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Index of Subjects The snapping turtle was probably a she. The females lay eggs on land at this time of year. It is harmful to the snapper to pick it up by its tail: it causes serious internal injuries. You are supposed to slip your hand forward on the carapace and tuck your fingers over the front edge, just above the head. The turtle can and will strike in an attempt to get you, but it can't quite get its jaws up in back of its neck. It takes a lot of nerve to do this. Then, with the other hand, you can slip under the plastron (lower part of the shell) and lift the turtle, always keeping the anterior end pointing away from your body. The head will be shooting out and snapping, and the legs clawing, but you are safe using this method. As you lift the turtle, it may empty its bladder, and your will be showered with turtle urine. That is not the time to loose your grip on the turtle, because in the confusion of letting it slip, you might get bitten. You can also lift the turtle with one hand on each side, which works, but allows the turtle to scratch you viciously with its clawed feet. The Snapping Turtle is said to be the commonest turtle in North America. It is delicious in soup, but I do not know what the laws are regarding capture and eating of this species in Nova Scotia. The meat is of five distinct types, and is very clean, and almost free of all odor. The choicest meat is the tenderloin between the carapace and the ribs, which requires breaking away the ribs with pliers to access this daintiest and tenderest piece. All the time you are cleaning your turtle, even when it has been decapitated, the limbs are still reflexively active. If you think that this would bother you, it is best not to start the project in the first place. It takes about 45 minutes to kill and clean an adult snapper. A problem I could see is that the females are the ones most easily caught, and if their numbers were to be sharply diminished, the population of turtles would decline accordingly. The Snapping Turtle eats a variety of food. It is fast enough in striking under water to catch a swimming White Perch (I have proof of that), so the legend that snapper will not bite under water is clearly untrue. There are persistent stories of snappers eating ducklings. I have examined the stomach contents of several adult snappers who had apparently been eating a vegetarian diet of pond weed; but on closer inspection I found that the weed was filled with small amphipod crustaceans, so it really represented an excellent and neatly balanced diet. On 22 Jun 2009, at 8:55 AM, Don MacNeill wrote: > Snapping turtles are dangerous to pick up. I remember Fulton > Lavender once > held a board out to a snapping turtle which immediately grabbed it. > He > could then drag it off the road to where it was safe. > > Don > > Don MacNeill > donmacneill@eastlink.ca > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Nancy Roberts" <nancy.roberts@ns.sympatico.ca> > To: <naturens@chebucto.ns.ca> > Sent: Monday, June 22, 2009 9:06 AM > Subject: Re: [NatureNS] snapping turtle pics > > > We saw a snapping turtle at exit 4 southbound ramp on Hwy 101 > yesterday. He was trying to cross the road. > > We stopped but could not see what to do to make him safe since there > wasn't any good place for him where he was headed. Another car stopped > and that driver said he had seen possibly the same turtle crossing at > the same spot a few days earlier and had returned him to a nearby > pond. > > There is a lot of highway construction in the area, so maybe turtle > life is disrupted, with refugees coming into the pond. > > Any ideas what would have been best to do for the snapper we found? > > Thank you, > > Nancy > > Nancy Roberts Design > Celebrating 17 years of making you look GOOD > > > > > On 22-Jun-09, at 7:55 AM, Annabelle Thiebaux wrote: > >> I love turtles also please send the pics to me! >> >> Angela Joudrey wrote: >>> My dad sent me some pics from the cottage this am. >>> They are of a snapping turtle laying eggs. I wasn't there, so had >>> nothing to do with him lifting her up. >>> If anyone is interested, I can send them to you. >>> Ange. > > >
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