Snapping Turtle

Chelydra serpentina

The snapping turtle is a large freshwater turtle with a thick carapace, or shell, that can be light brown, olive or black in color. Adults have:

• A small, yellow or cream-colored plastron, or underside of the shell.
• A large head with strong jaws and two chin barbels.
• Large, heavily scaled legs with webbed feet and long claws.
• A long, knobby or saw-toothed tail.

Snapping turtles can grow to 1.5 feet long and weigh more than 70 pounds, though most weigh about 35 pounds. Females are usually smaller than males.

Where does the snapping turtle live?

Snapping turtles live most of their lives in water. They prefer shallow ponds, streams, canals and backwaters, as well as swamps, but are sometimes found in deeper, slow-moving rivers and lakes. By late autumn, snapping turtles gradually enter hibernation by burying themselves in soft mud.

What does the snapping turtle eat?

Snapping turtles feed on insects, crustaceans, amphibians and small mammals and ducklings year-round; they also eat large amounts of vegetation during spring and summer.

How does the snapping turtle reproduce?

Snapping turtles mate sporadically from April through November. Many females lay their eggs in the same area each year.

• The female snapping turtle digs a bowl-shaped nest at night in an open, sandy area near vegetation.
• She lays between 20 and 40 eggs into the nest, though larger turtles can produce larger clutches. Incubation lasts about three to four months.
• Snapping turtle hatchlings are about an inch long and carry small yolk sacs under their plastrons for several days before being absorbed.

Other facts about the snapping turtle:

• Despite their reputation of being aggressive, snapping turtles usually avoid confrontation while in the water; however, they will strike rapidly if disturbed on land.
• Unlike most other turtles, snapping turtles rarely bask on land.
• Snapping turtles can release a foul-smelling musk when alarmed.