I have a Common Snapping Turtle who has about a 3 inch carapace, housed in a 40 gallon breeder tank. I like to keep live plants in the tank with her, as it helps with water quality. I am wondering if anyone has found a good way to protect the plants. She doesn't eat them but she will walk all over them and sometimes bite at them. She also likes to use them to hide under. Any ideas of good plants or ways of protecting the plants from her would be helpful. (I know she is destructive and most people can not keep plants with Common Snapping Turtles).
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Try fencing the plants away from the turtle. You could try building a fence around the plants with something like chicken wire, or the plastic equivalent thereof or nylon mesh zip tied to some steaks. You could steak these into or bury them in the substrate the plant is growing in and then have them extend well above the water line so the turtle doesn't go over or under them. The turtle won't really be able to hide in the plants any more but at least s/he won't eat them and they can help with water quality.
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I like the idea here... Maybe you could use chicken wire or something... Also, you could consider getting a few large flat stepping stones and pile them on a few bricks so as to form a platform or bridge. That's what I did with my turtle. It gives them a good hiding place, and for the more tortoise like turtles, it also provides a good place to sun bathe. Commented Sep 28, 2015 at 0:50
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Wire and mesh are a risk in the tank. For wire you have to provide that there are no sharp ends the turtle can cut or hurt itself on. And mesh the turtle will bite of parts and swallow them, especially if the turtle want to bite the plants behind. This is very risky too! Commented Feb 11, 2020 at 17:27