Say Hello to Cutie!

Meet my little cutie...yup...that's the name for my alligator snapper...

Among my christmas gifts I've got soft toys, decorative items and books...as much as I appreciate them...it wasn't exactly what i want...I guess sometimes when you want something you've gotta buy it as a gift to yourself...and hence i took out money from my own pocket and bought myself a baby turtle...it was an alligator snapper and a species I've seen and wanted since I was a little ten year old boy in a petshop growing my petkeeping hobby...it wasn't an easy species to find...I was actually asking around for it from my animal dealer friend hussien but the best he said he could get was a 6 inch or so specimen...I wanted a one inch (carapace length) specimen so when it grows up into a monster one day I can say that...it's my dear monster that i brought up from a little baby...

and for any of you who knows what's an alligator snapper you know what a monster this little 'cutie' can one day become....for those of you unaware...I've taken the liberty to search for some pictures from google and posting them here...

Some facts on cutie excerpted from wikipedia....
The Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys temminckii) is one of the largest freshwater turtles in the world.There is an unverified report of a 403-poundAlligator Snapping Turtle found in the Neosho River in Kansas in 1937,^[2] but the largest one actually on record is 236 lb, and housed at Brookfield Zoo in Chicago, Illinois.The Alligator Snapping Turtle possesses extraordinary bite strength, and can be quite aggressive when cornered. Alligator snappers are opportunistic carnivores.These turtles must be handled with extreme care.^[5]Though not a primary food source for them, Alligator snappers have been known to kill actual alligators they have been confined with.Though their potential lifespans in the wild are unknown, alligator snapping turtles are believed to be capable of living to 150 years of age.Due to their potential size and specific needs, they do not make particularly good pets for any but the most experienced aquatic turtle keepers.When antagonized, alligator snappers are quite capable of delivering a bite with their powerful jaws which can cause significant harm to a human, easily amputating fingers.
Like any parent to a child....how excited am I till cutie grows up...oh the excitement....


I am not sure whether it'll actually get this big tho...I am quite sure this picture is fake...but then again...i am hoping cutie will grow as big as possible!

I am feeding him well daily...

From discovery channel mike rowe....