Found a Snapping turtle

Just wondering what i should do with the turtle i found today. It's a common snapping turtle, the shell is over a foot long and he's nice and fat. he came wondering through my back yard toards my pond but i got him before he made it in. I do not want him in there with my other turtles and fish. do people buy these on here for any reason? I have some turtles as pets but i don't want one like this as a pet. it's too big for me to keep it anywhere.

anyone want it? I'm kinda scared to handle it.

If it's a native species, why don't you just release it??

I don't want it comming back. i cant just take it anywhere and dump it. Just curious if anyone collected them, or wanted one while i still have it. If not, i'm going to take a drive and release it where i know there are more

Take it back to where you found it. It's not going to "come back." It doesn't like you anymore than you like it. It will go right back to the water it had wandered away from. Releasing it to some other area other than the one you found it in will most assuradly stress the turtle as well as the already established local population. You may very well hasten the demise of that turtle. Release it back where you found it. It's the best thing for him.

Personally I would take a drive and release it elsewhere.
I relocate snappers periodically myself. At the mine site we have several ponds and they do occasionally wander around from pond to pond. When they are found on the roadways I generally collect them and remove them to the river.

The snapper was found in his back yard. I disagree that he won't come back. Releasing it where he found it will only allow it to go ahead and enter his pond with his other turtles and fish. The point of capturing it to begin with was to avoid this. They are hard headed turtles, and it's a safe bet that he will at some point decide to investigate that pond. It's not a matter of the turtle liking him, his pond it a potential food source that needs investigating.
Snappers generally leave the water for a few reasons. Females look for a place to lay, adults leave in search of better food sources, and babies commonly leave the home pond shortly after hatching to locate safer waters.
We find waves of hatchlings wandering around and in various mud holes every few years.
I've found them living in ditches, and in ponds with a pH ranging from 2 to 13 and incapable of sustaining life. The snappers survive though, they are an amazing turtle. After a week or so they will move on when they can locate no food in the inhospitable ponds.

I don't see it as likely that relocating the turtle will harm it, and releasing it in waters where snappers are already present will be little added burden on the local environment. If the area of choice doesn't suit him, he will move on from there, that's just their way.
I've kept them myself, and have always been greatly impressed by the species. They are tough as nails and very suited to survival.
I even once had the fortune to wintess a large snapper take down a full grown duck, a relatively rare event. They are one of my favorite species and their habits and behavior more than compensate for their somewhat drab looks.

I have to admit that I COMPLETELY missed the part about him heading for his pond. For that, I apologize. Jeez, maybe I need to take some more reading comprehension classes..lol Thanks for pointing that out Clay.

Do what Clat says, don't listen to me...lol

I agree, It will be fine to release it in another location with a viable water source. I have several ponds on my property and I rescue snappers of all sizes from the highways and relocate them to the ponds on my farm before they get "squished" by idiots in cars. Far, Far away from the highway. Generally, they stay awhile and wander off to another farmers pond. I have several that stay where I put them.
That snapper is going to his pond because the fish in there is a food source...and he is hungry! He no doubt will return to have a tasty meal if he is not relocated.
PS-I had someone contact me at least 10 times in a row to remove a snapper that kept going to his inground pool night after night. We would get him out and the next morning he was back in......He wanted the toads and bullfrogs that hung around his pool for dinner. We finally moved him many miles away and that was the end of that.
Nice chatting with ya all. I'm Karen and I am new on your board. I have been working with turtles for many years doing rescue work.

I guess the snapper was spotted hours before, he was crossing a busy street a few hundred yards from where i found it. he came through the tall grass and wooded area, and even a creek. I guess he really wanted into that pond. The pond was dug last year and the rain has filled it up and we put 2 eastern painted turtles and 1 red ear slider in it along with 300 fish. its swarming with frogs and toads and a billion tadpoles which have already began to leave the water.

i knew some1 would know exactly why i dont want him in there. I dont hate or dislike snappers,he didnt bother me at all, im just looking out for my other animals. Besides the pond i have 2 yellow belly's and 1 map turtle, along with a baby alligator snapper which is alone in his tank. i collect reptiles but dnt have anywhere for this one.
ill probibly take him somewhere after work tomorrow. i know of a park where there are a ton of them but its not really clean of polution.

I cant think of anywhere where the turtle would be wanted, or that i would even be allowed to release it.

You might want to check your local laws regarding the release of native species.

Where I live, you must release the animal within X miles from the place of capture (can't remember the exact milage).

found a snapping turtle

Hey man I live in Akron Ohio and am interested in taking the snapping turtle where exactly do youlive in Ohio. Please email me at [email protected].

Thanks,
Corbin

I have to agree with Clay, they are tough as nails and very single-minded, he will come back, I had my mating pair spotted turtles in my pond and a very large snapper- about 40 lbs. came crashing in one day and didn't kill any of the turtles, but my female still has a huge chunk missing out of the front of her shell, and a scarred arm, I relocated the turtle to another pond, down the road about a mile, he was back about 4 days later, and I'm not just saying this because I want to blasphem, it was the same one because I remember it having a peculiar scar on the top of his head, running down into the left nostril, so I said that was the end of him and when me and my buddies went fishing, we drove up to were we camped and released him, of course, problem sovled. I'm speaking from experience, turtles are tough, and very single minded, he will come back, so take the extra trip and dump him.