Do Not Pet

Look what I found earlier!




Snuggly fellow, huh? I'm going to guess it was a female since it was a ways from any water. This time of year many turtles are out migrating between water in search of nesting areas. Everyone can be a big help and please try not to run over any turtles you see on the road. If you can, get out and move them to the side they were heading to, obviously though... don't pick up or pet the snappers!

This one was in the neighboring trailer park lot, on the other side of our fence. I grabbed a bucket of water in case it was a bit dehydrated. It did drink a little... and attacked the bucket. I left it to go on it's way, and had to tell a few cats, a stray and 2 of the neighbor's cats, that "no, you do not want to bother the snapping turtle".

What a cutie

They are just so prehistoric aren't they!

Cute little fella!

Cute little guy!

My Dad rescued one several years ago. First he put it in the back of the pick-up to show me. It had to have been over 2 foot long.

Very neat!

Originally Posted by jane_vernon

They are just so prehistoric aren't they!

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They look so amazingly old! Great shots.
We saw one once while walking along a trail. I warned a lady coming the other way with her dog ( I was worried the dog would hurt the turtle) turns out the dog had been snapped by one as a puppy, and so he wouldn't go near it!

A few years ago. I watched my rotten neighbor brats playing with a huge turtle in their kiddy pool. When I returned, I heard this hissing noise outside my door. Seems the turtle had escaped and gotten stuck in a vent by my house. The thing was about the size of a hubcap, and I had no idea what to do with it, so I put it in the fence and called the city. They sent someone out to pick it up and take it to a local park. I almost wish I could have kept it. It just hung out in the yard eating wild strawberries while waiting for his ride to the park.

Turtles are cool! Thanks for sharing those pics!

aww look at that girlie, she is a beauty we have lots of wild tortoises here - they even stopped work on a motorway to allow the specialist to come in and move them

Cute!!!

Originally Posted by mooficat

aww look at that girlie, she is a beauty

we have lots of wild tortoises here - they even stopped work on a motorway to allow the specialist to come in and move them

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To be honest, it was a stinky foul tempered beast. In other words, a snapper!

Are the tortoises protected there?
Here in certain states native tortoises are protected, bothering them, displacing them (by construction), harming them, and collecting from the wild is illegal.
Construction companies have to go through the proper routes to move the animals, failure to do so gets them in deep trouble.

I have a thing for turtles.Here is pic of mine.Two years old, red ear slider named Dude

!!!! my 11-year-old sister just got bit by one of those. She was walking around in a pond created by a TON of rain. We didn't think there would be anything in the water considering this only happens when there is a lot of rain. We were wrong!!!!