The joys of snapping turtles

In my younger days I used to keep snapping turtles as pets. Even though they are dangerous, once they are tame they are very friendly little animals. They are not that dangerous when they are small. The pets I had and tamed were about the size of box turtles. They got so tame I could pet them on the head and they wouldn’t bite.

When they are only a few inches long, they can be tamed easily and they like to run around. They seem playful.

I never kept the really large ones. They can get big enough where their shells are a few feet across. At that size they don’t tame as easy. I’ve noticed they don’t get mad and bite very easy if they are in water. In the water I’ve been able to touch their tail and feet and they barely seem to move.

It’s when they are pulled out that they get defensive and back up threatening to bite. I’ve come across them out of the water and they immediately get defensive and threaten to bite. They even rear up:

Aggressive snapping turtle. Don't blink at 1:00!

Not only are these turtles about the largest in North America, they are also one of the few turtles to have a real long tail. They look like a prehistoric animal. It is almost like having a pet dinosaur.

 

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