Species: Chelydra serpentina

Mating may occur any time during the warmer months. Snapping turtles in North America typically nest from late May to early July (mainly in June), but mainly from mid-June to early July in the far north. In dry regions, ground-softening rains often stimulate nesting. Clutch size averages 20-35, sometimes exceeds 100; 1 clutch/year in Michigan. Hatching and emergence from the nest typically occur about 2-3.5 months after laying, from late August to early October (most often in September), but sometimes the young do not emerge from the nest before winter.<br><br>Snapping turtles commonly experience low reproductive success due to extensive predation on their eggs, but females produce large clutches and may live and reproduce for several decades, so eventually they produce offspring that join the breeding population. In Michigan, nest survivorship over 17 years ranged from 0 to 64% and averaged 23% (Congdon et al. 1994). In Ontario, growth rate and reproductive output increased with habitat productivity (Brown et al. 1994). In Michigan, minimum reproductive frequency was less than annual (0.85) (Congdon et al. 1994).<br><br>Females are sexually mature in about 8 years in Iowa, 10-20 years in Ontario (later in north than in south), 11-16 years in southeastern Michigan (Congdon et al. 1994); also in Ontario, mean age of first nesting estimated at 17-19 years (Galbraith et al. 1989). In Ontario, the mean age of nesting females was estimated at 33-40 years (Brooks et al. 1988, Galbraith and Brooks 1989).