Why You Should Never Pick Up a Snapping Turtle by the Tail

Turtles aren’t known for their speed. In fact, it’s usually quite the opposite. (Slow and steady wins the race and all that.) But one type of turtle is actually incredibly quick, at least with its mouth. These turtles are called snapping turtles, and they can reach out and snap up prey with their jaws in milliseconds. This blink-and-you’ll-miss-it action was caught on camera, and even after watching it repeatedly, it’s hard to believe what we’re seeing! Snapping turtles are seriously impressive, and you definitely wouldn’t want to get in their way when they’re hungry.

Caught on Camera

The Instagram account @ocean.encounters shared a video of a snapping turtle eating a crab. In the clip, the snapping turtle sits practically unmoving as it tracks a crab walking past its face. Only its head moves slightly to follow the crab — then, bam, it’s gone! The turtle stretches out its head and snatches up the crab in a flash, pulling its head back into its shell as it swallows the crustacean.

“With their sharp vision and quick reflexes, turtles can snap up prey in the blink of an eye,” the video was captioned. “The contrast between their usually slow movements and their rapid strike is a fascinating display of their adaptability as opportunistic feeders.”

The comments were full of funny quips, like one person who wrote, “Ninja turtles is making so much sense right now

.” We can see it! Another wrote, “what?

so that’s where all the speed went.” Everything makes sense now! It turns out, some turtles can be fast when they need to be (read: when food is involved), and it makes us love them even more.

How Big Can They Get?

Alligator snapping turtles (Macrochelys temminckii) can grow to almost 3 feet long and weigh over 150 pounds, while common snapping turtles (Chelydra serpentina) are typically much smaller, usually only reaching up to 20 inches in length and weighing up to 35 pounds. These freshwater turtles can’t actually withdraw their heads and legs fully into their shells, which is why they have developed an effective defense mechanism: their powerful jaws. Their head and neck can move in a snake-like manner, which helps them strike at prey more effectively.

Snapping Turtles Have a Varied Diet

Snapping turtles are opportunistic omnivores, which means they will eat almost everything that walks in front of them. That poor crab didn’t stand a chance! Their prey ranges from small invertebrates (like insects and crayfish) to fish and amphibians (such as minnows and eels), as well as moderately sized mammals and birds, depending on their location and size. They will also eat aquatic plants like algae, moss, and duckweed.

This fascinating reptile lives in lakes, ponds, canals, rivers, and streams in North America. Younger snapping turtles will walk along the water floor to find prey, while more mature snapping turtles typically wait for food to come to them, as seen in the video. They’ve even been known to bury themselves in sand to make themselves more inconspicuous. When it’s time to attack, they use a combination of their claws, hooked beak, and strong jaws. This adaptation is helpful because, despite their quick reflexes, snapping turtles remain relatively slow both on land and in water.

Quick Biters

Common snapping turtles can bite with a force of about 210 Newtons, and their strike is considered “lightning-fast.” Alligator snapping turtles have an even stronger bite, with measured forces exceeding 1,000 Newtons. Most people won’t encounter a snapping turtle, as they spend most of their time in water, but occasionally they will emerge and travel over land. If you do encounter one, only pick up the turtle from behind—never by its tail, and not near its mouth.

The Tufts Wildlife Clinic recommends trying to gently push the turtle into a box or crate with a broom, then move the turtle out of harm’s way and release it back into the wild as close to where you found it as possible. If you must pick up a snapping turtle, place your hands above each back leg and try to avoid the sharp claws on the turtle’s feet. Luckily for humans, snapping turtles are typically not aggressive (especially when in the water) and will usually not attack people unless they feel threatened. However, it’s still not a good idea to get too close to them, as snapping turtles are powerful enough to bite off your finger!

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