Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi all,

I have a rather large, pretty sure snapping turtle out in the grassy area of my office. He's not moving around a lot, looks kinda rough, and has been laying in the sun for about three hours now... He was moving earlier and I have left him alone in the hopes that he'd take care of himself.

Question is, do I continue to leave him be? He is not near a source of water and I'm really not sure how he got here, the area IS wooded, but he's a goodly distance from any kind of body of water. If I DON'T leave him be, should I just go ahead and take him to the nearest body of water (theres a big lake nearby, 2 miles) or should I go ahead and take him to the wildlife rescue place an hour (!) away? I can't tell if he's sick, as I only have sliders and little ones at that, but as I said before, he doesn't seem super well off. I hesitate to interfer with nature but I don't like suffering either. Also if I DO transport him, I'll have to pick him up, what's the best way to do this and not get crunched?

Thanks for the help, KC

Well in the last hour the problem has resolved itself, nature took it's course and he's gone on to whatever comes next. Sad but thats life.

KC

At least he had a long life, and died in a peaceful setting. Well, its better than being run over.
-Mike

did you check to see if "he" was a "she"?
you don't see snappers wandering around far from water too often unless they are nesting females.
the eggs may still be viable.
you should check