Tortoises
and Turtles
ORDER - CHELONIA
Tortoises are land based animals with
solid feet which in some cases are used for digging as well as walking,
enabling the tortoise to go underground to escape extreme
weather conditions.
Turtles are marine creatures completely adapted to life in
the sea and excepting the females which come ashore to lay eggs never
leave the water. They are not represented
at the Reptile Park
Inhabiting fresh water rivers and lakes are web footed turtles
that spend much time on land basking etc.and quite capable of walking long
distances these are sometimes
called terrapins. Their shells are flatter than those of tortoises,
their eyes and nostrils are positioned
on the head in such a manner to allow them to be poked above the
waterline while the body remains submerged. In some species
they have long necks which allows the body to remain even lower.
BREEDING
All tortoise and turtles are egg layers burying them in a
suitable place where the heat from the sun will keep it warm enough
for them to hatch. There is no parental care.
Tortoises and turtles at the
Reptile Park
Red-footed
tortoise Geochelone carbonaria
Yellow-footed
tortoise Geochelone denticulata
Leopard
tortoise Geochelone pardalis
Galapagos
tortoise Geochelone nigra
Chaco
tortoiseGeochelone chilensis
Star
tortoise Geochelone elegans
Asian
box turtle Cuora amboinensis
Murray
River turtleEmydura macquarii
Texas
tortoise Gopherus berlandieri
Spur-thighed
tortoise Testuda gracea ibera
Hermans
tortoise Testuda hermanni
Red-eared
terrapin Pseudyms scripta
Reeves
turtleChinemys reevesii
Box
turtle Terrapene carolina
Snake-neck
terrapin Chelodina longicollis
Florida
soft shelled turtle Trionyx apalone
Spur-thighed
Tortoise Testudo graeca ibera
Comes from countries at the Northeastern end of the Mediterranean Sea where
it grazes on succulent plants for food. Egg laying in this country starts
in November with up to three clutches being laid about a month apart. The
clutch size varies from four to twelve eggs. In their natural range they
would spend the Winter months buried in the ground hibernating
but at the Reptile Park the temperature does not maintain stable low levels
to allow this, however we do house them in boxes of dry leaves for a couple
of months away from the worst of the wet weather. They do not feed over
this period.
Hermans
Tortoise Testudo hermanni Countries
along the Northern coast of the Mediterranean are the home of this tortoise.
Feeding and breeding are similar to Spur-thigh tortoise although the mating
habits differ. Male Spur-thighs attract the attention of the females by
ramming them in the rear of the carapace with the front of their plastron
which has been thickened for such a purpose. Male Hermans do not ram but
will bite at the legs of the female. In both cases the same tactics are
employed to dominate or chase other males away during the mating season.
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Yellow-footed
Tortoise Geochelone
denticulata Comes
from tropical forests of South America where it feeds on green leaves and
fallen fruit. A clutch is usually 4-5 eggs. 11131
Red-footed
Tortoise Geochelone carbonaria Also from South
America where it lives in grassland savannah and forest that is less humid
than that preferred by the Yellow-footed one, otherwise its habits are
similar. 1193
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Leopard
Tortoise Geochelone pardalis These
tortoises are found over the whole length of Africa, inhabiting grasslands
where they graze succulent green plants along with the grasses. They need
a high calcium requirement to their diet and have been noted to chew bones
and hyena faeces to obtain it. Coming from warm climates they do
not hibernate and remain active and feeding throughout the year.
Galapagos
Tortoise Geochelone nigra
Chaco Tortoise
Geochelone
chilensis The grasslands of Argentina are the home of
this tortoise which provide plants for grazing. Clutch sizes are usually
small, two eggs being a common number. 176
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Star
Tortoise Geochelone elegans
This beautiful tortoise comes from India and Sri Lanka. It lives in scrub
forest and grassy areas feeding on grasses and broadleaf plants.It does
not hibernate and after the onset of the monsoons is very active, feeding
on the new growth it produces. Mating behaviour is noticeable at this time
as well. Up to six eggs are laid per clutch. 170
Texas Tortoise
Gopherus
berlandieri South-Western U.S.A is the home for this tortoise.
It one of a group of American tortoises known as gopher tortoises as they
will use gopher burrows underground as shelters sometimes going considerable
distances. They are also capable of digging their own burrows of to about
40cm that it uses as an escape from temperature extremes and for hibernation.
The plastron has a two pronged projection extending forwards that is used
by the males as a lever to roll adversaries over during bouts for supremacy.They
feed on grasses and succulent plants such as cacti and lay three or four
eggs per clutch.
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Three-toed
Box Tortoise Terrapene carolina triunguis These come
from the Southern states in the middle part of the U.S.A. Box tortoises
have hinged portions of the plastron [the under part of the shell] which
enables them to withdraw their head and limbs and completely shut them
off. They are omnivorous eating fruit, greens, snails, insects etc. When
mating the female will sometimes trap the back legs of the male with
the rear portion of her hinged plastron and move off, towing him upside
down and backwards in an undiginfied manner. They usually lay four to five
eggs which have soft leathery rather than hard calcareous shells. 219
Reeves
Turtle Chinemys reevesii Distributed
throughout Asia it lives in shallow streams and ponds eating aquatic plants,
fish and aquatic insects and snails. It lays hard shelled eggs four
to ten per clutch.206
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Red-eared
Terrapin Chrysemys scripta elegans
From the mid and Southern states of the U.S.A. lives in rivers and ponds
and has an omnivorous diet similar to the Reeves turtle. It lays clutches
of up to eight soft shelled eggs and like the Reeves spends much time basking
on the waters edge. Thousands of baby ones are sold throughout the world
in the pet trade.261
Snake-neck
Turtle Chelodina
longicollis Eastern Australia is the
home of this terrapin where it lives in slow moving streams and swamps.
It spends most of the time in the water but will on occasion travel considerable
distances in migration during the Summer. It has a long neck, about the
same length as the shell, which when folded sideways allows the head
to be brought back into the shell for protection. Its food
is fish, molluscs and aquatic worms and insects. A clutch can be as many
as fifteen hard shelled eggs
.
Murray
River Turtle Emydura macquarii From
South East Australia this turtle inhabits large rivers and waterholes and
has a diet similar to the Snake-neck. It has a clutch of about ten hard
shelled eggs which it buries high up on the river bank.
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Malayan
Box Tortoise Cuora amboinensis
From Indonesia and Malaysia this semi-aquatic tortoise lives in marshes
and ponds. It is omnivorous feeding on plants as well as snails, earthworms
and pond creatures. The females produce several clutches of normally two
eggs per season. 253
Florida
Soft Shelled Turtle Trionyx apalone These
unusual turtles are native to South East of the U.S.A. They inhabit
slow moving waterways such as the Everglades and are mainly aquatic in
habit, sometimes burying into the silt substrate. They lack the bony shells
of other turtles and the body is covered with a leathery skin
instead. The long neck and snorkle-like nose enable them to obtain air
while still submerged at a reasonable depth and remain hidden from surface
prey and possible predators. They have very well developed webbed feet
and being mainly aquatic, will bask out of the water at times. They
are highly carnivorous with a diet of insects, snails, fish, small mammals,
amphibians etc. Their bite is very strong and a large one is capable of
inflicting serious injury.
The eggs are deposited in the banks and left
to hatch.
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