Snapping Turtle

The common snapping turtle is a large freshwater turtle whose range runs from southeastern Canada southwest to the edge of the Rocky Mountains, east to Nova Scotia and south to Florida. It has a muscular build and a ridged carapace that varies from tan to brown and black, with a carapace length of 25–47 cm being common, and it usually weighs 4.5–16 kg. Out of water it is combative, with beak-like jaws and a highly mobile head and neck, but in water it usually flees and hides in sediment. It is omnivorous, scavenging carrion and eating aquatic vegetation, and also ambushing invertebrates, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and small mammals.

About the snapping turtle

The common snapping turtle is a large freshwater turtle in the family Chelydridae, native to southeastern Canada and much of the eastern and central United States. It is known for its powerful, beak-like jaws and long, flexible neck. The only other living members of its family are two more Chelydra species and the larger alligator snapping turtles.

Its scientific name is Chelydra serpentina. The species name, serpentina, means "snake-like," a reference to that long, mobile head and neck. It is the most widespread member of its family, which today is found only in the Americas. No subspecies are currently recognized; a former Florida subspecies is now lumped in with the rest, and two former subspecies farther south are now treated as separate species.

The snapping turtle has a rugged, muscular build. Its upper shell, or carapace, ranges from tan to brown or black and is ridged, with the ridges most obvious in young turtles. The lower shell, or plastron, is very small and leaves much of the legs and neck exposed. The tail is almost as long as the shell and carries a saw-toothed keel along the top. Bumpy tubercles cover the neck and legs, which are often yellowish, while the head is dark.

Adult shells are usually 25–47 cm (9.8–18.5 in) long and can approach 50 cm (20 in). Most adults weigh 4.5–16 kg (9.9–35.3 lb). In one study, breeding turtles averaged a 28.5 cm (11.2 in) shell and about 6 kg (13 lb). Males grow larger than females, and because the species keeps growing throughout life, nearly all turtles over 10 kg (22 lb) are old males. The heaviest wild snapper reportedly weighed 34 kg (75 lb), and overfed captive turtles have reached 39 kg (86 lb). In the north of its range it is often the heaviest native freshwater turtle.

Behavior and diet

Snapping turtles have very different personalities in and out of water. On land they are combative, hissing when threatened and quick to bite, and they can reach back across their own shell to their hind feet. In the water they are usually docile and slip away or hide in mud or weeds when a swimmer approaches. On rare occasions a curious snapper will investigate a person standing in the water and bump its nose against a leg.

They are omnivores and opportunists. Snappers are important scavengers and also ambush hunters that will take almost anything they can swallow: invertebrates, fish, frogs and other amphibians, snakes, smaller turtles, unwary birds and small mammals. They also eat carrion and a surprisingly large amount of aquatic plants. One hunting trick is to bury themselves in mud with only the eyes and nostrils showing. Their sense of smell is very well developed, and they also hunt by sight, touch and vibrations in the water.

A snapper's bite measured 62 to 564 newtons in a 2023 study, compared with 300 to 700 newtons for the molar bite of an average human. That strength is useful for crushing hard prey such as molluscs, crustaceans and other turtles. Young snappers have weaker bites and make up for it by actively roaming in search of more prey.

The species is remarkably tough in winter. Some individuals remain active under the ice instead of hibernating. In the north, hibernating turtles may not breathe for more than six months. They slow their metabolism drastically and absorb oxygen from the water through the lining of the mouth and throat. When that is not enough, they switch to burning sugars and fats without oxygen, building up an acidic "oxygen debt" by spring.

Mating runs from April to November, and females can store sperm for several seasons. In June and July, the peak nesting months, females often travel overland, sometimes far from water, to dig nests in sandy soil. A female lays 25–80 leathery eggs a year, each only 26–28 mm (about 1 in) across, and leaves them. Incubation takes 9–18 weeks depending on temperature: about 63 days at 30°C (86°F) and about 140 days at 20°C (68°F). Temperature also sets the hatchlings' sex, with females developing at low and high temperatures and males in between. Hatchlings even make clicking sounds before they leave the nest.

Northern females mature later and larger, at 15–20 years, than southern ones, at about 12 years. Eggs and hatchlings face many predators, including crows, mink, skunks, foxes, raccoons, herons, bullfrogs, large fish and snakes. Big adults have few enemies, though coyotes, black bears, American alligators, alligator snapping turtles and even North American river otters, which ambush hibernating adults, have been recorded taking them.

Range and habitat

The common snapping turtle ranges from southeastern Canada west to southern Alberta and the edge of the Rocky Mountains, east to Nova Scotia and south to Florida, the Gulf of Mexico and central Texas. A population in the Middle Rio Grande has likely been there since at least the 1600s and is probably native.

It is a habitat generalist that can live in almost any permanent body of fresh water, and some live in brackish estuaries. Shallow ponds and streams with muddy bottoms and lots of plants are typical. Snappers rarely bask in the open, usually floating with only the shell showing, though northern turtles also bask on logs in early spring. Their nostrils sit at the very tip of the snout and work like a snorkel.

Snappers travel overland to find new water or nest sites, and are often found far from the nearest pond. Experiments suggest they can sense Earth's magnetic field, which may help them navigate. Released pets have also established the species outside its range, including in Italy and Japan, where about 1,000 were found in Chiba Prefecture in 2004 and 2005.

Snapping turtle vs alligator snapping turtle

The two snappers share a family and a fearsome reputation, but they are in different genera and are not closely related. The shell is the quickest way to tell them apart.

Read more about the alligator snapping turtle.

Conservation status

The common snapping turtle is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN, in a 2025 assessment. It is also listed on Appendix II of CITES. Even so, collection for the pet trade and habitat damage have caused enough decline that Canada and several U.S. states have adopted or proposed stricter protections. In Canada it was listed as a species of "special concern" under the Species at Risk Act in 2011.

Its life history makes it vulnerable. Very few eggs and hatchlings survive, turtles take many years to mature, and adults depend on long lives to replace themselves, so extra adult deaths hit populations hard. Roads are a major problem. One population near a busy road in southwestern Ontario fell from 941 turtles in 1985 to 177 in 2002, with 764 lost in 17 years. Fencing that keeps turtles off roads could help.

People also eat snapping turtles, especially in turtle soup, but eating large amounts can be a health concern because pollutants can build up in the meat.