Holy huge turtle!!!

[msj]

I went to go out my mud room door to take the new dog for a walk and low and behold, but there stands one of our huge snappers right at the door wanting to come in!!:eek: This guy is one of the meat platter size. Fortunately the dog doesn’t go charging out or he would have lost a leg or a nose.

So, I just grabbed the leash and we went out the front door. Jack took his time peeing but it wasn’t more than 3 minutes till I went from the open mud room door, through the house, and around to the back of the house. I looked immediately at the door and no sign of the snapper. The lawn grass and even the pasture grass isn’t that high as both have been mowed a couple times already so if he went through the pastures, either east or west, or even south toward the barn, I should have been able to see him. No sign whatsoever. Now, it’s possible he’s hiding under the arborvitae tree just outside the mud room door as the branches do go right to the ground but if he isn’t there, he must have sprouted wings and flown away. :yes:

I’m used to seeing at least 2 big snappers several times through the summer so this sighting isn’t unusual except that he wanted to come into the house. This is the first summer I’ve also seen a much smaller turtle, about 4" across and about 6" long. I’ve seen him a couple of times already. The turtles travel between the ponds on either side of my property.

[Epona142]

They’re out looking for turtle tail.

Someone smashed one right in front of our driveway and broke my heart. I have a very very soft spot for turtles. I couldn’t go get the mail until my husband made time to go remove the poor squished remains.

This from a chick who regularly cuts open dead goats to look at their guts.

[msj]

You sound like a softy like me.

[GoForAGallop]

I love a good turtle! We have a (GIANT!) momma who buries her eggs on one of our farm roads every. single. year. The first person to come across the new nest parks the vehicle, grabs a shovel, and moves the eggs 2’ over, off the road where they’ll be crushed! Not the brightest bulb, her.

The horses find them quite alarming.

[Epona142]

I force my husband to stop so I can help turtles across the road. I am very soft when it come to turtles. I cannot deny it!

[Bluey]

We have some that get to be about a good 4’ wide.
They live in our dams and can eat a dog if it gets to the edge of the dam and is not paying attention.
Those are mean critters when it comes to taking care of their territory.

Growing up, we had a private library in our area students had free access to.
Their atrium had several turtles roaming around that all of us loved to watch and keep track of.

Turtles are neat critters to get to know.

[Megaladon]

Yeah, that whole hare-tortoise thing is a lie! Turtles can be very fast! We usually have a snapper come and check out our gardens.

[msj]

I couldn’t believe him moved as fast as he did from the back of the house! That just blew my mind!!! Mind you, I’m glad he did as I was trying to figure out how to get him turned around and going the other direction rather than trying to come into the house! I don’t mind the dog and cat, but I really don’t want him thinking he can use the indoor hot tub!!! :eek:

[beowulf]

they move quite fast!! i wish i still had my old phone… i have a great video of my then-fresh off the track TB meeting his first snapper… who was probably the size of a grain bin cover :eek: thankfully the turtle was not interested in us otherwise i would have been left in the dirt!

[Cindyg]

When I was a kid, I was coo coo for turtles. I don’t feel that way anymore, but I love them out of loyalty for how much I loved them as a kid. I found one in my pasture just today! Very unusual! I carried him back down to the pond and sent him on his turtle way.

[rustbreeches]

Gah, that is too close for a snapper!! We used to let the kids bring a turtle home for one night, if we found them. Then the next morning we would return them to where we found them. They are so cool! When I lived on a lake, I loved paddling a canoe as close as I could to them sunning on logs

[S1969]

Yes, it’s that time of year again - here’s one from last June laying eggs in a freshly plowed field. Bad picture since I had to hurriedly leash my dogs while we were out for a run in the a.m. Probably about 16" across…maybe more?

I’ve seen bigger ones too. But, in general, if the dogs leave them alone they are pretty harmless.

https://scontent-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/10439508_10203323862009005_6668318997850500313_n.jpg?oh=5d54959157c1305ab161a3f69314006a&oe=55C487F5

[Bluey]

[QUOTE=S1969;8145321]
Yes, it’s that time of year again - here’s one from last June laying eggs in a freshly plowed field. Bad picture since I had to hurriedly leash my dogs while we were out for a run in the a.m. Probably about 16" across…maybe more?

I’ve seen bigger ones too. But, in general, if the dogs leave them alone they are pretty harmless.

https://scontent-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/10439508_10203323862009005_6668318997850500313_n.jpg?oh=5d54959157c1305ab161a3f69314006a&oe=55C487F5[/QUOTE]

Neat picture, wow!

[Mischievous]

[QUOTE=Megaladon;8144856]
Yeah, that whole hare-tortoise thing is a lie! Turtles can be very fast! We usually have a snapper come and check out our gardens.[/QUOTE]

It’s not a lie. A turtle is not a tortoise, and turtles are very fast!

[bathsheba8542]

We have a giant snapper, probably 45 years old, that lives in our pond. She is appropriately named Queen Elizabeth, and enjoys her time in the sun. We have zero problems with her or the others (and yes, we swim in the pond!), and enjoy looking for her on morning walks.

[msj]

I’ve gotten quite a good chuckle with them crossing my farm from one pond to the other over the years. There was my one dog, a rotweiller/shepard mix that decided to ‘investigate’ one. She was all over it sniffing etc. Then I heard a very loud ‘YELP’. I didn’t find any blood so she didn’t actually get bitten but I have a feeling that said turtle did snap to scare her. :eek: IT DID!!! Scared me too! :eek:

Then there was the day that I watched as said turtle walked up and over my manure pile. Of course, it went over the highest part too! :lol:

Then there was the one that ran right into the fancy wire garden fencing. I admit I grabbed it’s tail and pulled it out and then proceeded to change it’s course so it went away from the fencing.

And of course, yesterday’s visitor. There’s no knocker on the mud room door nor is there a door bell so I had no way of knowing said turtle was out there till I opened the door and it just about scared the crap out of me. :yes: Dog wasn’t phased but I’m not actually sure he got much of a look at it as I immediately lifted my leg to stop the dog from heading out and slammed the door shut on it. I suppose since I didn’t give it a warm and cuddly welcome, it high-tailed-it away!

[walkinthewalk]

I have moved my share of Box turtles well off to the side of the road they were trying to get to.

I’ve transplanted two snappers to ponds a lot further down the road, that didn’t have livestock near them.

One of those snappers was stuck in my woven wire, in the pasture by the barn. His head fit just fine but, he didn’t understand the shell wasn’t going to make it. He wasn’t near as exhausted as he looked, when I carefully picked him up and not near as carefully dumped him in the cooler for relocation. I had no intention of involving him in a turtle toss, he brought it on himself when he snapped his neck backward to chomp on whatever was holding his shell. He missed me, but his landing in the cooler wasn’t too pretty lollol

[Frog_Pond]

My Beagles and I came across a snapper crossing between ponds at a park, and it made a big show of threatening them – hissing, wagging its head. The girl dog wisely kept moving, but the boy dog had a howling hissy fit. I had to pick him up and walk away :lol: That thing was just not right, and he wasn’t going to just walk away!

[msj]

Oh Frog Pond, your male was just like my rotty/shepard except she didn’t howl but was all over that poor turtle till it did snap!

My sympathies though with a howling beagle though.

[Ambitious_Kate]

I’v told the story of living next to an old quarry, filled in with water, was supposed to be 60 feet deep. Very private, no houses on it, except mine and an old couple’s, and me and my girls would skinny dip on moon-ful nigihts, Lots of fun. Until the day the cat and the horse were getting all worked up at something crashing out of the woodlot between their pasture and the lake, and out of the brush down to the house pond comes this dinosaur, kid you not. Yes, it was at least 3 feet across, about 4 feet long and I was shaking, so see something that large. I didn’t know whether the grab the halterless horse (how?) who wanted to prance around it, or the cat, who wanted to stalk it, first. It went into our pond and of course within a day or two all fish in the pond were gone. I presume it got out of the pond and went back to the lak. We never swam in the lake again, I can tell you that.

It was in Connecticut. I am not exaggerating on the size of that, either. I was flabber-aghasted.