Deck Herping

Not sure if this is really field herping but thought Id post it here. Here is the story. My sister came over she was walking up the ramp to the deck. I herd her start freaking out. Yelling OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD. Ok so I run out to see whats going on. This is what she was freaking out about. The closest lake or stream is about 1/2 a mile away. Our wheelchair ramp is about 75 feet long. I must have walked past it ten times today and didn't notice it. Ok anyways here is what was there.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...7/100_9019.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...7/100_9020.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...7/100_9021.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...7/100_9026.jpg

Freaked the crap out of me I have no clue how long it was there. Or how it got there, or where it came from. Anyways my nephew and I took it to a good sized lake away from any highways out in the middle of nowhere. I have some video of us releasing it. When Im done editing it Ill post it.

Thanks for looking.

Holy cow!! Looks part Bear!! :rofl:

what the hell is that thing?

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Originally Posted by Patrick Long

what the hell is that thing?

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Snapping turtle :P

Nice! Poor guy traveled a bit far from home. :rolleyes:
Great pics :gj:

Well here is the video not the best video quality but it works I guess.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZVqLs2g5jI

Awww, that was so nice! I just love happy endings :P

cute juvenille. I saw one in the middle of the road where I work. I stopped the truck and attempted to get him to the side of the road. He didn't like that and opened his mouth hissing at me. He finally went to the side. We got some big ones around here.

its that time of year! snappers can travel several miles to and from breeding sites. love those guys...

What an awesome looking snapper!! Cool video, too! Although I was looking for the adventurous part where someone picks him up to put him in the tub. :P He didn't look all that eager to escape, though, once at the edge of the water. LOL

It wasn't that bad it didn't throw a fit when I picked him up off the deck. He was pretty dried out and not moving much. I put him in the rubbermaid tub everything was fine. Must have been the car ride he didn't like. Once I got him to the lake he hissed a bit when I went to pick him up out of the tub. But he never opened his mouth. I grabbed him far enough back so he couldn't reach around and get me. It wasn't to bad I would have got that all on video but It was just my nephew and myself. And he didn't want to learn how to use the camera. Maybe next time.

On the way to the lake we stopped and got one painted turtle off the road. Then on the way home we seen another and stopped and moved him out of the way. So he was pretty happy he was telling everyone that we saved 3 turtles that day.

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Originally Posted by ama1997

On the way to the lake we stopped and got one painted turtle off the road. Then on the way home we seen another and stopped and moved him out of the way. So he was pretty happy he was telling everyone that we saved 3 turtles that day.

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All in all...an excellent day for Turtle-kind! :D

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Originally Posted by Patrick Long

what the hell is that thing?

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Haha you California folk don't have those things do you?

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Originally Posted by JLC

Although I was looking for the adventurous part where someone picks him up to put him in the tub. :P

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Haha! Me too! I laughed when it was like, here he is on the deck, and then *poof* here he is in the rubbermaid!

Good job rescuing the poor guy and the other turtles too!

wow gotta love that tail, I had never seen something like that!!

Pretty big ol' snapper you found on your porch...ha ha...

Of all my herping adventures, I have never had a snake lunge out of shrubs at me......but I did have a large common snapper come barrelling out of pile of grass to 'get me'...ha ha...It was a very large female about to lay eggs....scared the hell out of me too..

Thanks for sharing. What do you think it weighed? Turtles always weigh more than they look IMO.

This spring I was fishing and hooked one of these guys(probably a 25+ pounder) on the side of the shell. Luckily the hook wasn't actually hooked in her, just kind of lodged on the shell so after I got her up on shore, a quick careful tug helped me release her undamaged back into the little pond she was in.

Freaked me out when I first saw her on the line, I thought I had caught a really heavy free floating log until it started slowly swimming against the line!