Ok. The top of the shell is called the carapace whereas the bottom portion is called the plastron. The part of the shell that connects these two is called the bridge. Pretty simple, eh? Ok. Now, the carapace does not have scales as we know scales to be. They have large sections that are called scutes. Scutes are made of kertain, much like our fingernails. The cloaca is an opening in the body located under the tail. Through this opening, the turtle performs fecal, urinary and reproductive functions. Turtles CAN feel things that come in contact with their shells because they have nerve endings there, but they can not feel pain as they do not have those types of nerve endings. Why is this? I haven't the slightest of clues but have seen it in most research material so I'm guessing it's true. Kinda hard to ask the turtle if something hurts.
Continuing on with the anatomy portion of this little block of info, we go to the lungs. If you have ever heard a turtle hiss and wonder if it means that they are mad...rest assured, they aren't mad. They are frightened. When we breathe, our chest expands and then contracts, pulling in air and then releasing it. Well, a turtle's chest can't do this because of the hard plastron. Instead, their lungs inflate and take up room inside their shell. So when they are frightened, and they need to pull their head and legs into their shell, they won't quite fit in because of full inflated lungs. What they do is expel the air within their lungs out as fast as they can so that they will have room for their appendages to fit into the security of their hard shells. With this rush of air leaving their bodies, it makes a hissing noise and leads one to believe the turtle is ticked off and warning them to stay away.
And, just a note for the record, no turtle (land or otherwise) can leave their shell and still be alive. If you see a turtle shell and there is no turtle to be found, the poor creature is dead. They are attached to their shell as it is actually a part of their rib cage. The shell grows at the same rate the rest of the turtle, so there is hardly a need of concern of the turtle getting too fat for its shell. When the shell begins to look as if it is coming apart, it is merely growing; discarding portions of the old with incoming segments of new. If the scutes come off in large layers or there are red and / or raw areas in shed areas, then there is a problem. Go see a vet.
As the turtle grows, you will see a separation of the scutes and a lighter colored area between them on the plastron. Again, this is normal. This area will also be softer than the surrounding scutes.
But in This case.... is different: Because this is a Crazy Turtle ! |
