"Weel whit was supposed tae be an easy task fur catalogin' anither beats turned intae a cluster buck. Ah thooght tae myself, Ocyen it's only a wee orange turtle! Fa woods hae thooght Ah woods rin intae a mingin' Orc..."
Saltwater Snapjaw
Orange Turtle
The Saltwater Snapjaw is one of 5 tamable models of Orange Turtles as of patch 4.2. One of them is a level 24 rare, Cranky Benj who is found in Hillsbrad Foothills (more about that later). Prior to Cataclysm he was found in Alterac Valley.
Another version, Aku'mai Snapjaw is a level 23-24 elite mob found in the Blackfathom Deeps instance.
The normal versions of this pet can be found in the Hinterlands (Saltwater Snapjaw 30-31) or Swamp of Sorrows (Sorrowmurk Snapjaw 50).
But you may say: "That's only 4 Ocyen, you said 5!" First off, I can count. Secondly, the other is a level 8-9 mob and is only tamable by Goblins in the Volcano in the starting areas, phasing out after Volcanoth. As I am a Dwarf and unable to visit these areas...to hell with the Child of Volcanoth (they don't retain fire breath anyways)!
The Tame: What was supposed to be an easy tame almost turned into a battle for survival quickly. Originally I was going for Cranky Benj (I like em rare)--knee deep in Horde territory, making it risky for us Alliance to get all the way over there unless you are flying mount ready. I was. Flying over the river splitting Hillsbrad I picked him up on the mini-map, landing to find another hunter...a Horde hunter, taming him.
What does a Dwarf do?
Well, there is the unwritten hunter code of not ganking a tame, but when I play I am fiercely dedicated to whatever faction I am currently siding on.
I blasted Cranky Benj into turtle soup.
The Orc stopped, looked at me. I looked back. He brought forth his pet--a Crocolisk. I busted out Rhinox. A silent agreement had been reached; we were going to throw down. I flagged for PvP and waited for the incoming shot. The Crocolisk came first--it was on. The fight we raged most likely made Titans smile as they drank mead and said: "Holy hell look at them go!" While my Orc opponent was 2 levels higher; a combination of macros and swiftness won me the battle...just as his level 85 friend was flying in.
Thankfully I mounted up before he could launch an attack and blasted off towards the Hinterlands, losing my pursuer in the chase. The tame after that was quite easy, the only issue lower level hunters may have is the elite hostile turtle mob that patrols with the neutral Snapjaws.
Skin, Sounds, Etc.: After the tame, I was disappointed at how small Dewback (the name of my Snapjaw) became. As a dwarf I am used to things being huge. Ok, that's fine. I can deal. The skin only has one unique feature: the eyes. Other than that you're adventuring with a Mandarin Orange as a pet. At least he's quiet.
Use: Forget using the Saltwater Snapjaw in PvP, you're better off killing a squirrel after you have /love it and using that as your combat pet. Instead, the Saltwater Snapjaw like any turtle is a perfect questing buddy for low to mid-range level hunters. His special pet ability is Shell Shield, which reduces his damage taken by 50% for 12 seconds (with a 1 min cooldown). He's not going to do a lot of damage, but he can at least tank mobs perfectly.
This also means that while he should not be your main pet in dungeons, he should be brought along just in case your tank rage quits or dies. Pop him out, hold mobs and use Intervene (Tenacity talent tree) to jump over and take damage for the healer if your druid/shammy/priest/paladin friend is getting a case of Uncle Bad-Touch.
Final Word: Sadly, Dewback is being released back into the wild. I already have a turtle (Ghamoo-ra, a placeholder until Terrorpene) and Dewback would be quickly forgotten in my stable. In my opinion, the turtle models should be bigger and with more variety otherwise many of them will never find a home (even if they are decent tanks).
Hit me again!
Name: Ocyen (Dwarf)
Level: 71
Exotics: Yup, have BM as off spec as well.
Restrictions: No damn dirty poop flinging monkeys. Apes, they are ok.
My Stable (Not Just Rares): Oozeworm (Grubfist), Whooly Rhino Bull (Rhinox), Kurmokk (Kurmokk), Silithid Ravager (Stitch), Greater Lava Spider (Goo), Tyrant Devilsaur (Gore), Ghamoo-ra (Haggis) Tsul'Kalu (Mekanikongu), Diseased Hawk (Morgue), Pogeyan (Pogeyan), Golden Eagle (Razorbeak), Quillfang Ravager (Rahzar), Humar the Pridelord (Yang), Sian-Rotam (Yin).
Challenges Completed: Pogeyan, Orange Turtle