WARNING:GRAPHIC CONTENT-Alligator Snapping Turtle bite

[TeguBuzz]

Got bit today while fishing at the buffalo bayou about 5mins from my house. Decided to go turtle searching with some friends, pulled up some localities, a few musks and red ears, and finally found a nice area to look. Started feeling under some log, and felt a nip, which at the time didn't hurt all that much, so I grabbed the culprit, turned about to be a 7 or 8 inch shell length alligator snapping turtle. I put it back in the water and headed over to the car to find my hand bleeding profusely, it didn't hurt all that much, but I couldn't move it all too well either. My buddies made a tourniquet around my pinky finger with a hand towel, and taped it up with duct tape. Got to the ER, had to wait 4 hours to get the stitches because apparently my case wasn't severe (they hadn't even looked at my wound and assumed I was fine because I wasn't acting all cuckoo). After about 4 hours of waiting, I went into the ER, got my wound cleaned up, found out my wound was from the base of my pinky up to right under the crease line under the tip of my pinky, received 5 stitches, which isn't much at all, and gauze. Note to self, don't go turtle noodling in buffalo bayou anymore. Pics are below.

Waiting in the ER with our makeshift bandage:

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Clean up of the wound - prior to stitches, kept bleeding:


I think this was 2 stitches in:


Stitches done, nice and clean:


Bandaged up and back home:

 

[Compnerd7]

Nice dude! Alligator Snapping Turtle battle scars!

Sorry about the pain and suffering though, that's gotta be bummer for a short herping trip.

A friend of mine found a snapping turtle hatch-ling in Minnesota, I was tempted to take him as a pet... unfortunately, My pond is outside and the summers here get a bit too hot for them.

 

[TeguBuzz]

Yea I have my own alli snapper in my indoor tub temp. pond, I'll be letting him live outside when he's big enough and my outdoor pond is complete. That snapper that bit me amazed me though, I can't wait till mine gets that size.

 

[Rhetoric]

Wow that's intense. I'm glad you're alright. That's disgustingly awesome

 

[Compnerd7]

Yea I have my own alli snapper in my indoor tub temp. pond, I'll be letting him live outside when he's big enough and my outdoor pond is complete. That snapper that bit me amazed me though, I can't wait till mine gets that size.

I was just at the San Diego zoo not too long ago, and they have an old Alligator Snapper, the beast had to be pushing over 3 feet and 200lbs... When he opened his mouth, there was no doubt in my mind that he could have bitten my face right off.

 

[TeguBuzz]

Wow that's intense. I'm glad you're alright. That's disgustingly awesome

Oh yea. I asked them if I could take the pics. Gonna have a nice scar in a few months! Gotta keep the stitches in for another 13 or so days, then I'll post more pics. And if it gets infected from bayou water, I'll post pics of that too! It'll be good.

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Yea I have my own alli snapper in my indoor tub temp. pond, I'll be letting him live outside when he's big enough and my outdoor pond is complete. That snapper that bit me amazed me though, I can't wait till mine gets that size.

I was just at the San Diego zoo not too long ago, and they have an old Alligator Snapper, the beast had to be pushing over 3 feet and 200lbs... When he opened his mouth, there was no doubt in my mind that he could have bitten my face right off.

I think I've seen vids of him on YouTube. Did you hear about the one they found that had a bullet from the civil war in it? Thats an old snapper!

 

[monstruo-the-tegu]

dude that looks sweet i would love a scar like that to show everybody saying i got bit by a mean turtle

 

[HPIZZLE]

wow your lucky lol. could have been much worse.

sounds like an awesome place to go herping though!

 

[laurarfl]

Sometimes they don't stitch reptiles bites because of the anaerobic bacteria. I had an ig bite and it healed well with butterfly bandages. ooohhh, I bet that is going to swell and be sore. Can you imagine if it were bigger than 7-8"? thx for sharing. I don't why, but we all love bites pics!

 

[TeguBuzz]

Sometimes they don't stitch reptiles bites because of the anaerobic bacteria. I had an ig bite and it healed well with butterfly bandages. ooohhh, I bet that is going to swell and be sore. Can you imagine if it were bigger than 7-8"? thx for sharing. I don't why, but we all love bites pics!

Yea they spent a good time flushing it out. It's the next day now and it hasn't swelled all that much. If it were any bigger it'd probably have bit clean through. I'm lucky that this one nipped me just barely. I'm looking forward to the scarring and I like bite pics too, haha.

 

[Draco D Tegu]

Oy...I haven't been bitten by any of my herps hard enough to draw blood........yet. Hope that heals up well!

 

[roastedspleen]

ouch. doesn't look too fun. i guess thats why they call them snapping turtles

 

[TeguBuzz]

Oy...I haven't been bitten by any of my herps hard enough to draw blood........yet. Hope that heals up well!

Yea, well this wasn't my turtle. My snapper hasn't snapped at me, I usually tong feed him and every now and then he manages to lure a minnow into his mouth on his own. I've been bit by my herps often, had worse than this. Thanks and I hope so too!

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ouch. doesn't look too fun. i guess thats why they call them snapping turtles

The downside to it all was having to wait 4 hours to get stitches that didn't even take 30mins. Yea, that is definitely where they got their names!