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Index of Subjects --Apple-Mail-167--891370700 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed; delsp=yes Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi folks, On 23-Jun-09, at 12:45 AM, Paul S. Boyer wrote: > 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. I checked with John Gilhen on this who informed me that carrying a snapping turtle by the base of the tail where it meets the plastron; a) does not cause injury to the turtle; and b) is the safest way of moving one (if you must absolutely do this). You must grasp it at the base of the tail, and not halfway along it, and when carrying it the plastron (i.e., the belly of the turtle) should face your leg, and not the carapace (i.e., the back of the turtle). Trying to grab a snapping turtle by the carapace behind the head could be a very dangerous procedure, given the long, extremely flexible, and agile neck of a snapping turtle. In general, you should only move a snapping turtle if there is really no other option (i.e., getting it out of the middle of a road). As John said, "Trust me, you do not want to get a bite from a snapper." A snapping turtle can be a really dangerous beast. Cheers, Chris Christopher Majka - Atlantic Canada Coleoptera http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Environment/NHR/atlantic_coleoptera.html c.majka@ns.sympatico.ca --Apple-Mail-167--891370700 Content-Type: text/html; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <html><body style=3D"word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; = -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">Hi folks,<div><br><div><div>On = 23-Jun-09, at 12:45 AM, Paul S. Boyer wrote:</div><br = class=3D"Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type=3D"cite"><div>The = snapping turtle was probably a she. The females lay eggs on land = at this time of year.<br><br>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. </div></blockquote><br></div><div>I checked with&nb= sp;John Gilhen on this who informed me = that carrying a snapping turtle by the = base of the tail where it meets the&nbs= p;plastron; a) does not cause injury to = ;the turtle; and b) is the safest way&n= bsp;of moving one (if you must absolutely&nb= sp;do this). You must grasp = it at the <i>base</i> of the tail, and&= nbsp;not halfway along it, and when carrying= it the plastron (i.e., the belly of the = turtle) should face your leg, and not the carapace (i.e., = the back of the turtle). Trying to grab a snapping turtle by the = carapace behind the head could be a very dangerous procedure, given the = long, extremely flexible, and agile neck of a snapping = turtle. </div><div><br></div><div>In general, you should only move = a snapping turtle if there is really no other option (i.e., getting it = out of the middle of a road). As John said, "Trust me, you do not want = to get a bite from a snapper." A snapping turtle can be a really = dangerous = beast.</div><div><br></div><div>Cheers,</div><div><br></div><div>Chris</di= v></div><br><br><div apple-content-edited=3D"true"> <span = class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"border-collapse: separate; color: = rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14px; = font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; = letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: = auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; = widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; = -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; = -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: = auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0; "><div style=3D"word-wrap: = break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: = after-white-space; "><div>Christopher Majka - Atlantic Canada = Coleoptera</div><div><a = href=3D"http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Environment/NHR/atlantic_coleoptera.html= ">http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Environment/NHR/atlantic_coleoptera.html</a></= div><div><a = href=3D"mailto:c.majka@ns.sympatico.ca">c.majka@ns.sympatico.ca</a></div><= div><br class=3D"webkit-block-placeholder"></div></div></span