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    Common Snapping Turtle Natural History

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    blackriptonite
    This document describes the common snapping turtle, which is the largest turtle in Minnesota and Wisconsin and can weigh over 50 pounds. It has a brown carapace covered in algae, a saw-toothed back edge, and a nearly tail as long as its carapace. Snapping turtles hiss when threatened, reach sexual maturity at 5 years old, and may live up to 75 years old.

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    Common Snapping Turtle Natural History

    Uploaded by

    blackriptonite
    24 views1 page
    This document describes the common snapping turtle, which is the largest turtle in Minnesota and Wisconsin and can weigh over 50 pounds. It has a brown carapace covered in algae, a saw-toothed back edge, and a nearly tail as long as its carapace. Snapping turtles hiss when threatened, reach sexual maturity at 5 years old, and may live up to 75 years old.

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    Common snapping turtle history

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    Common-Snapping-Turtle-Natural-History

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    This document describes the common snapping turtle, which is the largest turtle in Minnesota and Wisconsin and can weigh over 50 pounds. It has a brown carapace covered in algae, a saw-toothed back edge, and a nearly tail as long as its carapace. Snapping turtles hiss when threatened, reach sexual maturity at 5 years old, and may live up to 75 years old.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    24 views1 page

    Common Snapping Turtle Natural History

    Uploaded by

    blackriptonite
    This document describes the common snapping turtle, which is the largest turtle in Minnesota and Wisconsin and can weigh over 50 pounds. It has a brown carapace covered in algae, a saw-toothed back edge, and a nearly tail as long as its carapace. Snapping turtles hiss when threatened, reach sexual maturity at 5 years old, and may live up to 75 years old.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 1

    Common Snapping Turtle

    Chelydra serpentina
    Natural History

    Description: This is the largest and heaviest turtle both in


    Minnesota and Wisconsin. Adult snapping turtles weigh
    10-35 pounds, but some have been weighed at more than
    50 pounds. The brown carapace is usually covered in algae and has a saw-toothed back
    edge. The often yellowish-colored plastron is greatly reduced, leaving the limbs very ex-
    posed from the underside. The tail supports a row of jagged dorsal scales and is nearly as
    long as the carapace. The head has large jaws and a pointed snout with a prominent beak.
    Its long neck, powerful jaws and aggressive behavior have rightly earned the snapping tur-
    tle its name. Males are larger in size than females, and their tails are proportionally longer.
    Hatchlings are dark brown to black and bear small white flecks on their undersides. They
    are highly aquatic turtles, which often lie on the bottom in shallow water, extending their
    long necks just far enough to keep their nostrils and eyes above the surface of the water.

    Vocalizations: Snapping turtles make a hissing sounds when threatened.

    Breeding: Snappers reach sexual maturity at the age of five. Mating occurs from April to
    October. Females lay 20-30 white, leathery eggs in June which hatch after 50-125 days.

    Distribution: They range from Maine and adjacent Canada west to Montana and south to
    New Mexico and southern Florida. Snapping Turtles have been found in western states, but
    these individuals are thought to be the results of unwise releases of pet turtles.

    Habitat: They make their homes in permanent bodies of freshwater including ponds, lakes,
    marshes, rivers, creeks, and sloughs with muddy bottoms and plenty of vegetation.

    Diet: They will eat anything that swims by including insects, crayfish, clams, worms,
    leeches, fish, amphibians, reptiles, carrion, and aquatic plants. The are nocturnal omnivores.

    Lifespan: Adult Snapping Turtles have few predators other than


    humans and may live to be 50-75 years old. Besides cars, the
    only dangers are to the hatchlings and eggs, which are eaten by
    raccoon, skunks, fox, snakes and much more.

    Conservation Status: In Minnesota and Wisconsin, as well as in


    other parts of their range, they are considered to be a species of
    special concern due to their long lifespan and the unknown im-
    pacts of both commercial harvest and environmental toxins.
    Range Map Reference: MN DNR website

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