Look closerAmphibians
Snapping turtle hatchlings crossing lawns and roads toward water
When: August to October
Eggs buried in June are hatching now, and snapping turtle hatchlings the size of a quarter are walking overland toward ponds and rivers, sometimes straight across a lawn or a road.
Why this time of year
Massachusetts snappers nest in early summer and the eggs take roughly 70 to 90 days underground, which lands the hatch in late August through October, so any small dark turtle crossing open ground in that window is probably days old.
How to notice it
- Watch lawn edges, road shoulders, and paths near ponds and the river, especially after rain.
- A hatchling is 1 to 2 inches long, dark, with a long tail and a bumpy shell.
- If one is crossing a road, guide it along in the direction it was already heading; turned-around turtles just try again.
- Leave it wild: never move a turtle somewhere new and never take one home.
Try this with kids: Which direction is the little turtle pointed? That is where the water is.
a hatchling is a turtle fresh out of the egg
Safety
- Hatchlings cannot hurt you the way an adult can, but the expert advice is the same: guide, do not grab.
- Give any adult snapping turtle its space; they strike fast, their necks reach surprisingly far, and lifting one by the tail injures it.
- Massachusetts turtles are protected; helping one across in its own direction is the only handling that helps.
Sources
- massaudubon.orgBy late August through October, snapping turtle hatchlings begin to emerge, each one just 1-2 inches long; guide a turtle in the direction it is already heading, since turtles have strong instincts and will likely try again if turned around; do not lift a turtle by its tail, which can injure it; for hatchlings follow the same hands-off approach as adults.
- sudbury.ma.usSnapping turtle eggs are laid in late spring to early summer, incubation takes approximately 70-90 days, and hatchlings emerge in late summer or early fall.
- massaudubon.orgFemale turtles dig nests in summer, typically June or July, and after two or three months the young hatch underground; move a small turtle in the direction it was headed; do not relocate turtles; never pick up a snapping turtle by the tail; snappers are surprisingly fast and can extend their necks the length of their shell.
- vet.tufts.eduAssist a turtle across a road always in the direction it was heading, or it will cross again; never take a turtle home as a pet; most New England turtle species are protected under state law.
In the guide for August, September, October