Interesting Tortoise Facts
Most people want to be well informed about tortoise facts as the demand is rising for tortoises as pets.
The chelonian family consists of turtles, terrapins and tortoises as its members. These fall under the category of Reptiles and are cold blooded. In order to be in an ambient temperature, these creatures draw the heat from the environment and atmosphere. The majority of people believe that this can be the reason why tortoises prefer mild climates as opposed to really cold ones.
A tortoise is rather unique in that it can fend off the sun's ultraviolet sun rays, and can survive extreme conditions both cold and hot. This may be one of the key reasons why the soil of Antarctica has never been unlucky to witness a tortoise. Of course, there are good indications that tortoises are also capable of living in wet regions, semi-arid areas and tropical forests. Freshwater places like lakes, swamps and lagoons have also seen tortoises.
One of the most interesting tortoise facts is that they are believed to be one of the first existing reptiles on earth, even before many mammals, birds and other reptiles like crocodiles, lizards and snakes. Arguably, they are the only reptile to have outplayed their competitors.
Tortoises are land creatures while turtles are the water lovers. This explains why tortoises do not have webbed feet, but turtles do. The terrapin, a closely related member of the same family, lives in both fresh waters and salty ones. However when it comes to egg laying, all three types must return to land to lay their eggs.
One myth that was widely circulated about tortoises, is that it was believed that they could not retract their heads and that they had teeth. This myth is shattered with the newer generation. Nowadays tortoises have no teeth. The same for turtle facts. They use jaws to bite the food and their sticky tongue helps them swallow it.
Many of the modern day tortoises and turtles only eat leaves, vegetables and some fruits; some are also known to eat insects. Though they do have a tongue, they cannot protrude and use it like other reptiles. However both their senses of hearing and smell are acute, enabling them to become aware of danger very quickly.
Tortoises can be fair friends too. There are many reasons why they are gaining popularity as pets. If you were to buy a parrot, then you would endeavour to get as much information on parrot facts as possible. The same approach should be used for tortoises. Before buying one, obtaining information is critical such as diet and habitat, before you make that purchasing decision. Get together as many tortoise facts as you can, and become a responsible tortoise owner.
