Snapping Turtle - Chelydra serpentina

Easily the largest turtle found on the VAAP site, the Snapping Turtle should be easily recognized not just by its large size, but its large head and long saw toothed tail. Their plastron will be small in comparison to their body, and the carapace in adults will be a mostly light brown color to near black. As the name suggest, snapping turtles have incredibly powerful jaws and can be very short-tempered, do not handle adults or adolescents unless you are properly trained (Conant and Collins 146 - 147).