Common Snapping Turtle (Extra Small)

A couple of people were looking at something on the side of the road, and it turned out to be a small Common Snapping Turtle. At this size they're actually cute little guys, though my guess is they'd still be able to inflict a painful bite. (I didn't attempt to pick it up.)

The turtle seemed to be heading in the general direction of a lake. Though it had a way to go, my impression is that it's best to let them get there on their own; they know their destination better than we do.

I was somewhat surprised to see this little fella. My initial thought was that the turtle had just hatched and was making its way to water, but this theory has timing problems. Common Snapping Turtles tend to hatch 9-18 weeks after they're laid depending on temperature. I'm thinking that an emergence this time of year would imply closer to 18 weeks of incubation, pointing to eggs being laid in mid-December or early January. I'm not even sure a turtle mom could walk around outside the water in those temperatures, let alone dig a nest and bury eggs.

So could this be over a year old, and simply been looking for a new lake to live in (for some reason)? Common Snapping Turtles grow pretty fast, and if it was over a year old it sounds like it should have been over a couple inches long.

My guess is that this turtle hatched very late last autumn and overwintered in the nest after hatching, and thus was only a little bigger than the 1" of a hatchling. (My recollection is that the turtle was closer to 1.5" in size.) My second guess is similar, that it hatched very late last autumn, found its way to water for the winter, due to winter dormancy it barely grew, and (for reasons of its own) decided to journey to a new watery home this spring.

April 15, 2022 at Duke Farms
Photo 191966906, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


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