I found this newly hatched Snapping Turtle in the water garden. Turtle eggs are laid in underground caverns dug by the female turtle. The eggs hatch in the fall, but the young turtles often wait until spring to tunnel their way to the surface. This delayed emergence may be caused by the dry, hard ground commonly encountered in autumn being impenetrable by the young turtle. The frequent rains we’ve had this year have left the soil soft and workable. Once above ground, the turtles take off in search of a suitable habitat in which to live.
One sign of a newly hatched turtle is the egg tooth used to cut through the shell of the egg at hatching. The tooth is that white bump just below the nostrils. The egg tooth will disappear a few weeks after hatching.
Another sign of the hatchling is the unhealed area on the lower shell where the yolk was attached. This area will also quickly disappear. This youngster is a perfect replica of what it will look like 20 pounds from now.
Female Snapping Turtles will travel long distances from water to lay their clutch of eggs. This means that the little hatchlings have a long way to travel before finding a suitable home. I suppose this method helps spread the turtle population over a larger area and reduces the chances that these babies will return to compete with their parent for living space. The nearest permanent water body that would contain Snapping Turtles is 900 feet from the water garden, so between mother and baby, at least that distance had to be traveled.
I found this newly hatched Snapping Turtle in the water garden. Turtle eggs are laid in underground caverns dug by the female turtle. The eggs hatch in the fall, but the young turtles often wait until spring to tunnel their way to the surface. This delayed emergence may be caused by the dry, hard ground commonly encountered in autumn being impenetrable by the young turtle. The frequent rains we’ve had this year have left the soil soft and workable. Once above ground, the turtles take off in search of a suitable habitat in which to live.
One sign of a newly hatched turtle is the egg tooth used to cut through the shell of the egg at hatching. The tooth is that white bump just below the nostrils. The egg tooth will disappear a few weeks after hatching. 
Another sign of the hatchling is the unhealed area on the lower shell where the yolk was attached. This area will also quickly disappear. This youngster is a perfect replica of what it will look like 20 pounds from now. 
Female Snapping Turtles will travel long distances from water to lay their clutch of eggs. This means that the little hatchlings have a long way to travel before finding a suitable home. I suppose this method helps spread the turtle population over a larger area and reduces the chances that these babies will return to compete with their parent for living space. The nearest permanent water body that would contain Snapping Turtles is 900 feet from the water garden, so between mother and baby, at least that distance had to be traveled.
...very cool--such a tiny version of what's to come!
ReplyDeleteYou know that snapping turtle in the picture is defective, it's bottom shouldn't look like that
ReplyDeleteAnonymous - Unless you're looking at something I haven't noticed, the spot on the bottom of the shell is where the developing turtle was attached to the egg yolk. If the turtle had stayed underground until spring, it would have emerged with a healed shell. The turtle now resides in an aquarium beside my desk and has tripled its weight and has a perfectly healed shell.
ReplyDeleteHow neat I just found aquired a baby snapper! I wish you had pics in the aquarium so I would better know how to set up for him.Right now he is in with my slider turtle.
ReplyDeleteMy Snapper lives in a one gallon aquarium that sits on my desk. He's grown quite a bit on a diet of earthworms and raw fish. He follows my every movement as I work and stretches his neck to the limit to reach up to take food from my fingers. His rapid growth causes him to shed constantly and I give him fresh water about once a week. I'm getting ready to move him to an outside tub for the summer and will probably post about him then.
ReplyDeleteI just found a hatchling in my backyard (long island ny) I have a biology background so my question is specific - while you had the hatcling in the tank - and you could still SEE the unhealed yoke area - did your turtle EAT anything? also - did you keep him in a shallow tank of water? so he could rest on bottom with nose able to reach surface? when (and WHAT) did you first have success in feeding him? I do not have water in immediate vicinity of my house - my plan is to try and keep him for only a few weeks? (or less) to help him grow a little stronger - then help and bring him to the closest freshwater habitat - which he would likely have had to reach on his own, had i not encountered him. any other suggestions?
ReplyDeleteMy turtle began eating about a week after I found it and the yoke attachment area was still visible and unhealed. I kept the water depth shallow so the turtle could easily sit on the bottom and reach its head above water. First food was small earthworms and mosquito larvae. After a couple of weeks it was eating bits of fish, chunks of worm and anything else it could fit into its mouth. Release should be made while the water is still warm, so the turtle has a chance to acclimate to the new environment before the weather turns cold.
ReplyDeleteCan you feed the babies the pellets from the pet store that are for aquatic turtles? What is the life span of these turtles? Just found a baby a couple of days ago. He hasnt eaten yet. Do you have any helpful tips for their care? Thanks
ReplyDeleteAnonymous - I'm sure your turtle can eat the pellets. I feed mine a lot of earthworms, wax worms and mealworms; all of which I can buy anyplace that sells live bait. It will also stuff itself on fresh fish. Baby turtles don't eat until they have used the last of their yolk reserves which is normally about a week after hatching. They instinctively grab at anything that moves, so it's not hard to get them to eat when they are old enough.
ReplyDeletei have a hatchling with the unheald part how long does it take for that to heal
ReplyDeletewhen i pick my baby turtle up he secreats brown stuff out his but what is that
ReplyDeleteAnonymous - It may take several months for the yolk attachment site to completely appear healed.
ReplyDeleteThe brown stuff is probably poop. Sometimes when turtles are startled, the contraction of their muscles causes the discharge of any material at the end of the GI tract. I've seen this happen before.
i found a baby in my drive way yesterday mornign i was going to put it in a friends pond today should i not because it is 58 here in indiana and colder at night
ReplyDeleteHi, Anonymous. Female Snapping Turtles travel up to a mile in search of a place to lay eggs. This way it's less likely that all of the hatchlings will end up in the same body of water as their mother. The hatchlings instinctively search out some permanent water in which to live. The sooner they find water, the better their chances of survival. This is a natural time for the hatchlings to enter a pond or stream, so don't be concerned about the temperatures. The best thing to do with the baby is release it in a suitable pond.
ReplyDeleteI found this entry Googling for the size of newly hatched snappers. A mama snapping turtles buries her eggs in my veggie garden each spring (she was just here today), and I marked where they are and planted around them, so as not to disturb the nest. But by later summer, raccoons had eaten the eggs. I'm trying to figure out if I can use something to cage the raccoons out but not trap the baby turtles in--so I was wondering as to their size to make sure any fencing would have gaps big enough to dig through.
ReplyDeleteHi Monica. I've used welded wire to construct short fences with tops that effectively keep out large predators. I hope you're lucky enough to see the babies.
ReplyDelete