Land Turtles
Turtles are one of the few creatures whose name immediately tells you something obvious about them. For instance, land turtles are one of five different types of turtles. The others include water turtles, ocean turtles, burrowing turtles and soft turtles. Land turtles live on the land, water turtles live in the water (but also can go on land), ocean turtles live in the sea, burrowing turtles live underground and soft turtles have soft shells.
Now, let’s take a look at one of these types of turtles--land turtles. Land turtles have many things in common with other turtles. They have a hard shell but their bodies are soft and they have the ability to pull their head and limbs inside their hard shell should they feel threatened. No matter where they dwell, all turtles have a total of four limbs which they can use to walk on land or swim. Land turtles do not swim well, however, and can even drown in deep or rough water.
Land turtles do not have any teeth but that doesn’t mean they won’t bite. They actually have a very sharp beak instead. Snapping turtles have very strong jaws but are also toothless.
Land turtles are more or less vegetarian--they eat fruits, leaves, grass, berries, but also sticks, worms and rocks. They are much slower than turtles that live in the water who have to move fast to catch their food. They also lay a lot fewer eggs than their water counterparts. Land turtles lay anywhere from four to twenty eggs, while sea turtles lay more than a hundred eggs. Land turtles don’t have as many enemies that try to eat their eggs. A sea turtle travels to land to lay her eggs in the sand, and when the eggs hatch all the baby sea turtles have to walk back to the sea. It may not be far, but at this time they are very vulnerable to attack.
Tortoises are one kind of land turtle. They are stronger, larger and tougher than other kinds of land turtles. Most tortoises have claws so they can climb slippery rocks and burrow down into the sand to find a cool spot. Another kind of land turtle is the box turtle. They live on dry land though they like to be close to water. Box turtles are omnivores, eating both plants and animals--mealworms, earthworms, night crawlers, pinky mice, slugs, snails, and crickets.
Both land turtles and water turtles are often kept as pets. Some turtles require a very large space. For instance, some box turtles can need an enclosure that is as large as five feet by five feet. They must have proper food and water, and some turtles will need a swimming area. Because turtles do not control their own body temperature, but take on the temperature of their environment, some pet turtles will need both a warm area and a cool area in their enclosure.
One rule that always must be followed is never to bring a wild turtle inside as a pet. You should leave turtles in their natural environment. But, whether you just want to watch a turtle in the wild or decide to make a commitment to buying one from a pet store or breeder, you will probably soon discover how fascinating turtles can be. They are intelligent creatures who can broaden our understanding of reptile behavior and they provide a friendly companion to those who wish to keep one as a pet.