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Desert Tortoises Believe it or not, there are actually tortoises living in the desert. A normal adult is about 30cm (12 inches) long, but the biggest is way bigger. The biggest desert tortoise, the Galapagos tortoise, can be as long as 122cm (48 inch) long! Tortoises use up little energy for moving around, so the rest of the energy can be stored and they can live for a long time without eating or drinking. They live in the cool burrows of the American Southwest and Mexico. In the morning and evening, they come out to feed. Desert tortoises have a yucky diet: they eat plants, droppings and even dead animals! The plants they eat provide most of the moisture they need. As all of you probably know, when a tortoise is frightened, it immediately hides back into its shell. The hard shell protects it from predators.
[ An endangered desert tortoise ] WHY IS THE TORTOISE SUITABLE FOR DESERT LIFE? The shell - The hard shell of a tortoise is actually 60 bony plates joined together. On top of these are scales called scutes. The scutes make the shell hard and strong. The high, domed shell is very hard to crush. The skin - The skin is covered with scales to protect it from thorny bushes and rocks. The scales also prevent it from losing too much water by evaporation. Strong claws - The tortoise has strong claws to hold on to rocks. Long neck - Compared with the camel, the tortoise has a short neck (of course). But it is rather long compared to its body size. The neck can stretch out to eat the plants. DID YOU KNOW? Scientists know how old a tortoise is by counting the rings on the scutes. The female lays 3-5 eggs at a time. She buries these in a hole in the sand. Three months later, the eggs hatch. The babies have soft shells and many are killed by birds. DID YOU KNOW? During the hot months, usually in the summer, they aestivate, that means they sleep, and it is something like hibernating, only it happens during summer.
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