My goodness, Petunia.... it's sort of like a Hollywood movie there--"The Night of the Snapper Turtles". What a film that would be...sort of like "The Birds", but with snapping turtles. Sorta chilling to think of actually, thousands of snapping turtles covering land as far as the eye can see... bbbbbbbbbrrrrrrrrrr....
I too am hoping we see some baby turtles. We just about see a turtle a day up in our driveway laying eggs. Here's another turtle on the move. I think we're the only sandy drive so maybe thats why they're coming into ours to lay their eggs. Then they go back down our front hill and make their way back to the lake.
Well finally--we have baby snappers. I put them in a small fish tank for now. I'm on my way out the door but I'll get pict later and post them. we have about 8 babies.
When we used to butcher them, we wouldput a stick in there mouth and pull the neck out and use a hatchet on them, much like you would a chicken. If we caught them on a turtle hook and line we would just pull the line to get their neck stretched. We would then hang the head up to let it dry. I have seen the jaws hold tight onto the stick for as long as 2 years. Those snapper just don't let loose. They say that they have not changed since prehistoric times.
at last here they are. we're thinking why they took so long to hatch is the same reason the whole spring /summer--late flowers, late garden output, & late eggs to hatch. We just haven't had that wonderful of a summer per say weather wise. My daughter put food pellets in for them to eat. We will release them in the fall into our lake. hopefully this will refurbish our snappers, as someone has been taking a boat out during this summer and fishing up many of the large snappers.
Droopy: we think they were fishing the bigger turtles to sell them (which is suppose to be illegal to do). I guess we can't really say, for sure, what they did with them. Just wish DNR would catch them at it.
Not these people droopy. unfortanatly their selling them for their own use of $$. we just don't know for sure who their selling them to. my daught & I are trying to put these babies back into the lake so they can go on to live -hopefully w/out someone hurting them.
Very commendable! I hope you're successful and that they'll grow and prosper. Maybe they chose your drive to lay their eggs because they feel that you're good people?
Many of the momma turtles are traveling towards street lights, house lights, security lights at houses when they travel so far away from the water to lay their eggs. If they had hatched closer to the lake they would already be in the water so you probably don't have to wait until fall.
