The common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina) is North Carolina’s largest freshwater turtle and a familiar sight throughout the state. These turtles are named for their defensive behavior of snapping and biting when they feel threatened. Snapping turtles are important top-level predators in aquatic ecosystems.
Physical Characteristics and Habitat
Snapping turtles are easily identified by their large heads and long tails. They possess powerful jaws and necks, and their carapace (upper shell) has a jagged posterior edge and three longitudinal keels, which are most prominent in younger turtles. The plastron (lower shell) is small and cross-shaped, offering limited protection to the head and limbs. The tail is much longer than that of any other North Carolina turtle and is adorned with large, saw-toothed scales. The skin is thick, with numerous tubercles, and the powerful limbs have large claws. Their color is usually brownish above and whitish or yellowish below, and the carapace is often encrusted with algae, aiding in camouflage.
These turtles inhabit most freshwater habitats and sometimes enter brackish water. They are most common in large, permanent, relatively quiet bodies of water, such as ponds, lakes, swamps, canals, and rivers. Snapping turtles are more aquatic than most other turtle species, seldom basking but often swimming near the surface. They may wander considerable distances over land between bodies of water, especially during rainy periods in spring and early summer, frequently crossing roads.
Defensive Mechanisms
When closely approached on land, a snapping turtle often elevates its hindquarters, gapes its jaws, and lunges at the perceived threat in a snakelike strike. They may also secrete a strong-smelling musk from glands along the sides of the body when irritated. In water, they are more likely to retreat or withdraw when confronted by a larger animal.
Conservation Status and Regulations
Snapping turtles are currently not listed under any category of special protection in North Carolina. However, a wildlife collection license is required to collect more than four reptiles in a year. Commercial collecting of snappers for their meat has likely reduced populations in some areas, leading to protective legislation in some states. In North Carolina, with a wildlife collection license, up to 10 turtles per day and 100 per year may be harvested.
Read also: What Do Alligator Snapping Turtles Eat?
Snapping Turtles in Residential Areas
Snapping turtles are fairly common across North Carolina. Despite their defensive behavior, they are by no means aggressive and will not attack people or pets unless provoked.
What Attracts Snapping Turtles?
Snapping turtles are attracted to a variety of freshwater habitats, including ponds, lakes, swamps, canals, and rivers. During the spring and summer, they may venture onto land in search of nesting areas, preferring loose or sandy soil in areas that receive a lot of sunlight.
What to Do When Encountering a Snapping Turtle
If you see a snapping turtle in your yard, the best course of action is to give it space and allow it to leave on its own. They move surprisingly fast on land and will typically move out of sight within an hour or two. Snapping turtles do not feed on land and do not intentionally chase after people or pets.
Removing Snapping Turtles from Ponds/Yards
The WRC (Wildlife Resources Commission) does not perform trapping and removal services for wildlife, including snapping turtles. If a snapping turtle is causing documentable property damage (which is very rare), you can contact a licensed Wildlife Damage Control Agent to trap and remove the turtle. WDCAs charge a fee for their services. If an individual wishes to lethally remove a snapping turtle themselves, they can do so with a Wildlife Depredation Permit, obtainable from a Wildlife Enforcement Officer or District Biologist. These permits are only issued in situations where documented property damage is occurring.
Helping Snapping Turtles Cross the Road
If you see a snapping turtle crossing the road, you can assist it, keeping your safety in mind:
Read also: Carnivorous Turtles in Florida
- Always prioritize your safety. Watch out for oncoming vehicles, signal properly when pulling over, and turn on your hazard lights. If the road is too busy, do not attempt to intervene.
- Always move the turtle in the direction it was headed.
- Never pick up a snapping turtle by the tail, as this can cause severe spinal injury.
- If there is no oncoming traffic, allow the turtle to cross on its own, observing from a distance.
- If the turtle needs to be moved quickly, gently push it across the road using an object like a car mat, container, or shovel as a barrier.
- If you must handle the turtle, grab it by the back end of the shell to minimize the risk of being bitten. Be aware that they have powerful claws and may empty their bladder when lifted.
- Do not take the turtle home or move it to a different location. Turtles are homebodies and relocating them can cause stress and death.
Snapping Turtle Diet in the Wild
Contrary to popular belief, a large proportion of a snapping turtle’s diet consists of vegetation and plant matter. They are omnivorous, opportunistic feeders, foraging in the mud along the bottom of waterbodies and using both sight and smell to detect food sources. They will also feed on invertebrates, fish, amphibians, reptiles, carrion, and occasionally birds. Like other turtle species, snapping turtles cannot chew their food and prefer small prey items that can be swallowed whole.
Snapping turtles are opportunistic omnivores that will eat almost anything in the pond. While they prefer meat, including worms, snails, fish, birds, small mammals, other turtles, and frogs, 30 percent of their diet consists of water plants, including algae.
Dietary Components:
- Plant Matter: Snapping turtles consume a significant amount of aquatic vegetation, including algae.
- Invertebrates: Their diet includes various invertebrates found in their aquatic habitats.
- Fish: Fish are a primary source of protein for snapping turtles, with the turtles preying on smaller fish.
- Amphibians and Reptiles: They will also consume amphibians and other reptiles.
- Carrion: Snapping turtles are scavengers and will feed on dead animals.
- Birds and Small Mammals: Occasionally, they may prey on birds and small mammals.
Hunting and Foraging Strategies
Snapping turtles are both scavengers and hunters. While young turtles largely forage for food, hunting adults tend to wait, with their mouths wide open, for their prey to come to them. Algae growing on their backs helps them camouflage when dangling motionless in the water or lying on the muddy bottom of a waterway ready to ambush an unsuspecting victim. Alligator snapping turtles even have specialized fishing gear-a built-in lure. Attached to the tip of their tongues is a pink, worm-like appendage, which dangles to attract fish right into the trap. Both species scour the basin of their watery pantry at night, both exclusively feed in the water, and both can hold their breath for up to 50 minutes, giving them ample time to haul in a satisfying meal with each dive.
Impact on Ecosystem
Snapping turtles have been thought to decimate the populations of game fish and waterfowl in the waters where they lurk. But scientific studies have shown this is a fallacy. Because they have such a varied diet, and because they tend to eat smaller fish, not mature egg layers, they do not put a significant dent in game fish populations. Mammalian nest predators and large fish, meanwhile, kill far more waterfowl. On the other hand, by consuming diseased, dying and dead water denizens, snappers help keep their waters healthy and clean.
Snapping Turtles as Pets
In captivity, snapping turtles can be fed a variety of foods, including:
Read also: Feeding Your Box Turtle
- Live insects (crickets, grasshoppers)
- Raw chicken and turkey meat
- Worms (including mealworms)
- Leafy greens (mustard, romaine)
- Fish (minnows, guppies, goldfish)
- Aquatic plants (duckweed, moss)
- Crustaceans (ghost shrimp, crayfish)
- Vegetables (carrots, corn, celery)
- Fruit (apples, peaches, bananas, berries, watermelon)
Distinguishing Between Common and Alligator Snapping Turtles
There are two species of snapping turtle in the United States: the common snapping turtle and the alligator snapping turtle. Common snappers are much more common, inhabiting all types of water across the Eastern United States, from Maine to Florida, and as far west as New Mexico. Alligator snapping turtles are more concentrated, only found in 14 states with the highest populations along the coasts of the South.
Common snapping turtles are smaller and darker in color than alligator snappers, usually weighing between 10 and 25 pounds and coming in a variety of colors, including dark green, gray, and black. Alligator snapping turtles are much larger, weighing up to 120 pounds, and are usually light green or brown. In addition, alligator snapping turtles have a much larger, diamond-shaped head and very prominent jaws. Common snappers have more rounded heads with smaller jaws.
Hunting Snapping Turtles
You can find snapping turtles in lakes, rivers, ponds, and creeks across the United States. Though they do sometimes head into deeper, clearer water, they mostly prefer shallow, muddy, or brackish water with a lot of weed growth.
There are a lot of different ways to catch snapping turtles. The most common method is to bait a line rigged with a heavy 4/0 to 6/0 bait hook. Tie the hook to 10- to 20-feet of 50- to 100-pound test monofilament or nylon fishing line. Attach it to a limb close to the water’s edge or to a large jug floating on the surface of the water. Bait the hook with a large chunk of cut bait or even a whole dead panfish.
You can also have a lot of success using meatier baits such as chicken livers or gizzards, which often work better when targeting turtles as they have less chance of being eaten by a passing gar or catfish. You can increase your chances of success by chumming the water around the bait with some fish guts, heads, and skins you’ve left to ripen in the sun for a couple hours. Snappers tend to be more active at night, so it’s best to leave your bait to soak overnight before checking to see if you’ve gotten lucky.