Good Turtle Karma

[madscot13]

you know you are faster than snapping turtles.

I have not seen a turtle crossing the road in a long time. I would have to stop the urge to bring it home. I love turtles.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I move the snappers too....even the big ones. You just have to grab their tail faster than they can spin around.

[Zen]

Can they stretch their necks far enough to reach their rear?

[Crankin]

I don't stop, but my riding partner always does...

[singletrackmind]

Every time I move one to the side of the road I imagine it's thinking

'Gee, thanks lady, but I was trying to get to the other side. Now I've gotta start all over!'

But I move them anyways, always to where they were aimed.

[redrhodie]

I saw one in the road when I was driving, pulled over, and made dbf head back to move it. It was a snapper, and actually leaped up at him, was hissing and trying to attack. I had no idea they were so fierce. Now I'm afarid of them.

[bmccasland]

I've moved various turtles, but not snappers. I think if I saw one of them, they'd be on their own. Oh, I've learned that turtle pee is not something you want to get on you.

[horsemom]

I am a long time turtle helper. My husband is a vet, and we do wildlife rehab, so even if they are hit but still alive (cracked shell) I pick them up and we give it a try. There are more than a few turtles in the wild now that have patched shells!!

The key to snappers is to get them to grab a stick or snow brush with their mouth, then pick them up by the tail and the stick to move them. I have even used a sneaker from my gym bag to have them snap at, then just drag them if they are too big.

Make sure you wash your hands or do the sanitizer thing after handling reptiles.

Laura

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Can they stretch their necks far enough to reach their rear?

Almost, but they can't quite reach their own tails, so if you are quick and grab the base of their tails before they can turn towards you, it's safe. Then just drag them off the road if they are heavy. I'm a long time snapper catcher. I've even leaped into a pond and grabbed them by their tails! Also have caught them by hand while swimming.

[rij73]

I will always stop to help any animal. I'll try to move it to safety. If it's something I'm scared of being bitten by, I'll use some object to coax it. Once when I was a kid, my mom refused to let me rescue a turtle on the side of the road. When I got back from school, I found it completely smushed. I was traumatized by that!

[tulip]

When I almost got to Big Meadow on Skyline Drive (Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia--all day climbing), I stopped and helped a box turtle across. I was only going about 4 mph at that point, so it was easy to convince myself to take a little helpful break.

My mom tried to move a big snapper with a snowshovel once and it whipped around and snapped the snowshovel and cracked it (plastic, not metal). Gotta be careful with those guys.

[KSH]

OH, I would save it and put it in a safe spot.

A few years back I was driving to school one day and I saw a turtle on a busy road. I didn't know where to drop him off so I took him to my classes with me (in a box).

Once I was done, I went out to try to figure out where to take him. I went to the aquarium, but they said he wasn't a sea water turtle. So I took him to the botanical gardens. They said there are tons of turtles out there and he would have friends.

[Zen]

I've even leaped into a pond and grabbed them by their tails! Also have caught them by hand while swimming.

Next thing we know you're gonna be catfish noodling

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Next thing we know you're gonna be catfish noodling

Here's a +/- 18 year old photo of me with two big LIVE snappers that I caught by jumping into our pond and grabbing them both at once by the tails. My daughters were very impressed. It's hard to see, but the one on the right is still trying to bite me and has his jaws open. It was really hard to hold them both up for the picture, they were plenty heavy.
I drove them across the river, many miles away and put them in a nice swamp. (and away from my ducks!)

[bluebug32]

It's so nice to see that you're turtle lovers for the most part. Though I love all things fury, turtles have always been one of my favorite animals and I've had a Chinese box turtle for the past 16 years (she's supposed to live to be 80-100!).

My boyfriend and I have an unspoken system where, if we see a turtle in the road, one of us slows down and the other hops out to help it across. Luckily, it's been mainly painted and wood turtles-- no snappers yet!