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Dr. Turtleman: I’m so glad you’re having such a great time at my beach house, Jessi!
Jessi: We sure are, Dr. Turtleman!
And thanks for house-swapping with me and Squeaks for the weekend!
This was such a great idea!
We get to relax in the sun, and we get to learn all about animals that live in the ocean!
Dr. Turtleman: Don’t forget to say hi to the sea turtles for me!
I love those guys!
Jessi: Sounds good!
And thanks for holding down the Fort!
Bye!
Dr. Turtleman: Oh!
Hello!
I’m Dr. Lawrence Turtleman!
As you just heard, I’m staying here at the fort while Jessi and Squeaks are at the beach…
so I guess that makes me the host of SciShow Kids this week!
And you’re in luck, because not only am I a turtle, I am also the foremost expert
on turtle facts!
So let’s dive in!
Did you know there are over 200 types of turtle?
They come in all sorts of shapes and sizes and colors!
They can have big domed shells with neat patterns, like the eastern box turtle.
Or, like the flatback sea turtle, they can have shells with … you guessed it, flat
backs.
Some turtles are enormous!
For instance, the leatherback sea turtle can grow to up to 2 meters long, which is longer
than I am tall!
They can also weigh up to 900 kilograms, which is about as much as a very big cow, and swim
as deep as 1200 meters underwater.
It’s actually the largest living reptile.
Those are the animals with scaly skin, like snakes, lizards, crocodiles, and turtles.
Whereas the speckled padloper tortoise is teeny-tiny, at only about 8 centimeters long!
But what is a tortoise, anyway?
Well, a tortoise is a type of turtle, but when most people say “tortoise” they mean
a turtle that spends its whole life living on land.
And when we say “turtle”, we usually mean the kind of turtle that spends at least some
of its time in water.
Not a tortoise.
So if we’re looking at a turtle, how do we know if it’s the tortoise sort of turtle?
Well, you can look at the feet!
Tortoises have what we call columnar feet, which means they’re built like a cylinder,
or a column.
Sort of like an elephant foot!
But turtles that spend time in the water have webbed feet to help them swim.
And sea turtles, which spend almost their whole lives in the water, have flippers!
Many turtles have a flat shell that helps them move through the water more easily.
But tortoises, who spend their lives on land, have big, hard, dome-shaped shells that make
it harder for other animals to eat them.
Tortoises can live to be extremely old – sometimes well over 100 years!
In fact, the oldest animal living on land right now happens to be a very good friend
of mine.
He’s a tortoise named Jonathan, and he lives on the island of St. Helena.
Scientists think he might be 185 years old!
That’s way older than the oldest living human.
Turtles can come in so many different forms that you can find them all over the world,
in almost every kind of weather!
Remember those giant leatherback sea turtles?
They can live in colder waters than most sea turtles, so you’ll find them closer to the
North and South poles than any other turtles.
Turtles really get around!
About 50 years ago, a pair of Russian tortoises were even sent up to space, and became some
of the first living things to go around the moon!
They survived the trip and went back to their usual lives.
So turtles are pretty hardy!
No wonder they’ve been around since before the dinosaurs.
But they need our help to survive.
Fishing, pollution, and other ways humans affect the places where turtles live can hurt
them.
That’s why people are working to help keep turtles safe, by doing things like hanging
lights from their fishing nets, so turtles can avoid the nets, instead of getting tangled
up in them.
And what about turtles living with humans?
Well, keeping a turtle around can be a lot of work!
For one thing, turtles can be really messy … I mean, I try to remember to put my turtle
toys away and wash my turtle dishes, but sometimes I forget!
Some types of turtles can grow to be really big, and they’ll need lots of space to swim
and walk around — and even more space as they grow bigger.
And since turtles live so long, you’re going to be responsible for it for a long time.
But if you really, really want a turtle at home, the best way to get one is to adopt
one from a local shelter, not out in the wild.
Some turtles can carry diseases that can make them dangerous to people.
And a lot of turtles are pretty unfriendly.
It’s much safer for you — and the turtle! — to keep a turtle that’s used to living
near people.
That way, you can make sure you give it everything it needs to stay happy.
And who doesn’t love a happy turtle?
I know I do!
Thanks for joining me!
If you want to keep learning and having fun here at the Fort, hit the subscribe button,
and don’t forget to check us out on the YouTube Kids app.
We’ll see you next time!
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