Turtle Nesting Season

Turtle nesting season is here (early June). Females in particular will be on the move to find suitable nesting habitats. Studies are showing that near roads, which turtles cross in search of nesting places, males outnumber females, who travel further and hence cross roads more frequently. Painted turtles are common in NH although their existence is becoming threatened by loss of habitat. If you find an injured turtle in NH, there are wildlife rehabilitators you can contact. Report NH turtle sightings here. Don't remove healthy turtles from their habitat; help them cross roads in the direction they are traveling. It is NOT a good idea to post specific turtle locations on the internet.

Thanks for the info. Last summer I encountered a turtle crossing a street on my way to work and stopped traffic while I picked it up... but then I wondered, "Why on earth is this turtle going FROM the lake TO somebody's backyard?" I almost turned it around, but then figured it knew better than me what it was doing, and brought it across in the direction it was headed. All it did was hiss at me in reply. I wondered for a while whether I had chosen right... guess so. Lucky.
Weatherman

We stopped last year when huge snapping turtle was trying to cross. I got out and intended to try and get it moving but one look at those jaws made me think twice. I hope it found it's way, I got back in the car and drove off!

Thanks for the info...my wife helped a painted turtle across the road just the other day. (always in the direction they are going.)

Last year I carried a big snapper across a busy road...then as I thought about it, perhaps it was already at it's destination....the sand at the side of the road.
When it comes to turtles I don't know how to tell the different sexes...something tells me tipping them upside down for a looksie isn't going to reveal the info....

(....um I don't think I know how to use those icon things...)

Thanks for putting up this thread. It is becoming rarer and rarer to see our native turtles in the wild.

Last summer I was driving thru the high plains States and I saw a turtle in the middle of the lane. I did stop and put it on the side of the road (I choose the side that it was traveling towards) before traveling on. But I have little hope for it's survival- as both sides of the road were under cultivation.

HElping a turtle across the road is fine in the NE, but in the deserts of the southwest, it can kill the turtle. Water is scarce. When picked up, the desert tortoise will get scared and piss. (many reptiles and amphibians go this) In the case of the desert tortoise, the loss of water may later proove fatal.

There are 3 snapping turtles I pass on my commute. One old large (18 incher) snapper, has been laying her eggs ni the samp place (within 5 feet) for at least 9 years. Often passersby will disturb it. If she gets to lay her eggs, coons seem to dig them up several months after.

Note the pictures from my cheese curd ride. In particular George (the painted turtle in the second picture, and the sigh in the eight picutre.

http://newmud.comm.uottawa.ca/~pete/cheese/cheesecurds.html

Oh yeah....My three snapper friends. Nobody seems to care about helping them next.

Pete_Hickey said:

HElping a turtle across the road is fine in the NE, but in the deserts of the southwest, it can kill the turtle. Water is scarce. When picked up, the desert tortoise will get scared and piss. (many reptiles and amphibians go this) In the case of the desert tortoise, the loss of water may later proove fatal.

Click to expand...

Desert turtles can reabsorb water from their bladders, so the contents are not waste until they can be assured of adequate drinking water.

They actually do a very interesting balancing act, retaining wastes in their systems to conserve water during dry spells.

Doug

I lived in a house on a lakeshore for several years. Each year, I saw the snapping turtles come into our yard to lay their eggs. Each year, I marked the nests, eagerly awaiting the hatching. Every time, something dug up the nests and ate the eggs. Only once, in my last year there, did I see the baby turtles hatching and making their way to water. They were pretty incredible - digging their way free of the sand, headed straight for it in the shortest possible path, even around obstacles.

On a side note, the turtles would sometimes force their way under the fence of the yard - I'm sure they didn't even notice it. One time, I was calling one of the dogs to come in. She wouldn't, and was obviously busy with something, so I went out to get her. Imagine my horror when I saw her contentedly chewing away along the long side of a snapper that was over a foot long. Her front paws were on either side of the short ends - I don't know why it didn't bite her back! Yum, yum.

Dugan said:

Each year, I marked the nests, eagerly awaiting the hatching. Every time, something dug up the nests and ate the eggs.

Click to expand...

A biologist friend, specializing in turtles told me:

"Racoons and skunks often dig up turtle nests. If you want to protect the nests, you can put wire mesh over top (1m by 1m) staked in the ground. You have to take the mesh off in mid August to let the turtles emerge."

Unfortunately, I can't do that for the turtles I see laying eggs, because it is on a relatively well used bike/walk/blade path.

One time, I was calling one of the dogs to come in. She wouldn't, and was obviously busy with something, so I went out to get her. Imagine my horror when I saw her contentedly chewing away along the long side of a snapper that was over a foot long. Her front paws were on either side of the short ends - I don't know why it didn't bite her back! Yum, yum.

Click to expand...

If the snapper is laying her eggs (or digging the hole) she will not be aggressive at all. You can even scratch them under their chin. It seems that their programming (or hormones?) change them completely when it's egg laying time.

Interesting about them being docile near egg laying time...the one I moved was pretty passive. (I wore heavy leather gloves as a precaution)
I also find turtles pretty facinating and esp like snapping turtles.

Recently as an adult I met a fellow who absolutley abhorred them. Though he had never been bitten by one or knew of anyone hurt by one.
I know as a youngster we were cruel to one for no apparent reason...I don't know if some people have a built in fear of them.
I guess education about them is one of the turtles best hopes. I think lots of people have a fear of them biting you if you are swimming. I know I have seen some huge ones while in a kayak or canoe and would probably jump a mile if one were to come by me while swimming.
I don't know if it is instinctive or what....maybe a fear of the unknown ?

spider solo said:

I don't know if it is instinctive or what....maybe a fear of the unknown ?

Click to expand...

They're ugly.

People, in general, tend to care much more about cute animals.

Good thread. As has been noted - it is important not to spread around the locations of turtles. There are collectors out there, and many of our turtle species are at the edge of their range and are declining in general, so keeping their locations secret is one of the best ways to protect them.

Somebody mentioned that they didn't know why a turtle was leaving a pond - most likely to lay eggs, but they also travel from pond to pond to feed.

For snapping turtles, the easiest and safest way to pick them up to get them across the road is as follows: stand directly behind the turtle, and grasp the turtle's shell with both hands, one on each side, with your fingers under the shell where the hind leg comes out and the heel of your hand cupping over the top of the shell. There will be a nice depression under the shell at this point for your fingers. Pick the turtle up; it cannot get its head around to its back far enough to hurt you when you are holding it in this position. It will snap at the air, so it will bounce around a little in your hands, but don't drop the poor thing. Then, when you've carried it across the road, set it down and it will scurry off head first, away from you. This is quicker and a lot less traumatic for a turtle than being ushered across the road with a stick or a shovel, which will likely prompt the turtle to defend itself rather than move across the road. Be sure to wash your hands afterwards, as snapping turtles do carry bacteria.