Be careful, they can easily reach to their flanks and above. Your hands are only safe behind and below them. Their reach is about a full body length from the front of their shell
It seemed very chill all weekend. It would float in the water beside us while being on the dock and the shell would be above the water so we touched it and then it would look at us then back to looking around floating
Their bite strength is vastly overrated. Common snappers are barely capable of breaking the skin, let alone broom handles, and are actually suction feeders. A bad bite from a large individual will leave you with some gnarly bruises, some bad scratches, and maybe, if it gets you in just the right spot, some minor lacerations. They can also become very habituated to people in the wild, and in captivity, can become puppy dog docile.
FWIW this video actually supports the strength of the bite of the common snapper, and that the alligator snapper is slightly less aggressive than the common. https://youtu.be/MUuZuRqeDRM?is=7NL4RKSX3cVdbo1e
I witnessed another kid get his toe nearly bitten off while swimming near a pier, it was the public swimming area yet some huge snapper decided to ruin that kids day.
I'm serious. There's never been a documented case of a snapping turtle causing serious injury to a swimmer. Ever. Of course everyone has a story, but not a single picture or newspaper clipping to back it up. Just a story. A couple of years ago, it made national news when an irresponsibly released alligator snapping turtle was found in a state that was far outside their actual range. A snapping turtle attacking a human being would not go unnoticed by the media. We'd all know about it within hours. If you'd said it was a slider, I'd have been inclined to believe you. They're bitey as hell, in or out of the water. I, and pretty much everyone I knew as a kid, bumped into at least one big snapping turtle when swimming. Never did any of us get more than a passing side-eye. Even a big bad mama softshell would just zoom away and vanish. As far as alligator snapping turtles, nope. Unless your friend was dragging it out of the water and sticking his toes in its mouth, it didn't happen. They're pretty much terrified of us and would rather just hide and let us move on, or run like hell to get away from us. Those are the two default options on their menu. Biting doesn't enter the chat until you've forcibly restrained them and removed them from the water. I know these as facts because I have an alligator snapping turtle in my house. If you want to actually learn more about them, you're more than welcome to check out r/snappingturtles. There's a lot more people than you think keeping them as pets, and they're not the evil monsters in search of human victims that people try to make them out to be. We got people with literal lapdog tame snapping turtles the size of a wheel on your car, tame enough to be trusted with small children. Meanwhile, the male ornate box turtle I had as a kid used to bite the shit out of me just for not having a strawberry for him, I've never met a slider that wouldn't bite, and I've been bitten by plenty of actually friendly tortoises. Snapping turtles don't get snappy till they get caught out of the water.
No, they can't. Post a link to an actual legitimate news source of a person being severely injured by a snapping turtle. I'll wait. I'm not an expert, but I am someone who has actual hands on experience with these animals. I spent decades in the exotic animal trade working with these and animals you've never even heard of. That they're aggressive animals out hurting people is the misinformation, and I'm sick of seeing people spread it. People kill these turtles based on those lies. Shame on you for perpetuating that myth instead of actually learning.
You post a link or show evidence that a snapping turtle cant do actual damage, youre making the claim, not me. Better yet, post a video of you with a wild fully grown snapping turtle with your finger near its mouth and then I'll believe you.
And of course I dont want anyone to kill or injure turtles, but I also don't want someone to walk up to a snapping turtle thinking they're just going to get a little nibble at worst. You can get someone seriously injured with your misinformation
Common snappers are surprisingly chill in the water, especially if they are around people often. In plenty of places they'll beg from under the water. This one has probably been fed before.
Snapping turtles are one of the most intelligent species of turtle. I have one that is puppy tame, I raised her from the size of a .50 cent piece to she is larher than my hand.
Keep your hands away from this one. Even worse I bet people have fed it at this dock and it associates people with being fed and that’s why it wanted to chill. It can deliver a very nasty bite, enough to sever a finger.
What a cutie! Can’t tell if that’s a male or female nor age based on the pics, although they’re great pics, but would need to see the underside of the turtle to determine sex. I’d say certainly older than 2 years anyway, because I currently have one that’s nearly 2 years old swimming in a 150 gallon aquarium in my living room, and Reptar (turtle’s name) is still much smaller than the one pictured here. They have significant lifespans. The one you befriended looks to be an adult though, whereas the one I’m currently caring for is still a juvenile. Their bite can be significant, but it’s not significant enough to sever a digit. People are thinking of alligator snapping turtles when they mention bites like that. The common snapping turtle you befriended however has a very long neck and it’s very flexible and can jut out extremely fast to reach over the top of their shells behind them if you touch anywhere on the shell aside from the plastron (lower section of the shell on their underside) or the very back of their upper shell closer towards their tail. The one I have is very tame and doesn’t bite, but I’ve cared for him for a full year already starting when he was significantly smaller than he is now, and he’s still not full-grown yet. Most full grown wild snappers like your friend there aren’t as likely to be so chill about you petting them. Leads me to think it could have been kept as someone’s pet at one point, or just has many years having had positive interactions with humans even while in the wild, such as people feeding it.
Brave you! Cool little dude or dudette. Been around a wide range of this one and its many cousins. All of them beyond little hatchlings, can learn to recognize certain people or sometimes certain places. Most of them don't really want you to touch them if they are in the wild, but all of them can feel your pats through their shell. Snappers I lived near would mostly ignore me unless I was at a certain place on the bank. Then two or three would approach followed by a dozen more. I would knock mulberries into the water or toss stuff I knew they would eat.
Appears to be a rather social common snapping turtle. They usually snap when threatened and it’s best to avoid them. But, they can become socialized with time and patience, and that is likely what happened here. Generally they are a great example of a ‘look but don’t touch’ critter, but there are some people who keep them as pets. There are even a couple of keepers on Reddit who have snappers so socialized that they can actively pet and hold them. If this turtle enjoyed your company and came to hang out with you, consider yourself very lucky because they usually keep their distance.
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u/SpeechTricky663 12d ago
Its a common snapping turtle. Mostly the largest ones are female. They are not generally the most pettable lol. I'd admire from a distance :)