Q Talk

[Group 5 minus 1]

watched a portion of a show w/shawn and she said her daughter had to go to the er because she (the daughter) was bitten by a snapping turtle.

[AngelPuppy1]

Those snapping turtles can take a finger off!  I had a little snapping turtle as a pet when I was a kid.  We lived near a creek and my Dad and I caught it and he let me keep it for awhile.  He taught me how to avoid getting bit.  I had to handle it by it's tail!  I hope her daughter didn't get bitten too badly and no serious damage! 

[San Antonio Gal]

I'm sure we would have known if anything serious resulted @AngelPuppy1 .  I watched that show the other night when she kept talking about it. 

[We rescue cats]

Snappers can be dangerous, we had them in the ponds from time to time. Even little ones can cause damage when they bite, knowing how to handle them is very important, they scared the heck out of me.

[PJinIA]

Earlier this month I was at a local park and this big snapper was in the middle of the road.  There were 3 of us trying to direct traffic around her while trying to get her off the road. They are big and heavy.  They appear slow but they can whirl around faster than you'd expect so not smart to try to pick them up unless you want to lose a finger.  We tried to nudge it across the road but she wouldn't budge.  Luckily one of the DNR personnel stopped and saved the day. She put on her gloves, took off her jacket and covered the turtle with it. She was then able to easily pick her up from behind and put her out of harms way.  She thought it was probably a female going back to her nest.

[geezerette]

We're about done with nesting season here, but for several weeks I've seen turtles all over my property going to and from nests.  Some were quite big.

I have snappers in my pond and they have taken down ducks in the past.

[Beammeupscotty]

Yikes.  We have a few turtles here.  There is a pond.  How do you tell a snapper from another kind?  We have tried to move one out of the road before.  I thought it was a box turtle.

[RescueLover]

Shawn’s daughter had to go to the hospital that night.

She was at work when it happened and her husband called her.

My husband said the snapping turtle could have taken her finger off they are that dangerous.


I hope Shawn called a Wildlife place to remove it safely from their back yard!

[PJinIA]

They are VERY large with BIG claws, can be more aggressive, they have long tails  & they can't retract their head and limbs into their shells like other turtles so they rely on their strong jaws for defense and they just look prehistoric to me.

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@Beammeupscotty wrote:

Yikes.  We have a few turtles here.  There is a pond.  How do you tell a snapper from another kind?  We have tried to move one out of the road before.  I thought it was a box turtle.

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[Kachina624]

The big ones have a long, long neck that they can whip around like a snake.  When and if you see one, they'll be no doubt as to what it is.  Stay away from them.  They're big and flatter than a tortoise.