Meet Spike

One of the boys brought in a live snapping turtle.  This one was really little and it was sure different than the Painted Turtles that we normally see in our area.  When fully grown, the snapping turtle has a shell that's 9"-20"" long and can weigh around 12#.  The record weight for a snapping turtle is 44#!  Snappers are usually carnivorous and have long tails. This snapping turtle spent the week in school in a dry aquarium filled with leaves and small branches.  The kindergartners thought Spike was pretty cool!