About Snapping Turtles

[.Scott]

I never gave much thought about the species range of snapping turtle until I read this article - about a snapper found a few miles north of Swansea, UK.

The snapper photographed in the article probably has a shell that's about a foot long. That's a full grown snapper, but not at all as big as they come. The article compares the consequences of a turtle bite with getting your finger jammed in a car door.

I think any adult person in the presence of a snapper, would be suitably impressed with its snout and I think "snapper" combined with its appearance would be a sufficient alert to most people. I have never personally experimented with the snapper's bite, but I do bear its carnivorous use in mind.

I also think that most people would have the common sense to factor in the size of the turtle when estimating the cost of a bite. At one point, I found myself canoeing in one direction when a snapper moved past me in the opposite direction. It's snout was wider than the wide part of my oar - which was immediately retracted into the canoe.

But there is another hazard that might not be so obvious. For a 1-foot turtle, such as that shown in the article, it is reasonable to lift and hold the turtle from back - also as shown in the photo. The obvious purpose is to keep your fingers clear of the snout.

For turtles that are larger than shown, you would quickly discover another problem. Those claws are design for digging into soil - as is required for the female of the species to bury her eggs. They're powerful, they're pointy, and a large snapper will not be shy about using them to reach out and touch you. So, for larger turtles, you need to position your hands between the fore and back claws - both to avoid injury and to get a solid grip.

And there's one more hazard. When a snapper is in the water, it can go hours without air. In such a situation, it stays slow or almost motionless. It might impress you as being easily managed. If you pull it from the water, or it has just come out of the water on its own, it will recover in minutes - maybe ten minutes at most. After this recovery, its new ability to defend itself could catch you by surprise.

 

[BillTre]

When i was a kid, I kept plenty of turtles. I have been fascinated by snapping turtles but never kept one. Alligator snappers are larger version found in more southerly areas. They are reputed to be able to bite a wood broom handle in two.

Near where I lived in the Washington DC area, the Great Falls park on the fall line on the Potomac river (between Maryland and Virginia, between the mountainous upstream areas and the more coastal flat areas). Someone dangling their legs into the water there got a nice chunk of calf removed by a snapper.

 

[.Scott]

When i was a kid, I kept plenty of turtles. I have been fascinated by snapping turtles but never kept one. Alligator snappers are larger version found in more southerly areas. They are reputed to be able to bite a wood broom handle in two.

My backyard has "frontage" to a swamp - where there are many Common Snapping turtles. That's where I canoed past the really big one. The Alligator Snappers are listed as "Endangered". The Common Snappers are "Least Concern" (for their well-being).

Near where I lived in the Washington DC area, the Great Falls park on the fall line on the Potomac river (between Maryland and Virginia, between the mountainous upstream areas and the more coastal flat areas). Someone dangling their legs into the water there got a nice chunk of calf removed by a snapper.

When I lived in the DC area (decades ago), I visited Great Falls park. Easy to see how dangling legs might look appetizing.