Snapping Turtles

June is the month female snapping turtles leave the water and find a location to lay their eggs. She finds a spot that has enough sun, digs a hole, deposits the eggs, and then covers them with soil and even mud. Then she goes along her merry way. About 70 days later, depending on soil temperatures (warmer the eggs mature faster, cooler, eggs mature more slowly) the young turtles will emerge an seek water.

Despite how tough adult turtles are, (don't get bit by one), most turtle eggs never mature because they are depredated on by raccoons, skunks and other middle sized predators known as meso-predators. If you have found nest and you wish to protect the turtle eggs from predation, then you can lay a 1" wire mesh over the spot and anchor it down. This will prevent predators from digging them up.

Stephen Vantassel, CWCP, ACP,
http://icwdm.org