2006 Rescue and Release

This baby Common Snapping Turtle was found at Easter, probably just after emerging from hibernation! A well meaning individual thought he needed rescuing because he was so small, but he didn't. He was quite able to fend for himself and was released very quickly into a wild pond in NW Mississippi.

Snapping turtles lay their eggs from early June to mid-July. The nest site is chosen on soft, well-drained soils, or sand. Using her hind feet to dig out a flask-shaped nest, she lays from about 20-40 eggs. Abandoned musk-rat lodges are also used as nest sites. The egg is the size of a ping-pong ball, and is half pink, half white in coloration. It has a flexible shell which absorbs water from the soil.

Studies have shown that eggs in wetter soils absorb more water, have longer incubation periods, and the resulting hatchlings are larger. Another interesting finding, is that the sex of the hatchling is determined by the temperature at which the egg is incubated! At temperatures of about 25 C , male turtles are produced; at temperatures of 30 C or warmer, females are produced. The temperature at which the eggs are exposed to can be greatly influenced by the nest site chosen, an observation that has led researchers to suggest that vegetation cover at the nest site may be a realistic cue used by the nesting female to assess the future temperature of the nest, and therefore the sex of their offspring.

The young hatch approximately 100 days after the eggs are laid (late August or September). The baby turtle slashes its way out of the egg using its egg tooth. A button-like yolk sac which remains attached to the plastron provides nourishment for a few days. The mortality rate of the hatchlings is high; they are eaten by crows, hawks, herons, bullfrogs, large fish and snakes.

Adults are aggressive, freshwater turtles that are usually found in ponds, streams, and canals. has powerful jaws, a sharp beak, and no teeth. The skin is rough and warty; greyish-black in color. The carapace has three low keels, prominent in the young, but disappearing as the turtle matures.The carapace is darker than the rest of the body; its color varies from tan, brown, olive, to black. The back-edge of the carapace is saw-toothed.The plastron is small and cross-shaped. It has a long tail, and each webbed foot has five clawed toes. This turtle, like all turtles, has no vocal cords and can only make hissing and grunting sounds. It grows to be up to 18.5 inches (47 cm) long and weighs up to about 85 pounds. Male snapping turtles are larger than the females and as with all reptiles, snapping turtles will continue to grow throughout their entire life. The color of the shell ranges from brown to olive green to black to tan. The color of its skin also varies and can be gray, brown, yellow, tan, or black. Snapping Turtles are omnivores; they eat plants, small fish, frogs, earthworms, leeches, snails, crayfish, fiddler crabs, toads snakes, dead animals that they find; basically anything it can capture. With its great big jaws, the snapper manages to capture even larger prey, such as fish, snakes, and sometimes waterbirds. The turtles' jawbone is covered not with teeth, but with sharp horney edges.

This baby will spend most of its time in the water, either floating close to the surface, or lying in the mud in shallower water (usually, with only eyes and nostrils protruding) looking for something to eat! When the turtle catches a cold it floats at an angle and cannot dive. These ADULT nocturnal turtles are so fearless that they have been known to attack people so we didn't add him to our pond that already has a dozen sliders and Mississippi mud turtles, instead we relocated him out of our orchard and into the creek. Snapping turtles have an average life span of about 30-40 years.

Why doesn't the snapping turtle protect itself by simply hiding in its shell? For good reason; it simply cannot fit! The tail is quite long and resembles that of a crocodile (saw-edged). The snapping turtle pulls its head into its shell by curving its neck vertically, in an S-shape.