Wefound a baby snapping turtle,what can we feed it

we found a baby snapping turtle very small the shell is still soft.we want it to live ,but we dont know what we can feed it. I went on line but didnt get much help.Does anyone out there have a snapping turtle,that can tell me how to take care of it. If I let it go will it survive? Any help would be great.Thanks

OK, you got all the "turn it loose, so it can die naturally" answers. Most babys die that first year.-

- They Do get pretty large, and keeping them can be a *Challenge.*

---The biggist problem is keeping the tank clean, they eat and deficate In the water. Bacteria build up quickly--(ugh) I do not know of any filter that can keep up-

---Yet many citys have additives to the water that will kill fish. Check in your location.

I had good well water, just changed *all* the water in the tank ,*Often*.

On the plus side, the water you take from the tank makes gardin plants thrive---think, "fish emulsion"

Houseing---Snappers are mostly aquatic, an aquarium filled with water to"tip-toe level"(---as far as they can streach their neck from the hindlegs-and-tail tripod.) Is a good start-- A couple of smooth, scrubbable rocks to peer around,--- some water plants

---and, (though they may not use it, ) a ramp down into the water, and a place to bask .. I built a little"table-and-ramp'' just above water level, that they could swim under, yet still reach air.

Snappers are very strong, they can knock apart rock piles not glued, and complex structures are harder to clean, i was always afraid mine might get suck in one, so they had a pretty empty home.