WARNING: This
post contains graphic images. If you are sensitive to images of blood,
animal suffering or death, you may not want to read further.
May
and June is a challenging time of year for turtles. Females are leaving
their watery homes looking for suitable locations to lay eggs. All
turtles must lay eggs on land. Many will travel great distances in order
to find areas where they are able to dig appropriate nests. It is
during these egg-laying missions they are often found crossing highways,
and other roadways. Thousands of turtles are hit by vehicles and killed
as they try to navigate these concrete barriers placed through their
habitats.
There
are situations where the driver does not see the turtle, or it isn't
safe to move your vehicle around it for risk of hitting another vehicle
head-on.
NEVER put your life at risk to save any animal!
Unfortunately
those are the exceptions, not the rule. A large percentage of turtles
are purposely hit for sport or because a driver cannot be bothered to
take the time to avoid hitting the innocent traveler. I actually had a
person tell me once they liked the popping sound the shell made when his
tires ran over them. Comments like that make me worry for the
human race. Are we truly so callous and unfeeling that the lives of
innocent animals matter very little? If the turtle is a snapping turtle,
then the hateful sentiments are increased tenfold.
Snapping
turtles are one of the most misunderstood of the native turtles living
in Missouri. Old wives tales, myths and false information have been
passed from generation to generation all painting the snapping turtle as
an enemy of humans.
"Snappers will eat all the fish in your pond!"
"Snappers will bite, and not let go until it Thunders!"
"Snappers serve no purpose and are a pest!"
"Snappers are ugly, stinky and deserve to die!"
This
is just a handful of the things I've heard over the years where
snapping turtles are concerned. Let me address each one.....
1.)
No, they will NOT eat all the fish in your pond, lake, or river. They
are the clean-up crew and actually make your pond and other watery
habitat safer and healthier. They capture sick, dying, slow and old fish
removing them from the gene-pool. They are also known to feed on
carrion. They are not quick, or agile enough to capture healthy,
fast-moving game fish that most fisherman are after. If you are a
fisherman, and have trouble with snappers eating the fish on your
stringer near the shore. Look at it from the turtles perspective. Those
captured fish thrashing about, sound like injured fish and quickly draw
the attention of a hungry turtle who has just found itself an easy meal.
Put your fish in a basket, that will slow the turtle down. When they
are young, their diet consists of mostly prey animals, like fish,
crayfish, frogs, ducklings and other animals that may fall into the
water. As they age, their diet becomes predominately vegetation. There
are circumstances where snappers can become a nuisance in a pond, but
those situations are often man-made. For instance, a fish hatchery. If
you have thousands of fish in holding ponds and a snapper or two show
up, then yes that can become a problem rather quickly. It would
literally be "fishing in a barrel" for our hungry snappers. In most
natural settings, they pose no threat to your fish population or to you.
2.)
Yes, a snapper will bite if provoked. Most bites happen on land where
the turtle does not feel safe and you have been harassing it. Leave it
alone and it will leave you alone. It will not hold on until it
Thunders, but they do have strong jaws and can hold on for a remarkably
long time if they so desire. Try placing a stick in it's nostril if you
find yourself in this predicament and with any luck it will let go.
3.) Snappers, like all animals, serve a purpose. We might not always understand it, but they are here for a reason. See #1
4.)
Yes, snappers can be rather stinky, they hang out on the bottom of
ponds and other watery habitats. Mud, silt, decaying plant and animal
matter often make up the bottom of their homes. After wading through
that for a time, you'd stink too! I say ugly is in the eye of the
beholder. I think they are rather prehistoric looking and beautiful, in a
dinosaur kind of way.
Nothing deserves to die just because you don't like it!
Missouri
is home to numerous species of turtles, and the most common in NW MO
where I live are the Western Painted Turtle, Red-eared Slider, and
Common Snapper. Each species is frequently found crossing roadways.
Generally this is to lay eggs, but may also be for reasons ranging from
having their homes flooded, food resources have dwindled, or maybe their
homes have dried up.
Another challenge facing turtles is our human desire to own them. It is not uncommon for people to pick up cute little turtles and take them home with the desire to make them pets. Unfortunately most find out in a short amount of time that they are a lot of work. Water turtles need large tanks in which to grow, they need basking platforms, heat bulbs and a UVB light for proper development. Otherwise shell rot and deformities can develop. They quickly soil their tanks and without proper filtering systems you will be cleaning frequently. Box Turtles need to have outdoor enclosures during the summer that they cannot escape from.
THEY ARE SHELLED HOUDINIS!
They are capable of digging out of enclosures as well as climbing fences.
They also require lighting and heat, as well as a proper diet for adequate growth and to avoid shell problems. Releasing any captive turtle should never be an option. Your pet now runs the risk of passing diseases to native populations. Depending on how long you've kept it, surviving in the wild will be a struggle....especially for box turtles. These little terrapins are extremely territorial and do not relocate well. Survival is drastically reduced if you move it from it's home range and release it elsewhere. If you decide you cannot keep your pet turtle now you are left with the challenge of finding it a home with another individual and this is not as easy as it may seem. Please admire the turtle in its natural habitat but leave it there to live its life contributing to its own home range.
Turtles
are harmless, and important members of a healthy ecosystem. We should
respect the role they play and enjoy them without harming them.
GIVE TURTLES A BRAKE!
The car clipped the back of its shell and sent it flying through the air like a Frisbee. She quickly assessed the situation and discovered it was still very much alive and needed attention. She contacted me and I advised her to take it to a local vet that specializes in reptiles. The veterinarian was able to surgically repair some tissue damage around the back leg, and then epoxy the cracks in the shell. The strange white nodules are there to hold the cracks together. They will eventually fall of, and by the then the shell will be fully mended. After nearly a week spent at the Vet I was notified that she was healing nicely and could be released. 
