Caught my first one

[CobyRupert]

Did it hiss at you?

It's been awhile, and I know I've picked them up before; but the last time I attempted, he/she was a big one attempting to cross the road. I was going to help, but it hissed and was sticking it's head out way farther than I expected.
No way was I going to grab on and test the limits on how far!
I was a bit disappointed in myself.

So just how far can they reach around with that snapper?

 

[coldsteelva]

Grab the shell at the peak/nape of the shell (behind the head) and just above the tail and they won't be able to reach you. Carry that thing by the sides and you may end up with a nub.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

When I was a kid, I spent most of my Summers on Grand Lake in N.E. Oklahoma; at that time a very poor area. Lots of locals would eat turtles, and that's fine, just no one in my family did, so it seemed unusual. Turtles have a habit of sitting on logs that are close to the bank; and one day, out fishing, I noticed this turtle trying to get off a large log. When we got closer, I noticed that someone had nailed fish hooks to the log, such that when the turtles slid off, they were caught by the fish hooks. It seemed cruel to me, but it seemed to be effective.

 

[MossRoad]

Turtles don't hiss.

I didn't know that until recently. My kid has a Russian tortoise. We take care of it while the kid's in college. The hissing sound you hear is when they retract or extend their heads fast, the air squeezes out and in of their lungs and makes that sound. It sounds like a hiss, but it isn't a true hiss.

Still, a snapping turtle making that sound just ads to the excitement! :laughing:

 

[CobyRupert]

Grab the shell at the peak/nape of the shell (behind the head) and just above the tail and they won't be able to reach you. Carry that thing by the sides and you may end up with a nub.

Turtles don't hiss.

I didn't know that until recently. My kid has a Russian tortoise. We take care of it while the kid's in college. The hissing sound you hear is when they retract or extend their heads fast, the air squeezes out and in of their lungs and makes that sound. It sounds like a hiss, but it isn't a true hiss.

Still, a snapping turtle making that sound just ads to the excitement! :laughing:

Thanks for the info!

 

[MossRoad]

 

[Thomas]

Best way I found moving turtle let them bit onto stick slowly drag out of harms way.

 

[Sigarms]

Best way I found moving turtle let them bit onto stick slowly drag out of harms way.

Stick got to be big enough so the stick don't break. That's how my wife and I did one when we were out on a walk.

 

[MossRoad]

Advance to 6:30 for about what I'd expect to happen when you purposely let a small common snapping turtle bite you... ( I was rooting for the turtle ).

 

[Deere Dude]

Advance to 6:30 for about what I'd expect to happen when you purposely let a small common snapping turtle bite you... ( I was rooting for the turtle ).

And he is allowed to breed. Yes, I was also rooting for the turtle.

Last week I came around a blind curve only to almost rear end a guy who stopped in the middle of the road to wait for a friendly turtle to cross the road. He finally moved ahead and I straddled the turtle and moved on. Turtles will find a way across just the way they got there in the first place.