Turtle Identification...
Turtle identification is useful because you will not only know what sort of turtle you have, but you will also know how to take care of it properly. There are different types of turtles, and if you own one, it is important that you know what it is because not all turtles have the same requirements.
Turtle Identification: Box Turtles
Box turtles are known for their dome shells that are hinged at the
bottom. This allows the turtle to close its shell to escape predators. They are
omnivores that have sharp eyes and a keen sense of smell. The young
are carnivorous, and as they grow old, become herbivorous. They are also known to
eat road-kill.
One of the box turtle's defense mechanisms is
to snap its jaw shut. This can produce a sound as loud as
75 decibels, which scares predators away. This sound can also be used as a
mating call. Box
turtles can live up to twenty years, with some reaching the age of 40
or 50.
Turtle Identification: Sea Turtles
Sea turtle identification can be
achieved if you see that the turtle has a dorsoventrally flattened body, two hind
legs, and highly evolved paddle-like front arms. Leatherback turtles are the only turtles
without a hard shell. Instead, they carry a mosaic of bony plates under their
leathery skin.
Sea turtles are speculated to live up to
80 years.
Turtle Identification: Snapping
Turtles
These are formally referred to as Common
Snapping Turtles to distinguish them from the Alligator Snapping Turtle. They are also known
as “snappers”.
Snapping turtles
are known for their beak-like jaws and mobile head and beak, which is
serpent-like. They are found in shallow lakes, ponds, or streams. They eat both plants
and meat.
Common snappers are known to live for up to 39 years
in captivity, while those in the wild are estimated to live for up to
30 years.
Turtle Identification: Soft-shell
Turtles
Soft-shell
turtles really have soft shells. Mostly, their shells are thickened skin. Because of
this, they are more sensitive to bites, bumps, and rocks than other turtles with
hard shells.
Softshell turtles spend most of their time under water, buried under sandy
rivers or lakes with just their long probiscus sticking out of the surface.
These kinds of turtles breathe through their skin, so they are also vulnerable to
water impurities.
Turtle Identification: Tortoises
Tortoises, or land
turtles, are reclusive creatures that are difficult to breed in captivity. They have
specific air moisture, diet, light, roaming space, and temperature requirements. They are also impossible
to train.
Most tortoises are herbivores, but they will also eat various insects. Additionally, tortoises are sexually dimorphic, which
means they have differences between sexes. To determine this, you will have to look
at the tail. The females have smaller tails that are dropped down while
the males have longer tails that are pulled up to the side of the
rear shell.
Turtle identification is fairly easy since the turtles
have distinguishing traits that make them stand out from other species of
turtle.
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