Tennessee Tortoise ID

[kamoshika]

Originally Posted by mbmouse

Is it just me or is the shell and nose not right on this one to be a snapper? I thought it was a type of mud turtle, but couldn't find any pictures to verify. I thought all snappers had the nose the juts out a bit? This guy seems to have a rounded nose and there are no diamond shapes on his shell.

You may be thinking of an alligator snapping turtle, which has a pointier snout than the common snapper and a shell with spiked scales.

[mbmouse]

Originally Posted by kamoshika

You may be thinking of an alligator snapping turtle, which has a pointier snout than the common snapper and a shell with spiked scales.

No, I wasn't thinking of the alligator snapper, don't think I have ever seen one of those around here. I guess it is more the shell on LauraC's turtle that has me confused. Is it just me or does it look like it has not distinct sections like a snapper? It looks more smooth and with almost mica like chunks on it verses sections. Maybe he is just much older and been through some scarring? Who knows, maybe it is just my computer screen resolution LOL!
I just can not recall ever seeing a turtle shell like that, kinda like it has been smoothed out from ocean waves or something. (I know that is not so as it is a freshwater or land turtle for sure, but just using that as a way of explaining what I am seeing.)

[kamoshika]

Originally Posted by mbmouse

I guess it is more the shell on LauraC's turtle that has me confused. Is it just me or does it look like it has not distinct sections like a snapper? It looks more smooth and with almost mica like chunks on it verses sections.

If you look closely at LauraC's 2nd pic, you'll see that most of the snapper's shell is covered with algae and mud so you can't make out the individual plates/scales.

[mbmouse]

Originally Posted by kamoshika

If you look closely at LauraC's 2nd pic, you'll see that most of the snapper's shell is covered with algae and mud so you can't make out the individual plates/scales.

AH!!! That is it then, no I can not see that, so it must be my screen.
Thanks for clarifying for me Kam!

[2mares]

and they won't let go until it lightnings...

HaHa thats what I was going to say. Hey, you can eat them. Taste like chicken.

[Grizzlybear34]

I used to catch these with a friend when I lived in Louisiana...I was like 12. We would look for golf ball sized holes under the water in the muck, and if we saw a head, we would take our net and work it under the mud until we were able to pry'em out. They were always huge, and man were they mad! We would check them out for awhile and then release them later.

Years later, I was living in Ohio and a man I was fishing with spotted two snapping turtles that looked like they were fighting. He went into the water to catch them and pulled one of them out by the tail. He later killed the turtle and cleaned it.

It was probably some of the best meat I have ever tasted, I don't even know how to describe it. similiar to gator if you have ever had it, but sweeter and less chewy. Now seeing where they pull these turtles from and how they look, you would never guess it - but wow!

[TN Tin Man]

Next time your at the ole swimming hole........


YouTube - Alligator Snapping Turtle DVD - Loggerhead Acres Turtle Farm

[LauraC]

Originally Posted by kamoshika

If you look closely at LauraC's 2nd pic, you'll see that most of the snapper's shell is covered with algae and mud so you can't make out the individual plates/scales.

Yes, that was what prevented me from identifying it from pictures on the web - all of that mud and green crud covering the shell. I couldn't photograph it head on or I would have been standing in the road. To be honest it was that long dinosaur like tail that got my attention once I realized it was some kind of turtle/tortoise. Never dreamed it might be aggressive. I was thinking salmonella, that's why I didn't pick it up and carry it across the road.