CountryEscape,
Really enjoyed your post about the snappers! I would like to inform you about a few turtle trivia tidbits that I know about.
1] They are very instinctive and if removed from their home, can find their way back just as well as a homing pigeon.
I have seen this happen (sort of). I caught some larger snappers that were 24 inches to 30 inches in size from a lake near my childhood home. Put them in an old bathtub in the back yard and they escaped. They both made a bee-line right back to the same lake (which was on the opposite side of town and more than three miles away). We found them enroute, so I don't know if they would have truly returned to the same exact spot or not, but why would they bother to travel in the proper direction, through town on city streets, if they weren't led by some force to go that specific direction. I mean, there were other bodies of water much closer in several other directions.
2] The Mama turtle lays a clutch of eggs in an excavated site near her water hole and when they hatch, they head for the safety of the pond or lake immediately.
Hence, just like the sea turtles that you see on the Nat Geo programs, it is extremely possible that a mother turtle laid a clutch of eggs in your bog and they are making their way into the safest area of the deep water of your sump pit. The odds of you finding more baby turtles in the sump pit are good. Although, I am not sure that I can force myself to believe that you found the same exact baby turtle three times over in the same exact place or that all the other hatchlings are heading there. You may have found three different turtles there or you may have found the same one three times. My logic tells me that the odds favor that there are more hatchlings and they are all instinctively finding their way to the sump pit.
3] Baby snappers really like a diet of garden worms, nightcrawlers and crickets and other small insects.
As a kid, I caught many baby snappers about this size from a series of ponds along a drainage ditch. I put them in my indoor habitats and kept many of them for quite a long time before releasing them. I fed them small cuts of raw steak, small garden worms and cut up nightcrawlers mostly. They really loved the worms. They also liked small pieces of hot-dogs, but I didn't like feeding them that too much as that would foul the water of their pond. The mechanical grinding of the meat and fat to mfg. hotdogs would allow the oils from the now loose fats to release into the water too easily if they didn't eat them right away.
4] Snappers do not prefer to climb totally out of the water (like you see other turtles like red-eared sliders and painted turtles do to bask in the sunlight).
Snappers like to remain in the water and crawl up a shallow, sandy slope to access shallow water so they can snorkle and poke their heads up to see what is at "periscope" depth while still keeping their shells partially submersed, but won't normally climb up on a floating log or onto an exposed rock. They really do not like to be in an aquarium that is filled to capacity with water and with straight, vertical sides. Although they do like the deep water access, they do not prefer it for their entire habitat. They need shallow, underwater shelves and beaches and banks to climb up on, rather than swimming. I guess I would describe them as an aquatic "turkey". Turkeys can fly, but rarely do if they can get from place to place by simply walking. Snappers can swim, but rarely do if they can simply just crawl to their destination, the same as turkeys walking. Snappers are simply not very efficient swimmers.
5] Alligator snapping turtles (as opposed to a common snapping turtle) have a small attachment to the end of their tongues that looks like a small, red or pink worm. They sit on the bottom of the pond with their mouth agape and wiggle this special appendage. When a fish comes along, sees it or detects it, and goes to eat it, the snapper closes his mouth on his meal of fish in a split second!
6] Snapping turtles do exit the water and travel (migrate) over dry land for many, many miles.
I have never read why they do this, but I suspect that they do so for several reasons, possibly. I surmise these reasons: a] For mating purposes. b] If their pond has become underproductive (not enough food) or c] If their pond has dried up. Or, maybe for other reasons?
7] When snapping turtles are full grown and large enough to harvest, they are VERY, VERY good to eat! OHHHHHHHHH! That's GOOD!
I have prepared turtle many times in the past and, although they are difficult to clean, they are easy to cook and they are extremely tasty! The recipe is simple (this is not a soup recipe). Cut the meat up just about like chicken, soak in saltwater for about a half day to one full day, rinse very well in cold water, roll the washed pieces in flour and salt and pepper. Sear the pieces in a skillet to brown well and then roll the individual pieces up in aluminum foil. Set the pieces in a broaster pan on top of an elevation rack. Pour water in the broaster pan for steaming and cover. Place broaster in the oven and cook at ~250° for about 6-8 hours or more. Keep checking the water level at the bottom of the broaster as to not run it dry. The low heat and the long cooking duration will make the meat extremely tender. The water in the broaster is not eactly for the purpose of steaming the meat, it is to keep the temperature in the broaster uniform all over and to prevent the natural juices of the meat from evaporarting away. It is the same theory as crock-pot cooking.
The meat will be very tender and juicy and DELICIOUS! Give it a try sometime.
Cleaning a turtle is not an easy or simple task and it requires quite a lot of time. I can tell you how, if you are interested, just ask.
Also, I really recommend that you DO NOT make these turtles into soup. That is one heck of a waste! The meat from these turtles, cooked this way, is a total suprise and a delicacy! You make soup out of trash meat and scraps, this turtle meat is absolutely not anything to waste in a soup! If you want to impress someone with a meal, try this out. You will be so impressed that you won't want to offer it to others as you will want to eat it all yourself and wish you had more!
Gordy
Really enjoyed your post about the snappers! I would like to inform you about a few turtle trivia tidbits that I know about.
1] They are very instinctive and if removed from their home, can find their way back just as well as a homing pigeon.
I have seen this happen (sort of). I caught some larger snappers that were 24 inches to 30 inches in size from a lake near my childhood home. Put them in an old bathtub in the back yard and they escaped. They both made a bee-line right back to the same lake (which was on the opposite side of town and more than three miles away). We found them enroute, so I don't know if they would have truly returned to the same exact spot or not, but why would they bother to travel in the proper direction, through town on city streets, if they weren't led by some force to go that specific direction. I mean, there were other bodies of water much closer in several other directions.
2] The Mama turtle lays a clutch of eggs in an excavated site near her water hole and when they hatch, they head for the safety of the pond or lake immediately.
Hence, just like the sea turtles that you see on the Nat Geo programs, it is extremely possible that a mother turtle laid a clutch of eggs in your bog and they are making their way into the safest area of the deep water of your sump pit. The odds of you finding more baby turtles in the sump pit are good. Although, I am not sure that I can force myself to believe that you found the same exact baby turtle three times over in the same exact place or that all the other hatchlings are heading there. You may have found three different turtles there or you may have found the same one three times. My logic tells me that the odds favor that there are more hatchlings and they are all instinctively finding their way to the sump pit.
3] Baby snappers really like a diet of garden worms, nightcrawlers and crickets and other small insects.
As a kid, I caught many baby snappers about this size from a series of ponds along a drainage ditch. I put them in my indoor habitats and kept many of them for quite a long time before releasing them. I fed them small cuts of raw steak, small garden worms and cut up nightcrawlers mostly. They really loved the worms. They also liked small pieces of hot-dogs, but I didn't like feeding them that too much as that would foul the water of their pond. The mechanical grinding of the meat and fat to mfg. hotdogs would allow the oils from the now loose fats to release into the water too easily if they didn't eat them right away.
4] Snappers do not prefer to climb totally out of the water (like you see other turtles like red-eared sliders and painted turtles do to bask in the sunlight).
Snappers like to remain in the water and crawl up a shallow, sandy slope to access shallow water so they can snorkle and poke their heads up to see what is at "periscope" depth while still keeping their shells partially submersed, but won't normally climb up on a floating log or onto an exposed rock. They really do not like to be in an aquarium that is filled to capacity with water and with straight, vertical sides. Although they do like the deep water access, they do not prefer it for their entire habitat. They need shallow, underwater shelves and beaches and banks to climb up on, rather than swimming. I guess I would describe them as an aquatic "turkey". Turkeys can fly, but rarely do if they can get from place to place by simply walking. Snappers can swim, but rarely do if they can simply just crawl to their destination, the same as turkeys walking. Snappers are simply not very efficient swimmers.
5] Alligator snapping turtles (as opposed to a common snapping turtle) have a small attachment to the end of their tongues that looks like a small, red or pink worm. They sit on the bottom of the pond with their mouth agape and wiggle this special appendage. When a fish comes along, sees it or detects it, and goes to eat it, the snapper closes his mouth on his meal of fish in a split second!
6] Snapping turtles do exit the water and travel (migrate) over dry land for many, many miles.
I have never read why they do this, but I suspect that they do so for several reasons, possibly. I surmise these reasons: a] For mating purposes. b] If their pond has become underproductive (not enough food) or c] If their pond has dried up. Or, maybe for other reasons?
7] When snapping turtles are full grown and large enough to harvest, they are VERY, VERY good to eat! OHHHHHHHHH! That's GOOD!
I have prepared turtle many times in the past and, although they are difficult to clean, they are easy to cook and they are extremely tasty! The recipe is simple (this is not a soup recipe). Cut the meat up just about like chicken, soak in saltwater for about a half day to one full day, rinse very well in cold water, roll the washed pieces in flour and salt and pepper. Sear the pieces in a skillet to brown well and then roll the individual pieces up in aluminum foil. Set the pieces in a broaster pan on top of an elevation rack. Pour water in the broaster pan for steaming and cover. Place broaster in the oven and cook at ~250° for about 6-8 hours or more. Keep checking the water level at the bottom of the broaster as to not run it dry. The low heat and the long cooking duration will make the meat extremely tender. The water in the broaster is not eactly for the purpose of steaming the meat, it is to keep the temperature in the broaster uniform all over and to prevent the natural juices of the meat from evaporarting away. It is the same theory as crock-pot cooking.
The meat will be very tender and juicy and DELICIOUS! Give it a try sometime.
Cleaning a turtle is not an easy or simple task and it requires quite a lot of time. I can tell you how, if you are interested, just ask.
Also, I really recommend that you DO NOT make these turtles into soup. That is one heck of a waste! The meat from these turtles, cooked this way, is a total suprise and a delicacy! You make soup out of trash meat and scraps, this turtle meat is absolutely not anything to waste in a soup! If you want to impress someone with a meal, try this out. You will be so impressed that you won't want to offer it to others as you will want to eat it all yourself and wish you had more!
Gordy
