The Snapping Turtle

By Terri Estes

It’s spring, and the turtles in our area are coming out of hibernation. Or, more accurately, brumation, which is a slowed state of activity for cold-blooded animals. During brumation, the turtle’s metabolism slows down drastically, allowing them to survive with minimal oxygen and food.

The snapping turtle is one of our native New York turtles and a personal favorite of mine. This is one very, cool reptile. They spend the entire winter buried under mud and sludge at the bottom of ponds and lakes. When the weather begins to warm, they emerge from the depths, and begin seeking a mate. Snappers mate in the water, but females will head to land to find a place to lay eggs. This is one of the only times that you will find a snapping turtle away from their home body of water. The female will travel up to 10 miles on land to find a suitable spot to lay her eggs. Once she chooses a location, she will dig a shallow hole and deposit 10 to 80 eggs, and then bury them.

While out of the water, the snapper is most vulnerable to predators. They have a very small upper shell, and even smaller lower shell, and can’t fully retract their head and legs. This makes them naturally more aggressive while out of the water. Despite their name, they are usually quite passive. They avoid human interactions and are not normally aggressive unless they feel threatened. So, if you see one on land, it’s probably a female looking for a nesting sight and she will most likely be really aggressive if you approach her. Snapping turtles have a lightning fast, really powerful bite. So, stay away!

The common snapping turtle can live up to 50 years and grow up to 50 lbs. Its cousin, the alligator snapper, in the southern states, can grow to be over 200 lbs. This turtle can live up to 70 years and looks like a dinosaur. I think we will stick with our smaller, cuter, less intimidating, common snapper!