Saved a guy's life and got no gratitude

[LittleLebowski]

Snake like speed with the bite, made me jump. He was out in the middle of the road.

[Zincwarrior]

So...if I am reading correctly, turtle in the road, you rescued said turtle who was still snappish?

Good job! I hate to see animals get killed on the road.

[LittleLebowski]

So...if I am reading correctly, turtle in the road, you rescued said turtle who was still snappish?

Good job! I hate to see animals get killed on the road.

Yup, moved him over to a good spot near water after I got over jumping when he tried to bite.

[Tiffany Johnson]

That was just a thank-you nip! :-) Glad you moved him.

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[blues]

The eastern box turtles around here are just as snobbish in their refusal to give thanks for good Samaritans. At least they don't bite the hands that aid them.

Good for you, LL. I try to do the same when I see an animal that can use a helping hand.

[Peally]

We're all practically American heroes (does it count as saving them if you see them before you accidentally step on them?). Found this guy on Wednesday in the rain and we had a little chat by the river about where to safely lollygag. He was the strong silent type though, I don't know if I got through to him.

16701

[smithjd]

It's likely a girl, not a guy...on her way to dig a nest and lay eggs. So, in addition to the regular species attitude, there is the situational attitude. Only pick up by the tail, as they have a long neck and can reach surprisingly far. Or, try taunting them with a good size stick. If she latches on, use it to drag her before she lets go.

[Poconnor]

I drove past a very large turtle trying to commit suicide by vehicle on the highway the other day. My first thought was "I'd bet he would make a good soup"

[RoyGBiv]

I drove past a very large turtle trying to commit suicide by vehicle on the highway the other day. My first thought was "I'd bet he would make a good soup"

Mmmmm. Turtle soup. Muy bueno.... er... 美味的 ;)

[Vinnie Bagadonuts]

Ungrateful critter.

[critter]

Ungrateful critter.

heeeyyyyy, no need to devolve to critterism. #notALLcritters (https://pistol-forum.com/usertag.php?do=list&action=hash&hash=notALLcritters) #critterlivesmatter (https://pistol-forum.com/usertag.php?do=list&action=hash&hash=critterlivesmatter)

[Chance]

Only pick up by the tail, as they have a long neck and can reach surprisingly far.

Turtles have tails? The Ninja Turtles didn't have tails. But I guess a number of things about TMNT weren't​ very realistic.

[blues]

Turtles have tails? The Ninja Turtles didn't have tails. But I guess a number of things about TMNT weren't​ very realistic.

16703

"Wait, wut? All along you thought that...why I oughta..."

[GuanoLoco]

That's not a tail.

Snappers can run a lot faster than you think if they choose to.

[Peally]

I was curious and google'd it. You're not supposed to pick turtles up by the tail as that will cause spinal damage, and simply dragging them can also cause injury. Gotta pick the cranky mofos up by the shell for maximum turtle comfort.

[11B10]

Glad you moved him.





Me too!

[BN]

16710

This guy was along side the road a little while ago when I went into town. He was gone when I came back 20 minutes later. I saved him because I didn't tell my grand daughter where he was until he was hidden. :) She wanted to catch him.

[Nephrology]

Don't worry, that's typical

[trailrunner]

Snake like speed with the bite, made me jump. He was out in the middle of the road.

Same thing happened to me. I was running through my neighborhood one May morning. A turtle was trying to cross the road. It was a moderately busy road, so I interrupted my run, stopped traffic, picked up the turtle -- and the mofo reached back and bit me! I dropped him, which of course happened right in front of the two cars I had stopped. I did try again, more carefully this time, and managed to get him to the other side without him biting me again.

[LittleLebowski]

Same thing happened to me. I was running through my neighborhood one May morning. A turtle was trying to cross the road. It was a moderately busy road, so I interrupted my run, stopped traffic, picked up the turtle -- and the mofo reached back and bit me! I dropped him, which of course happened right in front of the two cars I had stopped. I did try again, more carefully this time, and managed to get him to the other side without him biting me again.

How bad was the bite? My kids and I watch a lot of Brave Wilderness on YouTube (recommended for you parents!) and thus, I was prepared.

[Jared]

Snappers can run a lot faster than you think if they choose to.

Truth! Some years ago after a really heavy spring rain, I straddled a very large snapper in the road with my truck. I stopped and got out to get a look at it and when I was about 6 feet away approaching from the side the turtle turned and faced me with a speed that I was not expecting. So I stayed put and looked it over for a few seconds and decided that I'd just leave it be rather than try to offer any assistance.

To this day, that was the biggest friggin snapping turtle I've ever seen and it still had shocking speed.

[LittleLebowski]

I was curious and google'd it. You're not supposed to pick turtles up by the tail as that will cause spinal damage, and simply dragging them can also cause injury. Gotta pick the cranky mofos up by the shell for maximum turtle comfort.

I did pick him up by the shell, picking one up by the tail seems unsafe for both of us.

[peterb]

I like snappers. I think it's the way they look as if 100 million years ago they said "Evolution? Why bother?".

As clunky as they look on land, they're surprisingly graceful underwater. I've seen a couple swimming when I've been snorkeling in the local lakes.

The bite speed and reach is impressive.

We also get painted turtles trying to cross the road. They won't bite, but they can piss an amazing amount when you pick them up. Hold on the sides of the shell and well away from your body.

[RevolverRob]

It's best, if possible, to stop traffic and scurry the critter along the road (without picking it up), in the direction they are traveling.

As said before, this time of year turtles that are crossing roads are generally females going to lay eggs. If you can use a stick to poke it along it's better for the animal (less stress) and for you (minimal contact with salmonella). Snappers are particularly cantankerous animals and are best left alone.

RE: Turtle Evolution - I've got a cool paper in the works that is looking at almost this exact question...basically why after 230 million years a turtle still looks like a turtle (by contrast, 150-million years of bird evolution, has resulted in some f'in weird birds relative to what their feathered, non-flying (and even flying), dinosaur ancestors looked like).

Signed,

Your Local Friendly Herpetologist and Paleontologist.

[LittleLebowski]

Best move in this case was to move he/her as fast as possible.

[MistWolf]

LL, you're one shell of nice guy!


Turtle Evolution - I've got a cool paper in the works that is looking at almost this exact question...basically why after 230 million years a turtle still looks like a turtle

Because turtles know that slow and steady wins the race

[Caballoflaco]

I didn't get any pictures, but I was test riding a motorcycle near Atlanta today and traffic was stopped in the middle a blind turn in both directions. There were a couple of hot soccer moms gyrating about frantically in the middle of the road, terrified of the large snapper that they were trying to save. They knew their lycra-spandex offered little protection from the crushing power of its jaws.

They waved me down as I passed on the shoulder and asked frantically if I could help. I nodded and stopped the bike; I kicked down the kick up stand, and moseyed over to the turtle. I grabbed it by its leathery shell with both hands, my thick leather riding gloves protected me from its claws as it attempted to kick its way free from my grasp. I placed our Paleolithic friend safely in the woods and remounted my bike with a silent nod in response to the doe-eyes and thanks from the ladies. They didn't have rings on anymore, but I knew the Yamaha Super Tenere I was about to buy would be far lower maintenence than either of them.

[45dotACP]

Don't worry, that's typical
No shit, I LOL'd.

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[H&KFanNC]

Here's one that I moved a couple weeks ago. Biggest dang turtle I ever came across. Tried to get him to latch onto a stick to drag him and he/she bit right through the stick!! Had to pick it up and move it. Was pretty quick and with a bad attitude, like the rest described above.

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