You can expect to see turtles in a lot of places, especially if there is a lake or river nearby, but you can also expect to see turtles in more unusual places like in a desert or in a forest. So where do turtles live on land or in water?
Turtles can live on land, but only for a limited amount of time, up to one month. Tortoises, which are turtle subspecies, live exclusively on land.
Turtles are semi-aquatic animals, which means that they spend most of their time in the water, but not all of it. On the other hand, we have tortoises, which are a subspecies of turtles, that live exclusively on land. Before we get into the why’s and how’s, let’s first see how to differentiate between the two of them since it’s not that easy for the untrained eye.
Difference Between Turtles and Tortoises
There are quite a few ways to tell a tortoise from a turtle, but in my opinion, the simplest and most efficient ways are to look at their feet and their overall shape.
Turtle and Tortoise Feet
The feet of a turtle and the feet of a tortoise are very different.
Turtle feet have long claws and webbing between the toes. While tortoise feet are a lot stubbier, they are quite similar to elephant feet in shape.
This difference in shape is also due to the habitat in which they live. Turtle feet are great for swimming, in fact, they are so great at swimming that we ended up modeling our scuba diving find after them.
Picture by Selbe. On Flickr
Photo by Rosscophoto on Flickr
On the other hand, tortoise feet are terrible at swimming, but they are great at traversing rough terrain and digging.
Turtle and Tortoise Shell Shape
At first, you can easily say that there is no difference in shape, but upon a closer look, you can notice that a turtle shell is considerably flatter than the tortoiseshell, which has a dome-like shape.
While there are small differences in shell shape from turtle species to turtle species, there is no turtle with a shell as round as that of a tortoise.
The reason for this difference in shape is also due to the habitat where they live.
The flatter shape of a turtle is more hydrodynamic, thus allowing them to swim faster while they are in or underwater. While the dome-like shape of the tortoiseshell is a lot better suited for defense from terrestrial and aerial predators, due to the fact that it doesn’t allow them to catch the tortoises with their claws, or jaws.
But besides the difference in shape, there is no other notable difference to speak of, when it comes to the shell. They are all made out of the same fused bones, they are all covered with the same layer of keratin. But if you want to know more about turtles and tortoises shells, or you want to see how a shell looks on the inside when a turtle is not there, you can always check out my article: What Are Turtle Shells Made Of ? (with Pictures and Video).
More Differences
Here is a table pointing out some of the main differences between turtles and tortoises, if you want to see the full explanation for each item in the table check out the article: Turtle vs Tortoise – What’s the Difference? (With Pictures).
| Turtle | Tortoise | |
| Habitat | Water | Land |
| Shape | Streamlined | Domed |
| Weight | Lighter | Heavier |
| Feet | Webbed Feet | Stumpy |
| Lifespan | 30 to 40 Years | 60 to 80 Years |
| Diet | Mostly Omnivorous | Mostly Herbivorous |
| Reproduction | Eggs | Eggs |
| Pets | Great Pets | Great Pets |
| Class | Reptilia | Reptilia |
| Order | Testudines | Testudines |
| Family | Testudinidae | Numerous Families |
Now that the difference between turtles and tortoises is clear, let’s see how a proper habitat looks for each of them.
Where Turtles Live
Where Turtles Live as Pets
As pets turtles live in tanks that are filled with water, but that’s not all. Turtles also need some land on which they can get out of the water, bask and take a break from all that swimming.
That piece of land is called a basking area, and it’s not a nice extra thing to have, it’s mandatory.
Turtles don’t get out of the water just to change the scenery, they do so in order to bask, which is a vital process for them.
In the wild when turtles need to bask they get out of the water and look for a spot where they will get exposed to a lot of sunlight. They need the sunlight to get rid of the bacteria on their shells, to help their bodies absorb the calcium, to regulate their body temperature, and other vital processes.
As pets turtles can’t just get out of the tank and look for a sunny spot, so you will have to provide a basking area for them.
For the basking platform itself, you can use anything that you want as long as it’s stable, but from my experience, it’s better to simply buy one, as they are not expensive, and will last longer than an improvised one. Here is a link to Amazon that will show you the most popular basking areas.
What’s really important about the basking area is the light, which is generated by two special light bulbs. One of them is a UVB light bulb, and the other is a Heat bulb.
The role of the Heat bulb is to help turtles regulate their body temperature, which they can’t do on their own as they are cold-blooded animals. And the role of the UVB bulb is to replace the sun, as it generates the same types of beneficial light waves.
If you want to get a turtle and you want to know how to choose the right Heat bulb (there are a lot of different temperatures) and the right UVB light bulb you should check out this detailed guide where take you to step by step through the entire process: Guide for Lighting and Heating a Turtle Tank and Basking Area.
Where Turtles Live In the Wild
In the wild turtles basically live wherever they can find water. This means that they can live in rivers, ponds, and lakes.
Where Tortoises Live
Where Tortoises Live as Pets
As pets, tortoises live in enclosures. The enclosure itself can be almost anything as long as it has high enough walls (tortoises are surprisingly good climbers), and enough space for the tortoise to move around.
Besides the enclosure, tortoises need 3 things:
- Substrate
- Basking Area
- Drinking Water
The Substrate is the thing that will cover the bottom of the enclosure, there are a lot of options on the market, here are some of them: wood, sand, fiber, paper, alfalfa, coconut, etc. The substrate that you choose is very important, and while there are a lot of options on the market, most of them are actually terrible choices, if you want to know what a proper substrate is, check out this article, where we go over all the reasons why commercially available substrates are dangerous for tortoises.
The Basking Area is again a requirement, just like turtles, tortoises are cold-blooded so they can’t regulate their body temperature on their own. And just like turtles, they still have a shell that still needs UVB light to develop properly. If you want more info on how to choose properly set up your basking area check out this article: Guide for Lighting and Heating a Turtle Tank and Basking Area.
Drinking water can be easily overlooked, but it’s a must-have. While tortoises don’t live in water they still need to drink it in order to live.
Where Tortoises Live In the Wild
In the wild tortoises can basically be anywhere, to be honest, I’m surprised that they aren’t the most widespread animal in the world. Tortoises are extremely hardy, they live in the desert, in tundras, in forests, etc. The only notable palace where they can’t be found in the arctic, but who knows, maybe in a few thousand years, they will be there with the penguins.
How Long Can Aquatic Turtles Stay on Land
On average a turtle can stay out of the water, without any health consequences, for a week. But without taking health consequences into account they can survive up to one month on the land. And up to 6 months when hibernating.
But as you can imagine those are just the average numbers, the exact amount of time is influenced by a multitude of factors, and the most important of them are:
- Humidity
- Temperature
- Age
Humidity
Humidity is the most important factor. So let’s begin by quickly discussing what humidity really is.
Humidity refers to the amount of water that is in the air, so if you are in an area with 100% humidity, it means that you are in an area with fog, or an area where it’s raining, not one filled with water.
For a turtle, high humidity is preferable to allow one, since it will allow them to spend more time out of water.
While there are no studies that show how much humidity influences how long a turtle can survive outside of water, we can easily compare a map that shows the average humidity in the USA, like the one below, and a map that shows where turtles live.
Here is a map that shows the average humidity in the United States.
In green areas, where the humidity is between 70% and 80% you will be able to find a lot more turtle species than yellow and red areas, where the humidity is really low.
So while there are no exact studies done on this aspect, it’s very easy to see that this is a major factor.
If you own a pet turtle you don’t really have to worry about the humidity level, as long as your turtle has access to enough water to live in.
Temperature
This factor is pretty obvious, the hotter it is, the smaller the amount of time will be. As we all know water will evaporate a lot faster if the temperature is higher, but this doesn’t only affect the water that is on the turtle, it also affects the water inside the body.
The body of a turtle is between 68% and 74% made out of the water,(excluding the shell), so they are affected by heat almost as much as humans are.
To get a better understanding let me give you an example of how we, humans, are affected by heat. On average the human body is made out of about 60% water. At a temperature of 73 degrees Fahrenheit (23 degrees Celsius) a human can survive without water for about 4 days. At 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius) a human can survive for only 1 or 2 days.
Cold weather won’t affect the amount of time a turtle can spend out of the water as much as hot weather. But it will still affect it to some degree.
The best overall temperature for a turtle is between 75 and 86 degrees Fahrenheit (23.8-30 Celsius). But turtles are overall very hardy animals and can easily adapt to most temperatures at which humans feel comfortable
Age
In short, younger turtles won’t be able to last as much as an adult turtles. While baby and juvenile turtles are fully functional, they are not yet fully developed, so they are not able to store as much water as adult turtles.
If you own a juvenile turtle and it somehow manages to get out of the tank and hide somewhere, don’t worry. He can survive without water for at least one day without a problem, as long as your house isn’t extremely hot or cold.
If you are worried about an adult turtle that got away from its tank and it’s hiding somewhere, he can easily go without water for about a week, without any repercussions.
Final Thoughts
So let’s make a quick recap. Turtles can live on land but only for a limited time. Tortoises live exclusively on land.
The best way to differentiate between a turtle and a tortoise is to look at their feet and their shape. Turtles have webbed feet, while tortoises have stumpy feet. Turtle shells are streamlined while tortoise shells are dome-shaped.
As pets turtles need a tank filled with water, and some dry land, called a basking area. Tortoises need a dry enclosure, the only water that they need is for drinking.
Hello,
If you enjoy the content that we create, please consider saying a "Thank You!" by leaving a tip.
Every little bit can help us tremendously in continuing to create quality content that helps turtle and tortoise owners around the world.
We really appreciate the kindness and support that you show us!