Variations
2 kinds · tap one for a closer look
Common snapping turtle
Aggressive and a fish eater; keep alone.
This one is best kept on its own, or with its own kind.
- Common snapping turtle should be kept without other species, and it needs a land area too.
- Common snapping turtle should be kept without other species, and it needs a land area too.
- Common snapping turtle should be kept without other species, and it needs a land area too.
Care and water
Behavior
Aggressive and a fish eater; keep alone. Not suited to most home aquaria.
Check your local laws. CITES Appendix II since 2023 (previously Appendix III, listed by the USA in 2016): international trade needs CITES export permits. USA: turtles under 4 inches (10 cm) carapace may not be sold commercially (FDA). Canada: listed as Special Concern under SARA; hunting banned in most provinces. Also regulated by many US states (not checked individually). Introduced in Europe and Asia. Check the rules where you live before you buy one, and never release it into the wild.
Good to know: Needs a land area for basking.
- wood
Food
Fish, shrimp, worms and pellets.
Tap a food to see what it is.
Male or female
In males the vent sits farther out along the tail (cloaca-to-plastron distance more than 1.2 times the plastron hind lobe, under about 1.1 times in females); males also grow larger and heavier.
Health
Common problems. Tap one to see the signs. This is a guide, not a diagnosis.
Breeding
Egg-layer (buried clutch) · Moderate
Mates mostly in spring and autumn; females travel overland to dig nests in sand or gravel, often far from water, laying one large clutch a year (late May-June in Canada). Sex is set by incubation temperature.
Pair.
Very large pond.
Warm season.
Typically 20-45 eggs per clutch (range 4-109); hatch in about 65-95 days (63 days at 30 °C, about 140 days at 20 °C). Hatchlings may overwinter in the nest.
Hatchlings are fully independent: house them in shallow warm water with a basking spot and feed small pellets, worms and daphnia daily.
- Undersized tank and weak filtration
- No UV or basking heat (soft shells, poor growth)
- Releasing unwanted turtles into the wild
Where it lives in the wild
The story of the common snapping turtle
A large, powerful freshwater turtle with a long neck and a strong bite. Hatchlings and juveniles are traded as pets, but adults reach 35-50 cm and over 15 kg, beyond most home aquaria.
Carl Linnaeus described the common snapping turtle in 1758. It is one of North America's largest freshwater turtles. Its powerful jaws give it its name.
First described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758.
- It cannot fully retract into its shell.
- It has powerful jaws.
- It can live for decades.
Sources
13 facts checked with sources
- Scientific name
Reptile (large aquatic turtle), not a fish. Author (Linnaeus, 1758). No subspecies now recognised: the Florida form 'osceola' is a synonym, and the former Central/South American subspecies are separate species (C. rossignonii, C. acutirostris). Not to be confused with the alligator snapping turtle (Macrochelys).
The Reptile Database: Chelydra serpentina · Turtle Taxonomy Working Group (2025): Turtles of the World, Annotated Checklist and Atlas, 10th ed. (IUCN/SSC TFTSG, Chelonian Research Monographs 10) - Familycorrected
New value.
The Reptile Database: Chelydra serpentina - Size
Carapace length. Typical adults 20-36 cm; record about 49-50 cm (males). Legacy 35 cm is a typical large adult.
Savannah River Ecology Lab (Univ. of Georgia): Common Snapping Turtle (university) · Turtle Taxonomy Working Group (2025): Turtles of the World, Annotated Checklist and Atlas, 10th ed. (IUCN/SSC TFTSG, Chelonian Research Monographs 10) · Environment and Climate Change Canada: Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina) Management Plan 2020 (government) - Temperature
No husbandry water range found. ECCC: preferred (optimal) body temperature 28-30 °C, dormant below about 5 °C, does not feed below 15 °C; this is body temperature, not a tank range.
Environment and Climate Change Canada: Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina) Management Plan 2020 (government) - Lifespan
Wild estimate nearly 40 years, often over 50 (ECCC); Algonquin data suggest a maximum over 100 (Wikipedia). Legacy 30-50 is in line but may be conservative; lower bound 30 not separately sourced.
Environment and Climate Change Canada: Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina) Management Plan 2020 (government) · Wikipedia: Common snapping turtle - Temperament
Predatory toward anything it can swallow (fish, smaller turtles) and somewhat aggressive to its own kind; keep alone. Usually avoids people in water but bites hard out of water.
Wikipedia: Common snapping turtle · Savannah River Ecology Lab (Univ. of Georgia): Common Snapping Turtle (university) - Swimming level
Highly aquatic, prefers soft mud bottoms and dense vegetation (ECCC), but no source says it in tank-zone terms.
Savannah River Ecology Lab (Univ. of Georgia): Common Snapping Turtle (university) - Where it livescorrected
New value. Slow-moving water with soft mud bottom and dense vegetation (ECCC). Introduced populations come largely from released pets.
Environment and Climate Change Canada: Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina) Management Plan 2020 (government) · Turtle Taxonomy Working Group (2025): Turtles of the World, Annotated Checklist and Atlas, 10th ed. (IUCN/SSC TFTSG, Chelonian Research Monographs 10) - Male or female
Legacy 'males longer tail' supported in substance (longer pre-cloacal tail); size difference added.
Environment and Climate Change Canada: Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina) Management Plan 2020 (government) - Breeding
Legacy 'Lays 20-40 eggs' matches SREL exactly. Females can store sperm for several seasons (Wikipedia).
Savannah River Ecology Lab (Univ. of Georgia): Common Snapping Turtle (university) · Environment and Climate Change Canada: Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina) Management Plan 2020 (government) - Eggs and young
Legacy 20-40 eggs agrees.
Savannah River Ecology Lab (Univ. of Georgia): Common Snapping Turtle (university) · Environment and Climate Change Canada: Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina) Management Plan 2020 (government) · Wikipedia: Common snapping turtle - Story
In the USA, hatchlings under 4 inches may not legally be sold as pets (see traits.legal), so 'often sold as hatchlings' applies outside the USA or illegally.
Savannah River Ecology Lab (Univ. of Georgia): Common Snapping Turtle (university) · Environment and Climate Change Canada: Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina) Management Plan 2020 (government) · Wikipedia: Common snapping turtle - traits.legalcorrected
Legacy said CITES Appendix III; that is out of date: the genus moved to Appendix II at CoP19 (in force 2023). IUCN Least Concern (2025). EU invasive-species rules not checked.
Turtle Taxonomy Working Group (2025): Turtles of the World, Annotated Checklist and Atlas, 10th ed. (IUCN/SSC TFTSG, Chelonian Research Monographs 10) · US eCFR 21 CFR 1240.62 (FDA): Turtles intrastate and interstate requirements (government) · Environment and Climate Change Canada: Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina) Management Plan 2020 (government)