OkcPets Magazine March 2021

March/April 2021 • OKC Pets 13 reading up on what diet to leave turtles in the wild and found so much more than I expected about these unique critters. Just for fun, here’s a short list of facts for any other wildlife nerds out there: 1 All tortoises are turtles, but not all turtles are tortoises. Think: the “o” in tortoise means “on land,” and the “u” in turtle means “underwater” (you’re welcome, fellow nerds). 2 Differences: tortoises have strong elephantine back legs that help push when they dig. Turtles have webbed, flippered-ish feet. Tortoises have rounded shells; turtles have flat shells (better for swimming). Tortoises will drown in a swimming pool—they can’t swim. Although they can last up to half an hour, they still need to breathe air. Turtles can get air from an unexpected source (keep reading). 3 Tortoises (remember: these are still turtles, like all humans are primates, but not all primates are humans) slow down for the winter and dig in below the frost line as they will die if the surrounding temperature hits freezing and ice crystals form in their blood. They prepare by eating less as days become cool- er and flush their systems with plenty of water. Turtles head down to the bottom of the pond, sharing oxygen with the fish if it freezes over via their “unexpected source” (stay with me here). 4 The largest turtle known is the Leather- back, which grows up to 7 feet long and can weight more than a ton. The oldest documented living land animal is a 187-year-old Aldabra tortoise named Jonathan; he superseded the famous Harriet. Harriet the Turtle (from the Galapagos) died in 2006 at the age of 175. (For those who really like “The Twilight Zone” sto- ries, Harriet was supposedly brought by Charles Darwin to the Australia Zoo in Queensland. The zoo’s future owners? The Irwins, who had a famous son named Steve. Both Steve and Harri- et died in 2006.) 5 Although solitary by nature, a group of turtles is called a “creep.” They smell via an organ located in the roof of their mouths, so when you see them and they appear to swallow, they’re probably sniffing. When star- tled, they make a sudden hiss to expel air, giving them more internal room to pull their heads in and seal up. 6 Turtles feel through their shells, and some develop a love of rubbing, scratch- ing and warm water sprayed by their humans. 7 They can die if left on their backs too long. There are a couple of lines of thought on that: dehydration, especially if it’s summer, or perhaps from the weight of internal organs shifted wrong for too long. 8 Famous turtles include a foursome who were in the same accident that created the Marvel character, “Daredevil,” aka Matt Murdock. In the story, Matt was blinded by a canister of radioactive isotope splashed into his eyes while rescuing an old man from an acci- dent. The same canister splashed into a fishbowl carried by a nearby witness, where he kept baby turtles. These turtles grew to be Michelangelo, Donatello, Leonardo and Raphael, living in the sewers of New York and mentored by a rat named Splinter. So how did the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles survive in the New York sewers when icy winters hit? It gets COLD. Freezing! I’m so glad you asked. Remember the “unexpected source” of oxygen previously mentioned? You’ll now be the star of any tedious cocktail party you attend (or, at the worst, you’ll certainly cull the duds who strictly discuss politics). Simply break into any conversation with, “Did you know some turtles can breathe through their butts?” and see what happens. Certain species of aquatic turtles have “cloacal bursae,” which are clumps of blood vessel-rich tissue, which allows oxygen to be absorbed. The cloaca is the all-in-one exit route beneath a turtle’s tail; much like a Swiss army knife, it’s for urination, defecation, egg-laying and (for some) breathing. When spring has sprung, land-locked tor- toises rouse and dig out to forage and replenish; underwater turtles may have spent months in a brackish pond, and all will want sunshine to warm up and get the cramps out of their spent bodies. Depending on regional temperatures, they emerge any time after March. So, by May, our reptilian friends are probably ready to rejoice in another season before them. Huzzah for National Turtle Day! All tortoises are turtles, but not all turtles are tortoises ... Boots Photo by Kim Doner