By: Tyler Sievert and Vince SzaboPeriod:5A

Habitat

Picture Facts The Snapping Turtle is a

constantly moving animal

It live near the shore by lakes, rivers, or streams

They also live near ponds, canals, or swamps

Like muddy bottoms of the water source; also like to live near drift wood and vegetation

Diet

Facts Picture of Snapping Turtle Eating

When the Snapping Turtle is younger it likes to prey upon Earthworms, Snails, small fish, plants, and insects

When the Snapping Turtle is older it preys upon baby ducklings, frogs, large fish, snakes, small mammals, salamanders, and tadpoles.

Predators

Picture Facts

Are not normally prayed on when older

When young hatchlings/eggs is when they get prayed on the most

Known Predators: Great Blue Herons, Raccoons, Stripped Skunks, Red Fox, Largemouth Bass, Bull frogs, north water snakes.

Scientific Name

The Scientific Name of the Snapping Turtle is: Chelydra serpentina

Characteristics

Facts Picture Snapping Turtles are

fairly aggressive animals. Have a mossy/brown

shell to help them camouflage with the lakes mucky bottoms

There shell is also rough, which allows them to blend in with the rocks

One of the most obvious traits of the SNAPPING turtle is that it has a powerful jaw (protects them from predators).

Average Size

They grow to be 1 to 3 feet in length

Snapping Turtles can be on average 35 pounds

Life Span

The Snapping Turtle is hatched and survives on it’s own from birth

They live to exceed 40 years on average

Status

The Snapping Turtle is an indigenous creature and has no special status

Interesting Fact

There are many interesting facts about Snapping Turtles, but we chose this one:

The Snapping Turtle, when confronted, release a foul odor from a gland under their stomach for defense.

Bibliography

www.chelydra.org www.biokids.umich.edu www.grizzlyrun.com www.dnr.state.oh.us www.ehow.com/facts http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki http://archive.chesapekebay.net www.holoweb.com