Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm unfortunately not very experienced with turtles, but I see a million pictures of people picking up snappers by the tail.

Isn't this a reeeally bad idea? Would you pick up a dog by its tail? A cat? A monkey, sure. But a turtle?

Can any of you experienced turtle keepers enlighten me on the subject?

You can injure their vertebrae that way. I've always grabbed either one or both hind feet and make sure you hold the head away from you.

Then it's a real shame so many people do it.

Grab the back shell edge. It's a little rough but you don't risk any joint or vertebral dislocations.