Common Snapping Turtle, close
Chelydra serpentina
Common Snapping Turtle · Constitution Marsh · 17 October 2026
A Common Snapping Turtle's head just above the surface at Constitution Marsh, close enough to see the green algae growing on its skin. In October snappers are feeding up before the winter, which they spend buried in the mud at the bottom of the marsh.
They can go the whole winter without coming up to breathe. In cold water a snapper's heart slows almost to a stop, and it takes what little oxygen it needs straight from the water, through the lining of its mouth and throat.
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