In the evening and at night they become active and hunt for food. It moved rather quickly along the bottom and probed every burrow or sunken object with its snout for food. It did not seem to search these area with its eyesight. It appeared to rely upon olfactory cues to determine if there was food present. During periods of dry weather, snappers may move overland to search for new homes.
Females normally select sandy areas to dig nests.
Riverbanks, shoulders of roads, driveways, and lawns are common sites. Females lay up to 30 eggs and covers the nest with soil when finished. The females then returns to her home. Nearly all the nests are destroyed by predators. The eggs hatch in about 50 to 60 days.