We Have Been Completely Wrong About Snapping Turtles!

Snapping turtles have a reputation for being aggressive, dangerous turtles. And while they can be dangerous if you are bitten, new evidence has convinced me that snapping turtles are not the monsters that we thought that they were.

#clintsreptiles #snappingturtle #turtle

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Clint is a professional biologist and educator, but above all, Clint LOVES reptiles and he loves to share that love with everyone he meets. Whether you're lover or a hater of reptiles, you can't help but get excited with Clint!
We post a new video every Saturday morning! So stay tuned!

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You guys are so RAD!

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Clint's Reptiles
770 East Main Street # 127
Lehi, UT 84043

[kwest]

Bubbachunk was a unicorn among dragons, but revolutionised what we know of how to handle snapping turtles. Now all snapping turtles can be soft little ponies instead of monsters. In a sense Bubba was the last unicorn.

[the_newt_nest]

It makes logical sense, I think. No animal likes being handled without being supported. Maybe being held by the edge of the shell feels like the shell is being pulled away from the body.

[MindlessVoid]

This should seriously be considered to be the taught “official” method of handling snapping turtles.

[odbo_One]

When I was a child we had snapping turtles traveling pond to pond, crossing roads. One day I saw a huge one, I was intrigued and it was super cool with me, I never picked it up or treat it aggressively, I walked with it across the road and it then wondered into the bushes around the pond. Every few days I would try find it, and when I did I would feed it hotdogs and chicken scraps. Eventually, it would follow me when I walked on the road and I've always carried food when I walked through his area. I have pet it once but I was scared, but it was chill about it. Fast forward, we moved into the city. About 15 years later I visited my old friends and thought about the turtle. After picking up pack of hotdogs, I drove to my old place, walked down the street to the ponds, and sure enough here came the same snapping turtle. I felt some kind of way and it was well feed. It's been about 10 years now, I may go back soon.

[FSAPOJake]

We rescued a baby common snapper in the early 2000s and raised him for about a year. He got used to handling extremely quickly and was very very friendly. He loved to walk around outside his enclosure and explore around the house - with supervision of course.

We released him into the pond that we're pretty sure his mom came from and he still lives there 20 years later. We recognize him due to markings on his shell.

[kuunaldidon]

"I considered naming him Thunder due to his thunder thighs and my Grandfather's warning, but I also consodered naming him something like Commander Snugglepants"

NAME HIM THUNDER PANTS
NAME HIM THUNDER PANTS RIGHT NOW, CLINT

[Gojirasaurus]

So what im hearing is :Stop grabbing them in a way that puts all their weight in places that all their weight isnt supposed to that makes sense, if someone carried me by holding me upside down by my hips or just made me ragdoll over their arm, id be uncomfortable and bitey too

[origamidragon]

personally i think its incredible that its not that animals get less aggresive, but rather humans begin to learn how to treat them properly. One example i love is how there are people nowadays swimming with tiger sharks daily like its nothing, and it used to be something dangerous

[waynehickok]

I brew up with them, and also experienced their gentle side! Most of my friends thought I was crazy. I could feed them by hand and had one minor accident when I was ten years old and my finger got in the way. The turtle put a very neat "V" cut in my finger but didn't take it off. He could've but all I got was a tetnis shot! For years turtles would come to our house in the spring, hang around the back yard for awhile and returned to the woods. It was a sign of spring each year for many years.

[jbomb]

"I've wanted to go into the wild in their native range to handle as many large snapping turtles as I can and see what happens."

Clint must be the first person to ever say this sentence.

[midwestshoreangler]

My grandma owns some farmland and there’s a pretty good sized pond on it. It used to be full of fish, frogs, snakes and turtles. These last couple years however it’s gotten infested with cormorants. They’ve really done a number on everything that lives there. I don’t know if it came from another body of water, but now there’s this giant common snapping turtle that lives there. This turtle is easily well over 60lbs and is the biggest common snapping turtle I’ve ever seen. Every time I see it it’s eating a cormorant. Fish and other critters seem to slowly be returning now. Since it seems it’s protecting the pond, I have named the snapping turtle Guardian.

[camelthegamer]

The most obvious thing that no one else noticed is that snapping turtles don't like being picked up by the limbs, tail, or shell and have no need to bite on land unless you pick them up wrong. You, sir, may have saved countless fingers just now.

[kurtleturtle]

Hi Clint!
I'm a biologist from Ontario who works with turtles. You are correct that snapping turtles cannot reach their plastron, we often handle larger snapping turtles using the dinner plate method that you've demonstrated in the field.

I have been bitten on at least 3 occasions by both wild and captive snapping turtles. The largest one was a 13kg male that grabbed me by my ring finger while I was measuring it. I still play bass guitar with no issues. In fact, I was playing my bass the following day. It is a myth that a snapping turtle can bite a finger off. A bite is not a pleasent experience, but with a good rinse and a bit of polysporin, youll be just fine! The bite force of snapping turtles has been measured at 200 newtons of force. By contrast, humans have a bite force of 700 newtons. I brought the turtle that bit me to the water and once submerged it let go. This animal was handled and marked under research permits and understandably quite stressed. I made a mistake and got too close with the calipers, and I own that.

As always Clint, excellent science communication! You're an incredible handler and educator. Thanks for making these misunderstood animals more charismatic!

[stampinturtles]

I think the “common” thread of all the common snapping turtles you’ve dealt with is you. You’re a joyful and peaceful soul Clint. I’m glad you’ve been able to help out this turtle species. God bless. 🙏🏻❤️🐢

[drusillawinters]

I rescued a snapping turtle that was bigger than any of the ones you showed. He was in the pond in our housing development on his back with a fish hook in his mouth and tanggled in fishing line. He was alive but lethargic. I got him untaggled, cut the line connected to the hook. I took him home and put him in shallow water in my bathtub while I figured out how to get the hook out. I wedged his mouth open with one pair of needle nosed pliers while I cut the barbed end of the hook off and pulled the rest back through. Then I left him alone. I wasn't confident that he was going to make it. About 3-4 hours later I checked on him. He was alert, and active. I picked him up and returned him to the pond. I held him somewhere on his shell near his back legs, but I had to support him with my hand on his plastron near the back. I think that is the way the Wildlife Center of Virgina taught me to hold them. He never tried to bite me. Although I admit I was scared that he would.

[alexanderbrown]

I am a reptile veterinarian working in Ontario Canada. We have a healthy local population of snapping turtles in the wild and many pass through the clinic I work at.

The local turtle trauma centre has been teaching the same hand-under-shell handling technique for 10+ years and I use it personally.

This turtle trauma centre (Ontario Turtle Trauma Centre) has dozens (hundreds?) of snapping turtles at a time and they are almost always very easy to handle if you are calm and confident.

That being said, when I move one off of the road or pick it up after it has been hit by a car, they normally strike. I think that in this situation, the turtle is extremely scared and therefore much more likely to be defensive, even if handled well.

[bluejayblaze]

I've never handled a turtle that large, but working in wildlife rehab and living by Lake Huron, I've had the chance to interact with hundreds of wild turtles, both snappers and not. I can confirm that all of them seem to prefer having a hand underneath them over being grabbed by the sides or back of the shell---I suspect that, for us, it's analogous to the difference between lying on your stomach versus someone picking you up by shoving their hands up under your armpits. Even if they're strong enough to hold you that way, it doesn't feel secure *at all* and can hurt if they do it for very long.

[beliasphyre]

Gotta mix the two, "Commander Thunder Snuggle"

[stacypalermo]

8:27 I can see and hear the heartache in your face and voice 💔 I lost my heart dog in June of last year and I still cry over losing her. ❤️

[TheTazame]

i absolutely LOVE this. ive always been one to practice "treat others how you would want to be treated" and it doesnt just go for other humans but other species of animals too. nobody or no animal wants to be handled in uncomfortable ways, thats just common sense. (or it should be) and that is why i love the way you do things. being able to be like "you know what? no! i dont like any of these ways of handling this creature so i'll make my own way!" is incredible and shows not only other people but the animals too that you are willing to go the extra mile to make them more comfortable and show that you care, instead of doing what everyone else says. i hate it when people talk about animals like they are stupid or that they dont deserve the same level of care and consideration that humans give to one another. keep up the fantastic work, and i am glad theres people out there willing to share the wonders of what can happen if you treat animals with the respect and care that they deserve!