early photo I have of my 5 kids. Life is happening fast for them but with Tank it was about to explode even with a near death experience.
On July 6th of 2010 we almost lost Tank. He was spending sometime on the back deck in a small pool with a couple Red-earned slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) and a Western Painted turtle(Chrysemys picta). It was a hot day and I had not checked the water temp. I stopped by the house to have lunch with my kids. While talking with them my daughter Gabby came in from the deck and said "Tank is acting weird, he's just floating" I rushed out to the deck to see him doing the "dead turtle" float. If you've ever seen a dead turtle in the water you know what I mean. As I grabbed him I knew what was wrong, heat stroke. I immediately started running cool water on him with a heavy dose of prayer. He was lifeless, my oldest daughter Emmy was crying as Tank is her buddy. We continued the cool water treatment along with manipulating his legs to aid in circulation. It was then I noticed he wasn't breathing so I gave him a few short rescue breaths. He started breathing again but went into a convulsion. We continue getting his core temp down as best we could. The convulsions stopped and he seemed unconscious. We put him on a blanket in the living room and Emmy stayed with him. He seemed to wake up but was having trouble moving. I needed to get back on patrol so I left. A few hours later I returned home to find Tank up and moving around much more naturally. As the day progressed so did his recovery. The next day he was back to his old self. It was then Emmy told me Tank no longer had pool privileges and that he would not be going outside. I was in complete agreement with that.
Shortly after this event, Tank started staying in the living room, this way we could keep and eye on him. Before, he lived in my son's room. Tank had always had a good appetite but to me he seemed to be eating like a pig and not gaining much weight. I made a joke about it to Emmy one day saying "he's probably got a tapeworm" Emmy was quick to yell at me. Little did we know how true my statement really was.
A couple days later Emmy called me upstairs and asked what was in the bottom of Tank's water? Looking in I immediately recognized the object as a tapeworm segment. I contacted my reptile Vet. and scheduled an appointment for the very next day.
Once at his appointment the worm was quickly identified as a tapeworm. I'm guessing the heat stroke he suffered killed some of the parasites. I was not surprised by the fact he had parasites, most wild caught animals do. Tank was prescribed Drontal Plus which is a de-wormer used on dogs. It effectively kills 3 different types of worms. Dr. B wanted to give him his first treatment there so the dose was prepared. Drontal Plus is a chewable, beef flavored tablet, it was crushed and mixed with water. Dr. B came in the room and said he would plug Tank's nose which would cause him to open him mouth. This was attempted but Tank refused to cooperate(holding his breath) I had to laugh at Tank's stubbornness but wasn't surprised by it. I took the medicine home and injected it into some frozen, thawed pinky mice. Since this was one of Tank's favorite foods he ate them right away. What was to come 24 hours later shocked even me.
Once again, Emmy called me into the living room to look in Tank's water. What I saw was 50+ dead worms, (tapeworms, pin worms, hookworms) worm segments and a bundle of dead worms hanging out of Tank's vent/cloaca. That bundle easily contained another 30 worms. I pulled out what I could and changed his water. Another day passed and more worms were found in the water but certainly not the numbers seen the day before. Two weeks later Tank was given a second treatment which produced no more worms.
It was at this point in Tank's life that he started growing at a much faster pace. Instead of his food feeding the parasites he used it to grow, and grow he did. For the next year Tank gained on average 1-pound a month.
As you can see from the photos below( taken Sept. 29th, 2009, 2010, 2011,2012 no photo for 2013) Tank is growing up nicely.
Shortly after this event, Tank started staying in the living room, this way we could keep and eye on him. Before, he lived in my son's room. Tank had always had a good appetite but to me he seemed to be eating like a pig and not gaining much weight. I made a joke about it to Emmy one day saying "he's probably got a tapeworm" Emmy was quick to yell at me. Little did we know how true my statement really was.
A couple days later Emmy called me upstairs and asked what was in the bottom of Tank's water? Looking in I immediately recognized the object as a tapeworm segment. I contacted my reptile Vet. and scheduled an appointment for the very next day.
Once at his appointment the worm was quickly identified as a tapeworm. I'm guessing the heat stroke he suffered killed some of the parasites. I was not surprised by the fact he had parasites, most wild caught animals do. Tank was prescribed Drontal Plus which is a de-wormer used on dogs. It effectively kills 3 different types of worms. Dr. B wanted to give him his first treatment there so the dose was prepared. Drontal Plus is a chewable, beef flavored tablet, it was crushed and mixed with water. Dr. B came in the room and said he would plug Tank's nose which would cause him to open him mouth. This was attempted but Tank refused to cooperate(holding his breath) I had to laugh at Tank's stubbornness but wasn't surprised by it. I took the medicine home and injected it into some frozen, thawed pinky mice. Since this was one of Tank's favorite foods he ate them right away. What was to come 24 hours later shocked even me.
Once again, Emmy called me into the living room to look in Tank's water. What I saw was 50+ dead worms, (tapeworms, pin worms, hookworms) worm segments and a bundle of dead worms hanging out of Tank's vent/cloaca. That bundle easily contained another 30 worms. I pulled out what I could and changed his water. Another day passed and more worms were found in the water but certainly not the numbers seen the day before. Two weeks later Tank was given a second treatment which produced no more worms.
It was at this point in Tank's life that he started growing at a much faster pace. Instead of his food feeding the parasites he used it to grow, and grow he did. For the next year Tank gained on average 1-pound a month.
As you can see from the photos below( taken Sept. 29th, 2009, 2010, 2011,2012 no photo for 2013) Tank is growing up nicely.
The Tank Drawing
This beautiful drawing was done by a very talented artist in Perth, Scotland.
The shipping was paid for by a good friend who also lives in Perth.
The shipping was paid for by a good friend who also lives in Perth.
Here's Tank at the Vet. preparing for his de-worming. He weighed in at 1.2 lbs. That is my beautiful Gabby taking a picture of him. Fast forward a few years, Tank is 35.90 lbs and Gabby is a freshman in high school. I'm proud of them both.
A few years back my son (Kale) was playing a board game with his sisters. Tank came out of his water and walked over to see what was going on. He sat and watched for a few minutes then went back to his water. You can just see his blue blanket on the right side of the photo. Behind that blanket was a tub of water with the side cut out. The opening was cut above the water line which allowed Tank water access but also allowed him to come and go at his leisure. As a young turtle he was in and out a lot so a number of blankets were kept handy. Tank also liked to sleep in the blanket but had the bad habit of tearing them up. He's older now and doesn't do that, thank goodness. Tank has always been curious and when given the ability to explore he did so. Being older now he's content to stay were the people are (living room and kitchen) or in his water.
Nope, not biting, this is a yawn. But let's talk about biting, as he is a snapping turtle.
First, Tank has never bitten anyone out of anger/defense. He's never shown any signs of wanting to do so either. I am the only person he has ever bitten, I've been bitten 5 times. The first came when Tank was a toddler(1 pound) It was a curiosity bite and has never been repeated. The 4 other bites came during feeding time and were all my fault. Note to self, when hand-feeding a large snapping turtle "PAY ATTENTION" Those bites came as he was trying to get the food from my hand. On all those occasions he immediately released me causing no injury at all.
Tank will go out of his way to not bite me. He studies a food situation and then bites. I've fed him food items as small as your pinky finger nail and he touches only the food when he takes it. I trust my boy but still find myself pulling away during some of these times, I guess that's a good thing. Tank will allow me to clean his eyes and beak area as long as I first show him it's not a food situation. I do that by showing him an open hand(both sides) with my fingers spread out. I know it's safe when he loses eye contact with my hand. He also recognizes this sign under water.
First, Tank has never bitten anyone out of anger/defense. He's never shown any signs of wanting to do so either. I am the only person he has ever bitten, I've been bitten 5 times. The first came when Tank was a toddler(1 pound) It was a curiosity bite and has never been repeated. The 4 other bites came during feeding time and were all my fault. Note to self, when hand-feeding a large snapping turtle "PAY ATTENTION" Those bites came as he was trying to get the food from my hand. On all those occasions he immediately released me causing no injury at all.
Tank will go out of his way to not bite me. He studies a food situation and then bites. I've fed him food items as small as your pinky finger nail and he touches only the food when he takes it. I trust my boy but still find myself pulling away during some of these times, I guess that's a good thing. Tank will allow me to clean his eyes and beak area as long as I first show him it's not a food situation. I do that by showing him an open hand(both sides) with my fingers spread out. I know it's safe when he loses eye contact with my hand. He also recognizes this sign under water.
Intelligence
I'm certainly not saying Tank is on a level of intelligence with many other "smart" animals but their is something to his behavior. Why should he care if he bites me or not? Why come looking for me? Why spend time with me? That seems like the behavior of a more intelligent animal. I think it's because many reptiles are intelligent but are never given the opportunity to show it. I have spent thousands of hours working with Tank. He knows me and I know him. I trust him, but not some blind trust. I know what he is and what he is capable of doing. I hope to get many more years working with him and know I am going to take a few bites along the way.
I can't tell you the joy of having a real hands-on relationship with one of these turtles. Tank has taught me so much about this very misunderstood species. I've said it before "I make Tank a good pet" for him that is and it certainly seems that way from time to time.
One day I went in to check on him . He was all stretched out in the water. This meant his back legs were pointed straight back and the soles of his feet were facing up, almost out of the water. I sat down and started talking to him(this happens 20 times a day or more) He stayed in this position and turned his head to see me. I then saw his eyes look back at the leg closest to me and then at me. He repeated this strange behavior 3 more times.(I'm a little slow) It hit me like a shot, he was asking for a leg rub. He gets those almost daily. I started laughing as I reach in and grabbed his leg. Rubbing, twisting and massaging his leg and foot. Tank stretched out his neck and closed his eyes, I think the punk went to sleep. He doesn't ask for much, now does he.
I can't tell you the joy of having a real hands-on relationship with one of these turtles. Tank has taught me so much about this very misunderstood species. I've said it before "I make Tank a good pet" for him that is and it certainly seems that way from time to time.
One day I went in to check on him . He was all stretched out in the water. This meant his back legs were pointed straight back and the soles of his feet were facing up, almost out of the water. I sat down and started talking to him(this happens 20 times a day or more) He stayed in this position and turned his head to see me. I then saw his eyes look back at the leg closest to me and then at me. He repeated this strange behavior 3 more times.(I'm a little slow) It hit me like a shot, he was asking for a leg rub. He gets those almost daily. I started laughing as I reach in and grabbed his leg. Rubbing, twisting and massaging his leg and foot. Tank stretched out his neck and closed his eyes, I think the punk went to sleep. He doesn't ask for much, now does he.
Interaction/Family Time
Tank seeks out interaction. He seems to have bonded with me but still spends some time with other family members. The upper left photo shows my youngest daughter and Tank watching TV. Tank was out walking around and decided that was a good place to stop. The upper right photo shows something I call "conquering" Tank likes to climb up high and sit, especially on his brother. The lower middle photo is a special one and I think could have been placed in the "intelligence" section. That's my Gabby sleeping on the couch. Covering her is Tank's goose down blanket. I think he was walking by and saw someone using his blanket. He couldn't get a clear look at the offender from the floor so he climbed up on the couch to have a look-see.
Tank doesn't have any interest in our dog and the dog feels the same way(smart) Tank's home is a busy place. He never shows any worry or stress about it. People walking by, stepping over him, it's just part of his normal life. None of that "scared turtle" reaction.
The Future?
With a captive life-span of as much as 60 years, Tank's future must be planned for. I hope to live another 25 years, minimum. Tank can't be released back into the wild since he has no fear of people. Releasing him would be a death sentence. His care could fall to one of my kids but I am realistic and know they will have lives/family of their own. Housing a large water turtle would be difficult. I hope to find a zoo or aquarium that would take him. I would consider an individual but they would have to be a trusted friend. Tank has become used to interacting with people and I hope he gets that the rest of his life. I think he finds comfort in it.