What kind of turtle is this?

[MossRoad]

<font color="blue"> What kind of turtle is this? </font>

The kind that is lucky you don't like turtle soup. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Taylortractornut]

Henro thats a toe getter. I used to catch them at a friends pond with a dead chicken on a jug float. Theyd latch on and id drag them in and stick a shovel down in front of them. I would putthem in a container and wait to catch another when I had 2 or 3 Id take them to my boss who gave 50 bucks apiece for them.
Ive gought them crossing the road and stop to give them a shove on across with a scoop or rake and have to wait till that let go of the rake before i left. The best way to tell a snapper is the way it cant retract his head or his tail all the way into his shell like a mud turtle.

 

[Henro]

Thanks for the answers everyone!

When you don't have a clue...
You know what to do...
Turn to TBN...
You'll get your answer then... /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[Junkman]

Around here, we call them MEAN Turtles..... I have a turtle ID book around here somewhere. If I find it, I will look it up for you. In the meantime, keep the dogs away from it. I usually take them for a ride to a uninhabited area of town, for both their and my safety. Don't try to pick it up by the shell. The neck is so long, that it can and will come out far enough to bite you. Turtles will also pee if you pick them up. One of natures natural defences.... almost as bad a skunk if it gets on you...... /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[kensfarm]

I have a scar on both sides of my thumb.. they can shoot that neck out almost a foot in the flash of an eye.. I was quick.. but he still got a piece of me. Make sure your stick was longer then mine was... /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif

 

[cag]

You GUY"S Your all wrong........ It's one of those Walmart lawn ornament's. You guy's crack me up /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Currmudgeon]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Make sure your stick was longer then mine was... /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif )</font>

Looooong stick.

I was doing a guard gig, some years ago, at a local college. One night I got a call about a big mean turtle on campus. It turned out to be about a 20 pound snapper. I demonstrated that by cutting about a three foot cattail and teasing him with it until he snapped. As everyone said, they are blindingly fast.

That left the turtle with a mouthfull of cattail fluff - something he didn't like very much. While he was distracted, I grabbed him by the tail, and did an olympic quality hammer-throw, returning him to his swamp.

They have a long neck and can get you if you grab their shell, but they don't have enough neck to snap their own tail.

 

[Zoomie]

Around here, we call that: A target of opportunity! I usually snipe them off my pond from the back door of my work room (about 75 yards to the near shore).

The new .17 HMR does colorful things to them if hit just right!

 

[DAP]

... and you destroy these turtles because?

 

[MossRoad]

Well, snapping turtles are tasty and they eat baby ducks. So that would be two good reasons to take them. They do, however, take many years to get to maturity, so popping them off for the sake of popping them off would be foolish, in my opinion, of course. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif