A Little Bit More
To a certain extent, Snapping Turtles are misunderstood. Granted, they can be quite intimidating when encountered on land, but in the water, they’re quite docile and shy. Swimmers have no need to fear snappers in any waterways; turtles in the water will leave you alone. Once on land however, these slow moving “tanks” may feel vulnerable and will strike out at anything that gets close and seems threatening. Although their bite can do damage, the stories about Snapping Turtles biting off broom handles make a good tale, but it’s not true; they’re not that strong.
Common Snapping Turtle © Solon Morse
Usually Snappers remain in the water most of the year and only when the female is searching for a good egg-laying site or a pond or stream has dried up will they leave the safety of the water. Many female snappers are seen crossing roads to lay their eggs from the middle of May until about the middle of June. The larger the female, the greater the number of eggs laid with 20 to 40 being typical. The underground eggs are incubated by the warmth of the sun and hatch in from 55 to 120 days, depending on temperature – the warmer they are they shorter the incubation period. Alligators are well known for the fact that temperature of the nest determines which sex will be produced and this is true for snappers as well.
Snapper eggs are often dug up and eaten by skunks, foxes, and Raccoons and the young fall prey to many kinds of animals once hatched. Once they achieve some size however, snappers have few predators, except humans.
Snapping Turtles can live for 30-40 years and may grow to 40 or more pounds in their lifetime. There is a record of an 82 pound Snapper in captivity but a wild turtle of over 60 pounds would be considered especially large.
Activities
Turtle History
Objectives: See how turtles have influenced cultures throughout history
Materials: Internet access
Take a look at these sites to see how turtles have influenced cultures all around the world.
Some myths about Turtles
- Turtles in Egypt
- Digital Egypt for Universities
- Turtle at MSN Encarta
- Anansi and Turtle
- Oban's Myths & Legends: Big Turtle
- Native American Myths
- Turtles and Their Stories
- Turtle on the War-Path
- Ancient Guidance from Turtle
Key Concepts
Identification
Questions
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Posted by kamden miller on June 06, 2006 at 10:22 PM
Q: what is the incubation period of snapping turtle eggs in the state of Ohio
A: Snapping Turtle eggs require a fairly long incubation period of from 2-3 months. If the eggs are laid late in the season, the eggs may not hatch until the following spring or newly hatched young may simply remain in the nest cavity and overwinter there. Thanks for asking.