From among the reptiles used as pets, the turtles they are undoubtedly one of the most popular.
If you have decided to have one turtle What mascot, the first thing you have to know is if this is from Earth or from Water, since the diet and care it needs are different depending on one type or another. To help you find out, at OneHowTo.com we explain how to know if a turtle is land or water.
The species
If you have that possibility, ask where you acquired your turtle by the name of the species to which it belongs.
The land turtles that are most commonly found as pets belong to the family of the testudinids.
Within this family there are several types (genres), the most important being the genus Testudo, to which the mediterranean tortoise (Testudo hermanni), the black tortoise (Testudo graeca), the russian tortoise (Testudo horsfieldii) wave marginated turtle (Testudo marginata).
Also included in the testudinid family are the genus Geochelone, which includes the leopard tortoise (Geochelone pardalis) and the red-footed tortoise (Geochelone carbonaria), among other.
As for water turtles, the best known genus is the Trachemys. To this genus belong the red eared turtle or florida terrapin (T. scripta elegans) and the yellow eared turtle (T. scripta scripta). The turtles of the genus are also water Pseudemis, whose best known representative is the Florida red-bellied turtle (P. nelsoni).
You have to be careful because some species of turtles, such as the black tortoise (T. Graeca) are protected by law in many countries (including Spain).
The paws
The easiest way to tell if a turtle is a water or a land turtle is to look at its legs.
The legs of water turtles are designed to help them swim, which is why they have membranes between the toes, called interdigital membranes, which are easy to see with the naked eye.
In contrast, tortoises do not have these membranes, and if you look at the hind legs, you can see that they are tube-shaped and the toes are very poorly developed, almost as if they were stumps.
On the other hand, although it is not so easy to appreciate, the some of water turtles are usually longer and pointed, while the nails of tortoises are blunt and in some cases they are not easy to see with the naked eye as they are stunted.
Shell
The shell also varies according to the type of turtle, as it is adapted to the environment where the reptile lives.
A smooth shell helps aquatic turtles to move through the water without offering much resistance, for this reason the shells of water turtles are much softer and smoother than those of land turtles, which usually have shells pretty rough and irregular.
If you want to read more articles similar to How to know if my turtle is water or land, we recommend that you enter our category of Pets.