Panik
Gold Member
- Joined
- Mar 29, 2013
- Messages
- 490
- Tractor
- Kubota bx2360
Richard - I handle and care for a couple snapping turtles at work, both an adult common and a baby alligator snapping turtle. In general they are very slow growing/long lived reptiles. They are able to commute a pretty long distance over land. With it getting towards fall I would hazard your little guy may well have headed down towards the proper lake.Evolution of my story:
I've looked & looked....the pond has dried up. I don't see ANY sign of him, nor do I see any signs of him digging in (not that I know what it might look like)
I don't know what he ended up doing but I'm presuming he left the big pond. I've not yet seen him behind the house in the recirculating pond (which is turned off so it's just a pool right now)
He could have waltzed down to the proper lake.... no idea.
Being ectotherms their body temperature is regulated by their environment and being in a larger body of water will help moderate the winter time drop in their temperature as compared to being in a smaller pond/pool.
While not exact by any means, I've always used the guideline that anything forward of the mid-line of their shell is a potential danger zone when handling a snapper. In any case, at 6" in shell diameter there's not a lot of space to safely grab on to, so picking him/her up with a shovel is a pretty reasonable idea if you don't have experience in handling them. Just be aware that the snapper may have a different opinion than yours about riding on a shovel and may dive off of it pretty quickly.