On occasion, while hiking on the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath in the Winter, I’ll see a Common Snapping Turtle under the ice. Aquatic turtles and frogs often spend their hibernation months submerged under water.

The Common Snapping Turtle is the largest turtle in Ohio. Large specimens may weigh more than 35 pounds and have a carapace (top shell) more than 14 inches long.

When there are warm spells and the surface ice melts, turtles and amphibians can become active for a bit before the cold weather sets back in and they go back under water – sometimes for weeks.

If approached on land, these reptiles defend themselves with their quick and powerful jaws. If approached in the water, they use their large webbed feet to turn to the deep and propel themselves to safety. Though they are capable of movement when under ice, though they tend to exist in “slow motion.”

Many aquatic turtles have specialized bladders near the cloaca that can facilitate gas exchange; this is called cloacal or enteral respiration. Having access to actual air is therefore not always necessary, especially when the animals are inactive.

This process that involves gas exchange uses a liquid to deliver oxygen to the body through the rectum. The liquid, called a perfluorocarbon, is loaded with more oxygen than water and is absorbed by the lower intestine. This method has been shown to help rodents and pigs survive low-oxygen conditions.

Nature has evolved some fascinating survival strategies and to see herps under ice waiting out the Winter cold is always a neat experience.

Third Eye Herp
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