Water Turtles - Champions of the Aquatic Kingdom
Water Turtles are one of those rare prehistoric creatures which have survived countless odds to still exist in today's world.
You will find it difficult to believe but turtles, as species, are 200 millions years old - perhaps one of the oldest surviving species on earth.
Even the fossils that have been unearthed are almost exact replicas of the water turtles that exist today.
Water turtles - both the popular and unusual kinds, are aquatic to semi-aquatic creatures.
Their natural habitat is water and they love to paddle about in rivers, streams, lakes, and oceans.
To aid in swimming and paddling, nature has gifted them with webbed feet.
Semi-aquatic turtles are the ones that are found in swamps and marshes.
Like their other cousins, water turtles are extremely slow, patient, placid, unflappable creatures that can withdraw into their shell when faced with danger and live for long years.
Turtles have lived 2, 3 or even 4 centuries! Types of Water Turtles The most popular water turtles that fly off the rack in pet stores and are a hit with pet owners are: Red Eared Slider Turtle Red Eared Slider Turtles make wonderful pets as they are quite tame by nature, especially in captivity.
They are calm, quiet, and very hardy in their natural habitat.
The requirements to maintain them are modest.
They are distinguished by their bright scarlet ears, hence the name "Red Eared".
They can be found in fresh waters in thousands and are prolific species.
Other pretty color morphs are leucistic, pastel and albino.
Painted Turtle You can find painted turtles by the thousands in Mexico, Canada and USA.
They are the most visually appealing and beautiful turtle species on earth.
The sub-species of painted turtles are the Eastern Painted Turtle, Western Painted Turtle, Midland Painted Turtle and Southern Painted Turtle.
The younger ones are carnivorous while the adults are herbivores.
If you have a painted turtle as a pet, it is OK to keep it in a large tub or water tank.
African Side Necked Turtle The African Side-Necked Turtle has a pug nose and a naturally upturned smile.
This contributes to its cute appeal and it is generally considered a "good looking" turtle.
These turtles are also known as the African Mud Turtles.
It consists of 15 sub-species in which some are large in size while the rest are comparatively smaller.
One species is known as the African Helmeted Turtle.
These species of turtles are prolific breeders, aggressive, curious, hardy, initially shy and adaptive.
Among the more unusual breeds of water turtles that are fairly exotic are the following: Argentine Snake Necked Turtle Snapping Turtle Mata Mata Turtle Pig Nosed Turtle or Fly River Turtle
You will find it difficult to believe but turtles, as species, are 200 millions years old - perhaps one of the oldest surviving species on earth.
Even the fossils that have been unearthed are almost exact replicas of the water turtles that exist today.
Water turtles - both the popular and unusual kinds, are aquatic to semi-aquatic creatures.
Their natural habitat is water and they love to paddle about in rivers, streams, lakes, and oceans.
To aid in swimming and paddling, nature has gifted them with webbed feet.
Semi-aquatic turtles are the ones that are found in swamps and marshes.
Like their other cousins, water turtles are extremely slow, patient, placid, unflappable creatures that can withdraw into their shell when faced with danger and live for long years.
Turtles have lived 2, 3 or even 4 centuries! Types of Water Turtles The most popular water turtles that fly off the rack in pet stores and are a hit with pet owners are: Red Eared Slider Turtle Red Eared Slider Turtles make wonderful pets as they are quite tame by nature, especially in captivity.
They are calm, quiet, and very hardy in their natural habitat.
The requirements to maintain them are modest.
They are distinguished by their bright scarlet ears, hence the name "Red Eared".
They can be found in fresh waters in thousands and are prolific species.
Other pretty color morphs are leucistic, pastel and albino.
Painted Turtle You can find painted turtles by the thousands in Mexico, Canada and USA.
They are the most visually appealing and beautiful turtle species on earth.
The sub-species of painted turtles are the Eastern Painted Turtle, Western Painted Turtle, Midland Painted Turtle and Southern Painted Turtle.
The younger ones are carnivorous while the adults are herbivores.
If you have a painted turtle as a pet, it is OK to keep it in a large tub or water tank.
African Side Necked Turtle The African Side-Necked Turtle has a pug nose and a naturally upturned smile.
This contributes to its cute appeal and it is generally considered a "good looking" turtle.
These turtles are also known as the African Mud Turtles.
It consists of 15 sub-species in which some are large in size while the rest are comparatively smaller.
One species is known as the African Helmeted Turtle.
These species of turtles are prolific breeders, aggressive, curious, hardy, initially shy and adaptive.
Among the more unusual breeds of water turtles that are fairly exotic are the following: Argentine Snake Necked Turtle Snapping Turtle Mata Mata Turtle Pig Nosed Turtle or Fly River Turtle
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