Baby Snapping Turtle--an armor-plated cutie!

Snapping Turtles (Chelydra serpentine) are often thought of as aggressive and cantankerous biters, but this little fellow is nothing but a cutie...

...even though this little armor-plated turtle is going to grow up to be a fierce Snapping Turtle, he really is a CUTIE now. Just like the softshell turtles in this post, Snapping Turtles cannot pull back into their shells for protection, so to survive predatory attacks, they have to be fierce, quick in the water, and be able to inflict significant damage with a bite.

Snapping Turtles can smell decomposition in the water and will eat dead fish and rotting plants (like vultures of the water!). Because Snapping Turtles include carrion in their diets, they really help us out by keeping the stagnant ponds and slow moving rivers they live in clean. It's even reported that Snapping Turtles have such a strong sense of smell they have been used by the police to find drowning victims in ponds and rivers (source: Manitoba Herps Atlas). I wonder if that is really true. I should call the police and ask them because I can't picture a Snapping Turtle tethered on a leash...

...although fighters on land, in the water most Snapping Turtles are shy and will simply dive under or head the other way if they encounter a human.

...still coated in mud from where he was buried, this baby Snapping Turtle clearly shows that he cannot pull his head into his small carapace (shell). Like the softshell turtles in this post, Snapping Turtles also have a very small plastron (under shell); however, being fast swimmers with aggressive personalities more than makes up for their inability to lock themselves up in a shell for protection.

Snapping Turtles have three prominent dorsal keels (ridges) on their carapaces. The keels are more pronounced on young Snappers like this one and tend to fade or smooth out as the turtles grow--and they can really grow! Snapping turtles are the largest turtles in Ohio (source: Ohio Department of Natural Resources).

Snapping Turtles also have the longest tails of all the turtles, and their tails are scuted (meaning they have bony protective plates). You can see just how long a Snapper's tail is here...its nearly as long as the carapace. As this baby gets older and his shell grows, the tail won't look quite as long, but it will still be impressive. As Snappers get older, their scuted tails become more serrated and the three rows of spikes become more prominent. (Source: "How to Tell How Old a Snapping Turtle Is")

In the above photo, see how this Snapper's tail drags in in the mud as he walks into the water? This is a good sign to look for when trying to find turtles. They leave footprints and tail prints behind just like any other animal. If you study the sand or mud along a pond, lake or river, you probably will start to notice these little tracks. I have lots of photos of turtle tracks. They are really fun. I'm going to put a little post together on them soon...

(We found this little fellow in a small pond near the Great Miami River on July 10, 2011.)