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snapper turtle2007-11-24 2:02:48

Yesterday i saw a big snapper turtle trying to cross the street. I attempted to stop and save it b4 it got run over but it looked to be snapper turtle. I've heard they can actually reach back with their heads and if they bite you they could take a finger off. I need my fingers to type questions and answers on YA.

Can a snapper turtle really do that kind of damage?

Besides extremely carefully, what is the best way to pick one up?

Answers:

First off never pick a snaping turtle up by the tail. You can break their spine that way. A common snapper can be picked up at the back part of their shell. Behind the front legs and in front of the back legs. They do have long necks but they can't reach that far.

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Yeah, I'm sure they probably could take a finger off if they are big enough. I would probably try to have some heavy gloves on before attempting to move one, but wait.if there is risk of him biting me, I'm not sure I could actually touch him!!??!!?? Eeeekkksss!! I certainly wouldn't want the little critter to get hit by a car though, so I would probably do whatever it took to get him out of harm's way. If that means getting a little nip from the guy, then I'll just try to deal with it. :)

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Pick it up with a shovel.

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Yes, A big snapper can take a finger off. If you want to move it out of the road, try grabbing it by the tail and dragging it. But watch that head

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Pick them up by the tail, it is very unlikely that it can reach back and bite you if you grab it properly by the tail, whether it was an alligator snapper or just a regular snapper.

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Yes, they can bite very hard and potentially remove an extremity. They can not reach completely back. It's best to grab them from the back of the shell. Sometimes they have claws that you need to watch out for too. It's probably not recommended to pick them up anyways because of the bacterias they can carry. I would have used a stick or sweatshirt to grab them with and remove them out of the way.

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Yes they can snap fingers off. Basically you really shouldn't try this , but if that were me I would have moved it off the road too. You would have to grab it on the sidescloser to his back legs but not too close(their claws are sharp!) Their necks are longer than what you think! They can snap back so fast! NEVER grab them around where their heads can reach. I would wear gloves too so you don't get scratched.

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YES! They can bite a finger right off if they are big enough. The best way I've found to pick them up is by the tail, and make sure he's hanging far enough away from your leg, or you could lose a chunk of that!

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yes it can. the best way to help it is to grab it with work gloves (the type you'd chop wood with) and grab it by two hands by the back end of the shell, not the middle. they will hiss and they will try to turn so be careful. We've had the same problem and we did this, the turtle now lives ina little brooke area. it was a pretty big turtle too. good luck! you could also call an animal specialist if you dont want to handle it yourself

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yes they can ive caught one that waighed over 80 lbs it broke the stick we caught it with ang ate ell the fish in my koi pond