Many studies have suggested that incubating eggs under wet conditions may lead to increased fitness in snapping turtles immediately following emergence from the nest, but little is known of the consequences of associated elevated embryonic yolk use on the energetic reserves of the hatchlings during the first winter. In this experiment, we measured the size, dry mass, and triglyceride contents of the carcasses and yolk sacs of hatchlings from eggs incubated under wet (−50 kPa) and dry (−300 kPa) conditions at three time intervals: at one week posthatching (late August); at the onset of an overwintering period following 10 weeks of ad libitum feeding (early November); and at the end of overwintering (late March). Although initially smaller, dry hatchlings demonstrated greater increases in live mass during the autumn than did wet hatchlings, eliminating differences in live mass by early November. Dry carcass masses were greater in wet-treatment hatchlings at one week posthatching but not in either November or March. Dry yolk sac mass was greater in dry hatchlings only at one week posthatching. Total triglyceride contents were higher in dry hatchlings than in wet hatchlings at all intervals. These findings suggest that possible preliminary survival advantages of hatchlings emerging from wet nests ultimately may be tempered by decreased energy reserves during the first winter.