Turtle, Tortoise, Terrapin – Which one? & Their Amazing Shell!

Recently I bought myself 2 Red-Eared Sliders, or their scientific name Chrysemys scripta elegans (formerly Trachemys scripta elegans) from the pet shop, after feeling an urge to have a special companion at home. The red-eared sliders belong to the Emydidae family. Apart from realizing that they need a lot of care and attention, and that they love the water as well as keeping themselves dry in the sun, I realize that there are often confusions and arguments on whether they are rightfully called turtles, tortoises, or terrapins. So based on some research and online surfing, I hope to solve this once and for all!

Before that, I would first like to point out the amazing fact that turtles have been on the earth for more than 200 million years. They evolved before mammals, birds, crocodiles, snakes, and even lizards. Turtles are one of the oldest and most primitive groups of reptiles and have outlived many other species. One can only wonder if their unique shell is responsible for their long sustainability.

Their shell is made up of two parts; the top domed part of a turtle’s shell is called the carapace and the bottom underlying part is called the plastron. The shell of a turtle is made up of 60 different bones – the ribs and vertebrae, all connected together! Another fact of the turtle’s shell would be its blood and nerve supply, which means bleeding and pain can result if the shell is injured. Overall, I think that the shell of a turtle is an amazing adaption which has allowed them to exist for as long as it did. Therefore a proper diet, husbandry, and care are vital to maintain a healthy shell.

Okay so back to defining these three concepts and clear the confusion once and for all. A turtle, as mentioned in Animal discovery, is a sea dwelling creature. It feeds on fish and vegetables. Turtles cannot live on land, but they interestingly only come to the shore to lay eggs before returning to sea, as seen in the video below. They are not good to keep as a pet at all. So, my pets are definitely not turtles.

Star Tortoise Laying Eggs on Shore

A tortoise on the other hand, is primarily a land creature. It is strictly vegetarian and hibernates during winter. An exception would be the Star Tortoise (see picture below) which is a tropical tortoise but does not hibernate. Tortoises make good garden pets as they eat up the weeds, but are not good in flats. So again I don’t think our traditional pets are tortoises.

Last but not least, a terrapin mainly lives on land but needs water to wet itself with. It is an omnivore, as it has a liking for small fishes, shrimps, and insects especially during the juvenile age, as well as eating water weeds and algae. Hmm so it looks like my pets, the Red Eared Slider (refer to picture below) are rightfully terrapins! 🙂

Red eared slider

References:

Animal Planet Reptile Guide, by Holly Frisby, DVM, MS Veterinary Services Department, Drs. Foster & Smith, Inc.  URL: http://animal.discovery.com/guides/reptiles/turtles/slider.html (accessed on 5 April 2010)

Orenstein, Ronald. 2001. Turtles, tortoises and terrapins : survivors in armor. Buffalo, N.Y. : Firefly Books.

Star Tortoise on Flickr. by IMAGE LANKA. (June 1, 2009)  http://www.flickr.com/photos/imagelanka/3585085628/ (accessed on 6 April 2010)

Sea Turtle and Hatchlings. by Youtube, brittanica. (July 8, 2009). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7vAPYL1gvw&feature=fvsr (accessed on 6 April 2010)

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