Turtle in my backyard - help needed (Cary: to move, rated)

[rose12345]

Hi everyone,

Can anybody help me to identify this turtle?

I found turtle in my backyard, was hiding behind my grill - no idea how long it was there. As I'm not turtle expert, can you help me, please? Picture attached.

- Any idea what kind of turtle is it? I'm not aware about my neighbors having turtle as a pet.

- Is this kind of turtle common in the North Carolina backyard? (perhaps silly question). If it helps, there is a lake about 0.5 miles away

- What do I do with this turtle? I'd like to prevent him/her from the sun damage, or any cat/dog....

Any help would be really appreciated.

Thank you!

[cncracer]

It is an American snapping turtle, as a kid I was always told if they bite you they will not let go till it thunders. I would pick it up by the sides of its shell and put it in a box, than find some area away from the highway and close to lots of water to turn it lose. Make sure your hands are far enough back to keep it from biting you.
Last of all don’t tell my wife you have it. She will name it put in a pond and we will be over our limit of pets in Cary.

[autumngal]

It looks like a young snapping turtle.
With the recent rains the turtles will have a tendency to wander more. And also you will see many trying to cross the road but get stuck in the middle.
I have rescued 7 this year so far.

We have loads of turtles especially with our pond. And yes, NC is known for turtles. They are not uncommon.

[betterdonkeys]

My recommendation would be to fire up the grill and barbecue it for supper.

Joj!

[betterdonkeys]

In all seriousness. The one thing that you do not want to do, under any circumstances, is you do not want to move him from his current surroundings. He will return to where he came from, but if you move him, he will be separated from his family and inevitably die. Do not, for example, remove him and take him to a nearby lake - he will lose his surroundings and will not be able to survive.

[lamishra]

I agree, it's a snapper and I'd just let him be.

[mm34b]

Snapping Turtle - North Carolina

[dansdrive]

As the other posters have stated it sure looks like a snapper and I ain't talking lawn mowers either. I would let it be too. they can be down right mean if you mess with it.

He looks like he's from the other side gang, they are always looking for the 'greener' side! Looks like this one found it in your yard complete with grill! Good luck and I'm sure it will move on for greener fields or greener pond water!

P.S. I would name it so that when and if it returns you can be on first name basis with the wondering turtle!

[rose12345]

Hi everyone,

Thank you so much for your advice and help.

Just would like to update you on the lovely turtle. I took him to the nearby pond and hopefully he's happier there than in our yard. Definitely better than ending up in the middle of the street or being stressed by dog/cat

Thank you once again for teaching me about the American snapping turtle and turtles in the NC. I really appreciate this forum.

[mm34b]

Originally Posted by rose12345

Hi everyone,

Thank you so much for your advice and help.

Just would like to update you on the lovely turtle. I took him to the nearby pond and hopefully his happier there than in our yard. Definitely better than ending up in the middle of the street or being stressed by dog/cat

Thank you once again for teaching me about the American snapping turtle and turtles in the NC. I really appreciate this form.

Cheers,

If yours is as feisty as the ones I've come across, a dog or cat would have gotten the short end of the stick. Snapping turtles have tremendous jaw pressure. From what I've heard, about 1,000 PSI.