Meet George

[catfishrod69]

Found this little squirt trying to cross the road. I almost ran him over! I noticed him, and turned around to save his life. I decided i was going to keep him, but after a couple days i ended up releasing him in a local creek. Would be much better for him to be in the wild getting very angry at everything that he crossed paths with when he got older. But for now he is a gentle sweetheart.

 

[horanjp]

I kept a snapper for a year when I was a young lad. He ate goldfish we got from our LPS until a man with more foresight than myself (my father) convinced me to release him to a healthy river in WVA. Thanks for sharing George, he's a cutie.

 

[Shrike]

George: Catfishrod69, my density has brought me to you.
Catfishrod69: What?
George: Oh. What I meant to say was...
Catfishrod69: Wait a minute. Don't I know you from somewhere?
George: Yes. Yes. I'm George. George McSnapper. I'm your density. I mean, your destiny.

 

[Sentinel]

That's a cute snapper. Alligator?

 

[Shrike]

That's a cute snapper. Alligator?

No. It's a common snapping turtle. The scutes on a alligator snapping turtle's carapace are raised prominently in ridges that run the length of the shell, less so on hatchlings, but still very noticeable. Although the carapace of hatchling common snapper can still have a rough appearance (which will smooth out as the turtle gets older), they look very different in comparison to one another.

 

[pnshmntMMA]

Theyre fun. Ive raised them for years. Easy to find in any pond too. They dont get mean until they get softball size then its game on. Nice save!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[catfishrod69]

Im in Ohio, so only the common variety around here. Would be nice if we had the alligators wild though.

 

[cold blood]

Most excellent. I have 2.

The first one I got was on a Halloween morning when I got to work (I worked on a river) and happened upon a very late hatch near a parking lot. They were getting run over and stepped on and played with. I got there late and saved 15. As it was due to get really cold in the coming days, so I decided I'd keep them for the winter. The next summer I released 10 in what I saw as "prime" locations throughout the state. The next summer I released 4....the last one, which was markedly more aggressive than the rest, I kept. I've had it for over 6 years (maybe 7 by now) now and its doing great. Here's its set up...
It has a carapace about 5" and is appropriately named Bitey....or GBT (green bitey thing) for short. Put your finger close and it WILL get bit...hehe. This one was just plain mean right from the get-go.


The other I have, I found a few falls ago while walking the dog. It had been stepped on and pressed deep down (I had to pry it out) into firm mud and suffered what seemed like significant damage. It refused to eat for 6 months, but is now a little beastie...this one's carapace is about 1.5". My friend still asks me how the heck I even saw it that day.


Great turtles! I hand feed them (obviously with a tweezers), and by doing this I can significantly reduce the "dirty factor", otherwise, left to forage, they are exceedingly messy and need cleanings weekly or twice a week. By controlling their intake I can go months between cleanings and never smell a thing.

Last year I caught a spiny soft shell baby....thought about keeping it, but released it after a week or two of observations.

 

[catfishrod69]

Meet Nippy

Saved this little squirt coming home from fishing today. Was in the middle of the road. This is the smallest eastern box turtle ive ever seen. I was kinda under the impression they pop out of the eggs full grown . Had to name it "Nippy" because as it was sitting in my lap during the drive home, it bit the tip of my thumb. Didnt really hurt, but scared the crap out of me, cause i wasnt expecting it. It is now relocated in the woods at the back of our yard.