Compost surprise

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.


snapper in the compost

She was there about 4 hours laying eggs. Gestation is two to three months. Guess I’ll be dumping weeds elsewhere this summer.


snapper in the compost

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4 thoughts on “Compost surprise”

  1. 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!!!

  2. I have seen this happen twice, and it always makes me feel like a voyeur to something millions of years old.

  3. 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.

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