How to prevent/deal with a snapping turtle?

[Crazy4Fowl]

what do you guys do when a snapping turtle is in your pond? I had one in the pond a couple months ago that tried to get a duck and we ended up catching it with a fishing hook.

we just had one get one of our ducks a couple days ago. I’m going to try the same method and hopefully it’ll work.

But is there anyway to prevent it? I don’t want to know there’s a snapping turtle only after an incident. How do I know there is a turtle in the pond before it happens. Should I leave something out there for it to bask on?

How do you guys deal with snapping turtles?

 

[Coops Dad]

Snapping turtles aren't prone to coming out of the water to sunbathe; they generally come out only to bury their eggs in the soil or when they're migrating to another body of water. They tend to stay shallow enough to reach the surface with their snout without needing to swim up; they'll extend their neck and front legs to reach the surface. That can mean water up to about two feet deep- their necks are are long as their shell and, though their legs may look stubby when they're on land, they're actually pretty long. You can sit quietly on the bank and try to spot them as they're coming up for a breath but it's difficult because they present just the tip of the snout above the surface, and it is deceptively small. I prefer to relocate them from our little stock tank to the nearby Brazos River rather than kill them. My tank is shallow and clear enough that I can usually spot them moving in the reeds, wade out and drag it up onto the bank by the tail. That's not for the faint of heart or first timers unless you only need to count to nine.

 

[Isaac 0]

How do you guys deal with snapping turtles?

By using turtle traps, most frequently a large live cage that I can set up at night when the ducks aren't around. I use an onion bag net filled with liver, or gizzards, and tie it to the back. This has worked well for me.
https://www.thepondguy.com/product/...annma5oU7RzUHGBT78oYbGUqYzSWVpYEaAth8EALw_wcB

 

[TheAlrightyGina]

My tank is shallow and clear enough that I can usually spot them moving in the reeds, wade out and drag it up onto the bank by the tail. That's not for the faint of heart or first timers unless you only need to count to nine.

I always just grabbed 'em by the shell right behind the head and at the base above the tail. That way they couldn't reach my fingers. But I didn't go into water after them mainly cause of snakes. I lived close to the Mississippi River growing up so I guess that's why I saw them on land as much as I did, but they seemed to get into my best bud's bond and take out her geese and ducks on occasion--I'm talking about alligator snapping turtles, btw...I didn't ever see the common one. I don't remember any specific remedy other than trying to bait them up at night and a well aimed shot which probably isn't the best for most.

 

[Isaac 0]

What do you do with trapped turtles....soup?

Most times I will clean, and cook them, but there are plenty of occasions I don't since they are laborious animals to clean. In those instances, I feed it to the chickens.

 

[MissE]

What do you do with trapped turtles....soup?

Deep fried snapping turtle is really good. It's tough, and visually, the texture looks like pot roast when it starts to shred apart, but when you chew it, pot roast is not what comes to mind. It gives your jaw a workout, but is quite tasty. Not fishy like I expected. No, it does not taste like chicken.

 

[Chuckie chicken]

I employ the 3 S's
Shoot
Shovel
Shut up

 

[Isaac 0]

Thanks. Do you always leave this setup or just when you know there’s a turtle

I use the trap normally only when I suspect there is a turtle in the pond, however, if you want to preventatively trap turtles you would want to trap on a regular basis since you won't always see the turtles before mortality occurs.
If the ducks have access to the area you are trapping you should close the trap during the day to prevent one from getting caught inside.
A line with a baited hook on the end will always work, but I have found it practical using the live trap.

 

[neo71665]

Deep fried snapping turtle is really good. It's tough, and visually, the texture looks like pot roast when it starts to shred apart, but when you chew it, pot roast is not what comes to mind. It gives your jaw a workout, but is quite tasty. Not fishy like I expected. No, it does not taste like chicken.

Reminds me more of wild rabbit.
Fried is my fav method of eating it. Heck I have 3 in the freezer right now.

 

[aart]

By using turtle traps, most frequently a large live cage that I can set up at night when the ducks aren't around. I use an onion bag net filled with liver, or gizzards, and tie it to the back. This has worked well for me.
https://www.thepondguy.com/product/...annma5oU7RzUHGBT78oYbGUqYzSWVpYEaAth8EALw_wcB

What do you do with trapped turtles....soup?