Look what I found tonight!

[Pareeeee]

I was very lucky this evening, I found a newly-hatched Common Snapping Turtle on the road while on a walk. I think there had been water in that ditch in the spring, but it has since dried up. He looked like he didn't know where to go. He stank like carrion, what with the egg/mud soup caked onto his shell. He was very dry and I think some of his skin cracked a bit because there was a little bit of blood where the shell attaches to the skin. I took him home, cleaned him up and then released him at the local conservation area in a huge pond.

Anyway, this little guy had eggshell stuck to him, his egg tooth had not fallen off yet, and his shell was soft. Glad I could make his new life a little easier.

http://i.imgur.com/xE3PI.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/pr7PG.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/n2AYT.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/K1DWd.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/lzcuC.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/pfBOe.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/O3URi.jpg

[Pareeeee]

http://i.imgur.com/UDxoP.jpg

See the soft spot or "belly button" on his belly where the yolk sac was attached:
http://i.imgur.com/fn0oj.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/cMlQO.jpg

[BarelyBreathing]

He's pretty cute!

[iBaman]

Bawwwww =3

[Volcom269]

He is so cute. Its good to know that there are people like you who care for animals enough to do that. I would have done the same.

[Akuma223]

Thats so adorable! My friend has a snapping turtle she caught when it was a hatchling, she loves him to pieces. Are you going to keep it for a while to give it a good start in life?

[Akuma223]

oops sorry missed a bit there.:rolleyes:

[Pareeeee]

You should have seen me - my husband and I both wanted to keep him, but decided it was best to let him go. We have neither the room nor the finances for another herp at the moment.

[alessia55]

That's awesome! Super cute :)

[Drgnfly2265]

Sooo cute!

[Kavyrie]

Oh goodness he is a cutie <3 I remember finding these guys when I was little, I loved finding them so much!

[shaunyboy]

he looked such a,bedraggled wee beasty,when you first found him :laugh:

but did'nt he scrub up well :shocked:

such a cool wee dude :cool:

many thanks for sharing,i totally enjoyed the wee guy,making a full come back,all the time looking like he feels,so sorry for himself :laugh:

imo he was so cute in the pictures,that i'm sitting here with a smile from ear to ear,grinning like a mad man,at the wee turtle guy :D

I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE SUCH COOL STUFF,WALKING AROUND IN MY BACK YARD.....!!!

cheers shaun:):):)

[DragonsEye]

Adorable little bugger!

Isn't this awful late in the season for hatchlings?

[Pareeeee]

he looked such a,bedraggled wee beasty,when you first found him :laugh:

but did'nt he scrub up well :shocked:

such a cool wee dude :cool:

many thanks for sharing,i totally enjoyed the wee guy,making a full come back,all the time looking like he feels,so sorry for himself :laugh:

imo he was so cute in the pictures,that i'm sitting here with a smile from ear to ear,grinning like a mad man,at the wee turtle guy :D

cheers shaun:):):)

Glad you liked the pics. BTW I read your entire post in my head with a Scottish accent.

[Pareeeee]

Isn't this awful late in the season for hatchlings?

I wondered that too!! Such a hot summer - maybe that had something to do with it?

[Hurrok]

http://i.imgur.com/pfBOe.jpg




AWWWWWW. Seriously he is such a cutie! Glad you were there to make his life a bit easier :)

[snake man12]

Baby turtles are sooooo cute.

[Rogue628]

Awww....they're so cute when they're little! Where I used to live several years ago, there were always big adult snapping turtles on the back of our property. Sometimes they'd make their way close to the house and I'd have to shoo them in a wheelbarrow so I can take them back to where they usually stay. After I showed my kids how strong their bite is by poking one with a stick, they were afraid of them and would always come get me when the evil things managed to get close to their play area. However, I've never seen a baby before (although I've seen a few other types of baby turtles before).

[TheBoogieDown]

I feel like I need to go find a guy at the gym and beat him up to regain my manliness after awwwwing at this post!

[Rogue628]

Quick snapping turtle story (trying not to hijack the thread):

Several years ago I had went home for lunch and on my way back to work, I saw this huge turtle just standing in the middle of the road as if it had no clue as to where he was going. I stopped my car and got out to help it. As big as it was....and on a fairly busy street...I was afraid someone would hit him, causing it some serious injuries as well as possibly taking out the front end of a small car. I pulled my jacket sleeves over my hands (don't know why but I'm glad I did), and reached down to try to pick it up. The damn thing almost bit me and I dropped it (It wasn't any more than 6" off the ground). He's standing there, staring at me with his mouth gaped open, with the evil intent on biting me when all I wanted to do was help him. A couple of cars did come along that I waved around, with me trying to figure out how to get him off the street. I noticed on one side a ditch with standing water that wasn't really steep so I decided I was going to push it with my foot into the ditch. The turtle and I went around in circles for a few minutes as everytime I tried to get behind it, it would swing around, always keeping me in it's eyesight (I can't believe how quick it is!). Finally I managed to get behind it and shoved it as hard as I could with my foot toward the ditch. It was raining so the street was wet, which I hoped would make for an easy slide as well as not hurt it. I didn't push it hard enough for it to make it to the ditch, but I got it off the road for the time being, at least. I felt my job was done. I'd saved something that obviously didn't want my help, but got it anyway. lol

That's my first true experience with a snapping turtle. lol :D

[SWDK]

Cool find! Glad you were able to help it out.

[Terranaut]

Tis the season.
Found 5 in the lake last Wednesday.
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j9/terranaut0/photo-659.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j9/terranaut0/photo-2325.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j9/terranaut0/photo-400.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j9/terranaut0/photo-681.jpg

[Akuma223]

I love snapping turtles. My friend alerted me a few months ago that there was a big snapper over by the trailer park down the road from my house and I had immediately ran down there to relocate him. This happened two days in a row with two different turtles. Both had shells over a foot long. The first time we got a large sturdy Y shaped branch, nudged him on there and carried him over to the swamp. The second time when I got down there some morons (full grown men) were trying to push him into the woods with a metal rake. They made the poor dear bleed. So naturally I called them little girls walked over, picked him up by the shell (like I have a pair) where he couldnt snap at me and gently carried him to the swamp. I felt I had to relocate them only because the locales are a bunch of idiots who would have let their spawn beat the poor things to death or something like that. Both turtles had the most lovely eyes.

[SkinnyPete]

cute little duffer!

[rmfsnakes32]

Awww such cute babies to bad they stay so snappy

[Zoo Nanny]

What a cutie. Nice job cleaning him up and bringing him somewhere safe. I found one many years ago that had hatched in late Oct. I thought he was dead he was so lifeless. Brought him home, got him warmed up and put him in a large tank. It was already cold that year so figured I would keep him until spring. Loved that little guy. I let him go where I found him.

[Roadtrash]

They are cute when they are young. But like us they do grow up and things change.

[Sophia'sSophia]

That is the cutest little fellow!
What a lucky find. A nice bath for him, and wonderful fun for you!

[KraitedCobra]

Very cool looking turtle, I've found a couple of normal looking land turtles here in Thailand and seen a couple of water turtles, but this looks strange and very cool, never seen such before ;)

Cheers

[Lickeypie]

Adorable!!

[Ivanator]

Awwww! That is adorable.

[KORBIN5895]

I loved mine. He was the tamest beast ever!