I've been treating a Common Snapper (Chelydra serpentina) for a couple of deep patches of shell rot. (The white patch on the shell is one of 'em) Most folks around here either kill them or leave them far far alone, so this is actually the first snapper I've had here.

I've been really impressed with this guy, and wanted to share some pics for it's pure awesomness and pure finger removability. Snappy is only 6 inches SCL, and well the gold fish in this series is near 5. Also, the pictures happened in the span of under a second and a half. My camera has a sports burst mode that takes a shot every .3 seconds holding down the shutter. The fifth shot was just his head.









This is a 4 inch goldie literally cut in half by Snappy's jaws.


So you guys that go fishing, if ya run across one just be careful of the mouth. Or I was thinkin' for the extreme crowd, you all can skip catfish and go noodling for these guys instead.

Nice....Very nice!

Ooooo. Are you going to keep em when he's all better?

Most likely. I've got two votes here for him to stay and one of them is from my wife.

He's going to have to move into one of the livestock tubs, or one of the funny shaped pond liners though at some point. He's not bad with pellets but chasing those fish around he overshot a few times and I was worried he was going to bust the glass on the tank.

Awesome pics! I vote you should keep him too...

I have nothing but pure respect for snapping turtles!! Great photos!

THey get huge right?

wow that is cool

Mike, males aren't as bad as the females. Males average 16ish inches and about 30lbs. Females can get up to 24in and about 50ish lbs. I don't know about the males, but I think state record was for an 87lb female.

It's the Alligator Snappers that get epic. 3+ feet and 250lbs.

I have heard they make cool pets, you just have to remember that respect thing. Cool photo series....very awesome that you are helping this fella out saint....double thumbs up to you!!

Thanks. Here's hopin one day (soon) he recognizes me as a food source, and not food.

I was thinking about the Alligator snappers. There is a myth floating around my kneck of the woods that a 10' snapper lives in a reckage of a downed plane in Sebago lake.

*laugh* Watching this one here eat, I can't imagine there's enough food to keep a 10 foot snapper happy in a lake unless it started going after moose on the banks.

lol