Snapping turtle facts & information – sexual maturity
Both sexes of Common snapping turtle will become sexual maturity when their shell (carapace) has reached a length of roughly 8 inches. Snapping turtle facts & information regarding sexual maturity varies somewhat depending on geographical habitat. Common turtle subspecies living further north is often a bit larger when they reach sexual maturity.

Snapping turtle facts & information – mating
Common snapping turtles mate from May through November. The peak nesting period is however much shorter; from mid-May to mid-June. Snapping turtle facts & information regarding mating varies depending on habitat. In the southern regions of the Common snapping turtle range, the females will typically star laying their eggs a little earlier, while the northern living females wait a little longer. Scientists still do not fully understand why mating continues until November, but it might be a way for female turtles to store sperm and/or fertilized eggs into the next egg-laying season.

Snapping turtle facts & information – egg laying
One interesting piece of snapping turtle facts & information regard the female turtle’s willingness to travel over a mile to find a suitable egg laying spot. Normally, snapping turtles only leave the water for short moments of sun basking near the waters edge or when they are forced to find a new home due to serious lack of food, overcrowding, severe pollution or habitat destruction. Snapping turtles are not well adapted for a life on land and always risk falling prey to predators when as the slowly traverse terrestrial environments. Despite this, the female turtle will walk up to 2 miles round trip to deposit her eggs in a place that she finds ideal. The snapping turtle facts & information regarding the clutch of eggs vary depending on geographical location, and the size of the female is also of importance. Generally speaking, a clutch will contain approximately 20-40 eggs. Large females will produce a higher number of eggs than small females, and northern living females often produce more eggs than females from more southern regions.

Snapping turtle facts & information – incubation
Just like a lot of the other snapping turtle facts & information in this article, the incubation time is highly affected by the geographical habitat of each subspecies of Common snapping turtle. Generally speaking, a high temperature will speed up the development and necessitate a shorter incubation period. The incubation can therefore be as short as 55 days or as long as 125 days, depending on locale.

The sex of the Common snapping turtle offspring is highly temperature dependent. Scientific tests carried out by Ernst, Lovich and Barbour showed that eggs developed at 20° C, or between 29-31° C, will produce only female turtles. If the temperature is higher than 20° C but lower than 29° C, the eggs can develop into males as well as females. A notable exception is however 23-24° C, a temperature point at which only males will be produced.

Snapping turtle facts & information – life span
The Common snapping turtles can live up to 40 years, and northern living specimens tend to grow older than southern living turtles. Many Snapping turtles never reach this high age since a wide range of animals prey on snapping turtle hatchlings, as well as on adults. Hatchlings are for instance consumed by alligators, birds, large fish and snakes. Adults are eaten by coyotes, bears and alligators. Adult snapping turtles are also frequently caught by humans.

A less known piece of snapping turtle facts & information is that these turtles are cannibalistic and feed on each other. A large Common snapping turtle will gladly attack and devour a smaller one.

Snapping Turtle Articles:

Common Snapping Turtle
Snapping Turtle Care