I went to dump some weeds on the compost pile between the shed and the wetlands today and almost crapped my pants. This momma is only about half the size (shell a little over a foot long) of the snapping turtles in the lake where I grew up. But she still made me jump.
She was there about 4 hours laying eggs. Gestation is two to three months. Guess I’ll be dumping weeds elsewhere this summer.
I’ve seen my share of snapping turtles over the course of many summers… but have never caught a glimpse of any of them nesting. That egg picture is awesome and amazing!!!
I have seen this happen twice, and it always makes me feel like a voyeur to something millions of years old.
Wow that is a very cool find! I hope you get to see the hatchlings when they emerge!
Lucky you! I second Les’ comment. We discovered our desert tortoise digging a hole and laying her eggs in my mom’s flower bed when I was about 9. Then one day after a big summer rain, they hatched! The babies were exciting, but few of them survived the dogs or maybe us. I looked for turtles all the time in Slaterville, but the only one, a snapper, I ever came across was crossing Ellis Hollow Creek Rd. A couple had stopped their car to see it safely across. Turtles have good friends in your neck of the woods.