New pond and snapping turtles

[Mmathis]

@fishin4cars Thanks, Larkin, that's neat. So what happens -- does the turtle climb on the flipper(s) and that's how they get inside the trap? I wish they had done a video of it in action.

How often are you having to empty the trap?

 

[fishin4cars]

LOL, TM if I put in the pond right now I would probably have to empty it by dark. Very rarely do you catch them at night. Best to empty them late in the evening. I don't put mine in the pond unless I plan on emptying it that evening. The turtles can survive for quite some time but I don't feel that's humane. the hole reason for using a live trap is to humanely remove unwanted turtles. Last time I put it out I caught 13, released 3 back in the pond and relocated the others. Mostly what I catch and remove are the large Sliders. I would not be afraid to say that there are at least 100 or more turtles in the pond right now. I've probably removed 50 this year alone.

 

[fishin4cars]

Sorry missed part of the question. Yes, they crawl up on the slanted sides to bask, they get to close to the center and it tips them in. If a small turtle is behind a larger one they quite often both slide in at the same time. Snappers are the hardest to catch. have to bait the trap and weigh one side down very close to the waters edge. I've caught 5 so far this way. I don't think I have that many snappers in the pond anyway.

 

[Catfishnut]

I shared this video on here a few weeks back after I had to move a Snapper across a highway and was curious to the best way of doing it. This video is from the toronto zoo

JB (and everyone reading this thread),

That that seems like a very humane and "good Samaritan" thing to do when you find a snapping turtle crossing the road.

However, I have had many first hand experiences in such situations and I am compelled to provide all here with an education in "wild" snapping turtles and their demeanor.

First of all, the snapping turtle shown in that video is either half dead, half frozen, on a heavy dose of valium or it has been someone's pet since it was the size of a silver dollar or it is a very tame specimen from the zoo. A truly wild and energetic snapping turtle will not be so docile.

In the real world, the snapper would stand up on all fours like a one of those low rider muscle cars that has been converted with hydraulic shocks and it would turn around in circles as fast as you can run around in the middle of the highway trying to get behind him. That turtle just ain't gonna let that happen! They are much faster and more aggressive than the snapper they are showing in the video from the zoo folks. They will spin around in circles and lunge at anything that comes near, snapping their "beaks" extremely aggressively and fast!

I was trying to collect a 25-30 pounder off a local highway once. Before I could get the upper hand on the snapper, a semi rolled down the highway. I walked off to the shoulder and figured to see turtle soup on the road in a moment. The semi missed him, but as the truck passed, the snapper was jumping and lunging and snapping at each of the trucks tires!

Next point, if you do get close enough to the snapper to grab it, you are going to wish you hadn't if you just ate lunch and you happen to be down-wind. They usually have a powerful aroma and it smells like a cross between a few hundred dead minnows and some rotten squid and rotten hamburger mixed with some slimy, coal black river mud that has been rotting away under stagnant water for several decades.

The snapper that was nipping at the semi's tires? I finally got 'em with a fishing net and put him in the trunk of my car. It was a HOT day and I had the AC on with the windows all rolled up. Within two miles of travel on down the highway, the stench was so bad that I had to pull over and nearly vomit! I absolutely had to get out of the car and walk around gagging for several minutes before I could even attempt to get back close to my car. I rolled all the windows down for the rest of the trip and stuck my head out the window and it was still pretty bad.

I go out and catch these turtles for eating, so I know how bad they can be and are. They are mean, they are tough, they are fast as lightning and they really stink! When I catch them, I put them in a horse tank or a large barrel and run clean water over them for many days and sometimes weeks before I try to clean them. I know that doesn't make them sound appetizing, but they only stink on the outside. The inside is delicious meat, but it is hard to clean them until they are at least approachable.

My reccommendation to all if you see one on the highway... Unless you want to catch it to eat it, don't bother. Let it make its way across the highway. Most times, they do just fine on their own and you shouldn't put yourself in harms way to try to help it when it doesn't want your help in the first place. Your life is worth more than a stinky old snapping turtle.

As for a turtle trap to rid your pond of a LARGE snapper... Well I hope that the trap is made very well. I have had them claw their way out of a tank with plywood and concrete blocks on top and tear through refrigerator grates like they were nylon stockings. If they are under 10 lbs, you are propably alright with a trap.

As for ridding them from your pond, if you don't want them to return (once you have caught them) you had better take them further than five miles away. Better try 75 miles, maybe ship them to Antarctica! They are uncanny, they will find their way back, I have seen it. I had one escape and we tracked it down and tagged it and let it keep on going. It made it roughly seven miles back to the same water hole where I caught it.

Hope this has been informative (or at least entertaining).

Gordy

 

[JBtheExplorer]

JB (and everyone reading this thread),

A truly wild and energetic snapping turtle will not be so docile.

In the real world, the snapper would stand up on all fours like a one of those low rider muscle cars that has been converted with hydraulic shocks and it would turn around in circles as fast as you can run around in the middle of the highway trying to get behind him. That turtle just ain't gonna let that happen! They are much faster and more aggressive than the snapper they are showing in the video from the zoo folks.

My reccommendation to all if you see one on the highway... Unless you want to catch it to eat it, don't bother. Let it make its way across the highway. Most times, they do just fine on their own and you shouldn't put yourself in harms way to try to help it when it doesn't want your help in the first place. Your life is worth more than a stinky old snapping turtle.

I go out and catch these turtles for eating, so I know how bad they can be and are. They are mean, they are tough, they are fast as lightning and they really stink!
As for ridding them from your pond, if you don't want them to return (once you have caught them) you had better take them further than five miles away. Better try 75 miles, maybe ship them to Antarctica!

First of all, while only picking up two in my life, I've been around many, many more (I'm talking common snappers, not alligator snappers), and I know many people that deal with them on a daily basis during their herping trips. I am very experienced with their attitudes and their behavior. While some will spin around with you, its hit and miss. Some do, some don't. More often with younger ones. The one in the video is a zoo animal, so it is used to human contact, but the point of the video is to teach you where to pick them up.

Snappers are aggressive, no doubt about that, and lightning fast. That's why you pick it up from the rear and say away from its mouth at all times. Its claws can do damage as well. Picking up a Snapper is a dangerous thing, but if done right, its completely safe.

Leaving one on a road to cross by itself is always an option, but keeping in mind that our reptile and amphibian population has drastically decreased not only for loss of habitat but because so many of them get hit by cars. During egg laying season, I see turtles of all types laying dead on the roads. Turtles that could've been beneficial to the local population.

A "stinky old snapping turtle" is a living thing with as much meaning as you or any human being. We are all here living our lives sharing this planet. I understand you may not see that way, because you only see it as a food source, but it just isn't so. That turtle's life is just as important, likely more important than that of humans, but pulling over to save one is safer than driving the car you were in when spotting it.

As for relocation, you should never relocate an animal more than 5 miles away unless there is no other option. Putting an animal in an unfamiliar place could be the end of its life. The Department of Natural Resources would frown on that.

 

[Asymair95]

Thank you for the info guys, not sure i want to try and pick this bugger up. I will try and call the local fish and wildlife office and see what they say. Here is a pic of the pond, this is about half of it. I need to get some kind of fountain or pump down there for aeration. Thank you again.

 

[j.w]

Very nice big huge pond.............w/ monsters in it