Handling a Snapper???

[Nikolai13]

I have a snapping turtle who's a little guy, he's about 5 inches, i rescued him as a baby, him and his family were being laid when a hungry hillbilly killed her, he called me and told me that she laid an egg, i took care of the egg until baby snapper hatched, he was very un-social and wouldn't even try to bite me, he also shouldn't eat with me in the room, now he's bigger and eats in the room, now i think he'll try to bite, sooooo... How do i handle him without the tail or legs without getting bit, thank you

 

[wellington]

I have no experience. All I can tell you is what I have seen people do. I have seen them hold them by their tail. I also have seen them hold them from their shell, right behind the head and right above, but just before the tail. The ways I have mentioned have been with very large ones.

 

[Yvonne G]

I know that the Turtle Man holds them up either by the tail or by pinching your fingers in on either side of the plastron, but in my opinion, neither of those ways is good for the turtle. You may break or sprain the spine holding by the tail (depending upon how heavy the turtle is), and it probably hurts the turtle having your fingers pinching up inside his soft tissue around the plastron.

A snapping turtle has a very long neck and can reach around quite far if he's inclined to bite you, but the best way to pick them up is by holding on either side of the carapace right in front of the back legs. But be careful of the back claws reaching up and digging at you.

Since you're probably only going to handle him when you clean the tank, why don't you just get a fishing net (the kind that fishermen use to boat their catch) and catch him up in the net.

 

[diamondbp]

Young snapping turtles should be held by pinching the Shell directly above the tail tightly. But larger specimens can be held by the base of the tail or by the backside of the plastron. All types should be done with great care

 

[mike taylor]

I just grab them by the back of there shell . Then put my hand under the turtle . I never pick them up by the tail . If you handle them often he will get used to it . Even the bigger wild snappers you see crossing the street you can pick up like this . Don't pick them up by the tail. It would be like picking you up by the spine. If you watch how they bite they can reach straight back over the middle and side to side . So you watch him they will pick there butt up when they are being missed with and start snapping. So when they pick there butt up you slide your hand user them and hold on to the back of the shell to stabilise him . The smaller guys you can just grab them from the top and bottom of the back of the shell. Like this in the picture.

 

[Anthony P]

Holding by the tail can cause spinal injury. When handling a large snapper, just use two hands on the back of the shell next to each leg.

As "great" as turtle man is, he's not really a scholar is he? He also says that snappers will charge you underwater, which is a joke. All for TV. It would be nice if animal planet would give us programming on animals that was actually educational.

If you are looking for a cool trick, you can also use a stick to make things easier. Just hold the stick against the carapace from front to back, while you hold the back of the shell like I mentioned. The turtle will focus on the end of the stick that is in its vision, above its head.

 

[mike taylor]

That turtle man guy is a dumb ***!! You would think he would get his teeth fixed .

 

[Saleama]

Picking them up by the tail can cause severe spinal injuries. Best to pick him up by the mid shell. The best advice my Dad gave me when handling snappers was to watch out for the hear! LOL... Good luck with him.

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Holding by the tail can cause spinal injury. When handling a large snapper, just use two hands on the back of the shell next to each leg.

As "great" as turtle man is, he's not really a scholar is he? He also says that snappers will charge you underwater, which is a joke. All for TV. It would be nice if animal planet would give us programming on animals that was actually educational.

If you are looking for a cool trick, you can also use a stick to make things easier. Just hold the stick against the carapace from front to back, while you hold the back of the shell like I mentioned. The turtle will focus on the end of the stick that is in its vision, above its head.

I have actually been charged by a large snapper in a water hole in the rice canal behind my house when I was a kid. Also been attacked by larger soft shells. Of course, these animals were in a low hole that was still holding water in a drained canal and had no where to go. But yeah, sometimes these guys will attack.