This is a familiar sight in Nebraska: You’re driving down a two-lane highway, when a dinosaur walks across the road just ahead of you. OK, not literally a dinosaur, but a living creature that is as close as you can get — a snapping turtle.
As you approach the turtle, you notice it’s on a mission. It’s trying to make its way across the road. You might think, “Why does a turtle need to cross the road?â€
Well, there are many reasons. It could be a female looking for a nesting site. Or, if it is anytime between August and October, vulnerable young hatchlings may be the ones lumbering across the road to head toward the shelter of water.
The snapping turtle is one of Nebraska’s largest turtle species. It can be found throughout the state in just about every habitable body of water. It has a large head, long tail and an extremely reduced plastron (bottom shell). The carapace (top shell) can be brown, gray or nearly black. Snapping turtles range from 9 to 15 inches long or longer, and can weigh more than 50 pounds.
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For turtles, age is not an indication of when it is ready to reproduce. Instead, a turtle’s size is the better indicator. On average, snapping turtles reach sexual maturity when they are around 8 inches from snout to vent (cloaca). Once sexually mature snapping turtles come across members of the opposite sex, they begin courtship by facing one another and moving their heads from side to side. The male will mount the female, adjusting his tail beneath the female’s tail to allow their cloacal openings (mating area) to touch. Once mating is successful, a female turtle can keep sperm viable in her body for several years, so that eggs can be fertilized even in years when she does not have the opportunity to mate.
Nesting season usually is around April through November, peaking in May and June. Snapping turtles rarely leave their aquatic habitats except during breeding season. During this time, females can travel great distances to search for places to dig nests and lay eggs; nests have been recorded a mile or more away from the nearest water source. Selected nest sites could include muskrat burrows, gardens, lawns, golf courses, road embankments and riverbanks.
Females usually lay a clutch of eggs in May or June. She uses her powerful hind claws to dig a shallow, bowl-shaped nest in a well-drained, sunny location. During laying, which can take a few hours, the female lays 20 to 40 eggs. These eggs feel leathery and are about the size of pingpong balls.
A snapping turtle’s sex is determined by the temperature to which the egg is exposed. Eggs kept in 68- to 70-degree temperatures produce only females. Eggs maintained at 70 to 72 degrees could produce males or females, and eggs kept at 73 to 75 degrees produce only males.
After laying, the female covers the eggs and return to the water. Like other turtle species, female snappers do not tend to the nest or care for their young. Nests are vulnerable to raccoons, skunks and crows. Studies show nearly 90% of snapping turtle nests are destroyed by predators annually.
Hatching takes 80 to 90 days but can vary depending on the temperature and the environment. Hatchlings usually emerge from their eggs between August and October. To emerge, hatchlings develop an egg tooth, which disappears after three days or so after breaking out of the egg. The baby turtles are then on their own to find a spot to bromate (hibernate) for the winter and, hopefully, survive into adulthood.
