Their menu also includes fruit and nuts. At the Aquarium, the turtle is given a varied diet. In addition to a special gel-based turtle food, he dines on fish and even whole rats. He is also given ground oyster shells to help keep the crushing plates in his jaws from becoming overgrown. The frequency of feeding and the amount of food the turtle receives change based on the time of year.
Alligator snappers are less active in the winter and experience a drop in metabolism.
During this time, they can go for weeks without eating. Mating begins in the fall and continues into early spring. Females emerge from the water to deposit their eggs and can lay anywhere from eight to more than 50 eggs. In the wild, the eggs incubate 100 to 140 days. The young hatch in September or October and begin to head for water.