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Common snapping turtle

Chelydra serpentina · Turtles · Reptiles

Common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina): Upper shell saw-toothed at the rear, usually under 36 cm (max nearly 50 cm). Tail as long as or longer than the shell, with a crest of large bony scales. This profile does not establish whether taking it is legal anywhere.

Check rules for a place and dateOpen the common snapping turtle map

Certified rules currently represented in Hunt: coverage in development. This is coverage, not a legal answer.

Common snapping turtle on bare ground
Photo by Ashlee Marie on Unsplash
Scientific name
Chelydra serpentina
Family
Chelydridae
In North America
Native
Range
East of the Rockies from the Canadian border to the Gulf and Atlantic; in Canada mainland Nova Scotia, southern New Brunswick, southern and central Québec and Ontario, southern Manitoba and southeastern Saskatchewan. Introduced in the western US and Canada.
Biology

How to identify it

Upper shell saw-toothed at the rear, usually under 36 cm (max nearly 50 cm). [1]

Tail as long as or longer than the shell, with a crest of large bony scales. [1]

Large head with hooked jaws; small lower shell (plastron) leaves limbs exposed. [1]

Hatchlings rough-shelled with conspicuous ridges, looking like a dead leaf. [1]

Field knowledge

Where it lives

All freshwater habitats, especially soft mud bottoms with abundant vegetation or submerged brush and logs; also brackish water. [1]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Mostly on the bottom; younger animals and far-northern turtles sometimes bask [1]

Decreases activity in late summer, relatively inactive in winter, resumes about April [1]

Females may travel up to several km to nest, often in open soft soil far from water [1]

Eats many vertebrates, invertebrates and plants [1]

Regulatory handoff

Where it is listed for legal take

These authorities list this species for legal take in their own regulations.

Where legal take is listed

Being listed is not an open season. Seasons, zones, licences, methods and limits decide whether this animal may be taken on a given day and place — check Hunt or the authority before you go. Listings read 2026-09-30.

Geospatial intelligence

Where it is found

East of the Rockies from the Canadian border to the Gulf and Atlantic; in Canada mainland Nova Scotia, southern New Brunswick, southern and central Québec and Ontario, southern Manitoba and southeastern Saskatchewan. Introduced in the western US and Canada.

Biology

Sources

Every claim above is attributed to one of these published sources.

  1. NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30

    NatureServe