Turtles

   There are many different types of turtles. The majority of turtles live in central, northern, southeastern, and eastern United States. The rest of the turtles live in very northwestern South America. Some also live in southern Mexico. Therefore, they only live in the Northwestern Hemisphere.

    All turtles are part of a family called the Chelonia, which is a family where all of the types’ bodies are inside a shell.

    The food that turtles eat may vary. They can not eat most plants because they don’t have any teeth. The only thing that they have is a sharp point on the top of their mouths. Turtles can not grind very well with their mouths. The majority of turtles are carnivorous. Most turtles eat tadpoles, small fish, crayfish, snails, water weed, insects, and worms.

    The shell of a turtle is actually not just one piece. There is a top piece and a bottom piece. The top piece is called the carapace, and the bottom piece is called the plastron. On the carapace and the plastron, there are large scales called scutes. On the head, there is something called a beak in the place of a snout.
A very interesting fact about turtles is that the temperature that baby turtles are hatched in actually determines its gender, in which the females are developed from cooler temperatures, and in the warmer temperatures, the males are developed.
One of the different types of turtles is the painted turtle. There are more painted turtles in the world than any other type of turtle. The reason that it is called the painted turtle is that it has various-colored stripes running vertically down its legs. It has a decent-sized shell and it can hide its head into most of it. Painted turtles don’t bite much. The carapace of this turtle is either black or olive-colored. The scutes are usually tipped with either yellow, olive, or red. Painted turtles grow up to 4-9 ½ inches long. Normally, the females grow larger than the males. Immature males are carnivorous, but they become more herbivorous while they mature. The average of incubation for painted turtles is 10-11 weeks, but it can vary, depending on the temperature. Males are produced at a temperature of 24-28˚ C. Females are produced at a temperature of 30˚ C.

Another type of turtle is the Snapping turtle. This turtle is very famous for its strong jaws and ferocious behavior. Snappers (nickname) are the largest freshwater turtle in the world. They can grow larger than 26 inches. Snapper males grow larger than the females, unlike the painted turtle. Wild snappers get up to 45 pounds, while well-fed domestics get up to 75 pounds. The world record for a snapper is 219 pounds! Snappers spend most of their life in the water. Only female snappers come out of the water, and that is when they are nesting. An interesting fact is that they like to rest in warm, shallow water, with every part of its body buried in the mud except its nostrils and head, but they prefer deeper waters-like rivers and lakes-when they are swimming around. Snappers will eat anything that they can get their webbed feet on. They can even eat other turtles! They mostly eat snails, goldfish, insects, crayfish, crabs, worms, shrimp, water mites, clams, leeches, freshwater sponges, fish, frogs, toads, tadpoles, eggs, salamanders, snakes, birds, and small mammals. They do not eat vegetables. They can not bite off your arm, but they are highly capable of biting off your fingers. They live from South Alberta and Nova Scotia to the Gulf of Mexico. They have peculiarly large heads, hooked beaks, and long tails. Their brown carapaces are spiked in the back, and there are 3 large protruding bumps that stick out of it. The plastron of a snapper is rather small.

Another type of turtle is the Slider turtle. The most common type of Slider turtle is the Pond Slider. Pond Sliders live in a range from Virginia to Florida, and from New Mexico to Brazil. Sliders like calm water with a lot of plants. Sliders can grow from 5-12 inches long, and the females grow larger than the males.

The final turtle that I will talk about is the Softshell turtle. Softshells can be identified by their carapaces that feel like leather. Instead of scutes, their shell is covered with soft skin. They have webbed feet and their snout is shaped like a snorkel, helping them to breathe when they are “snorkeling.” Softies (nickname) will be found in freshwater, and they like sandy and/or muddy bottoms. They do bask in the sun, but they are easily startled and scared back into the water. However, the rarity of basking does depend on the species. Like other turtles, they bask to help stay safe from disease and parasites. Females still grow larger than males. Softies are very good swimmers. Softshells have sharp teeth and if they bite you, you will not lose any prodigious limbs, but it will inflict pain on you. They eat mostly fish, small crabs, crayfish, snails, frogs, or even birds.

    In conclusion, there are many different types of turtles and they are all different. Turtles are one of my favorite animals. I hope that they are yours!