Can Turtles See Color? (with Pictures)

Until a few years ago, it was believed that turtles don’t have very good vision, and some people believe that they were completely unable to see colors. But recent studies have shown not only that turtles are able to see colors, but that they are able to see even more colors than us.

Turtles are able to see color. Due to a gene called CYP2J19 turtles have tetrachromatic color vision, which means that they can see more colors than humans. Turtles are able to see more shades of red than most mammals, including humans.

This was the short scientific answer, now let me explain in simpler terms how turtles see colors and show you some pictures of how turtles see.

How Turtles See Colors

Here is a picture that shows on the left how we see things, and on the right how a turtle sees things.

The reason why turtles are able to see more colors than humans is a gene called CYP2J19.

The CYP2J19 gene is also referred to as the red gene. This is because this gene allows turtles to see a lot more shades of red than we do.

Every animal is able to see colors because they have color receptors in their eyes, these color receptors are called cones. Humans have 3 different types of cones, and each type is able to detect a certain number of colors that they then send to the brain where they will be processed and displayed.

SInce turtles are able to see more colors than us it’s possible that they also have more types of cones that allows them to do so.

You have to remember that one extra color doesn’t mean that you will only see it in new places, it will also affect other colors as well, this is why the images are so different.

How Turtles See Colors in The Dark

While turtles aren’t able to see in the dark any better than humans, the way they see things is a little different due to the extra colors.

Here is an example on how we see in the dark (left) and how turtles see in the dark (right).

There isn’t a very big difference except for the fact that they see a little more red that we don’t see. In the sky where there is still a little light the difference is obvious, but in the forest where you can’t see anything there is no difference at all.

When we are in the dark we aren’t able to see things around us immediately. It usually takes around 30 minutes for our eyes to completely adjust to the lack of light. This is why when you turn off the lights in a room it is completely dark around you, and you aren’t able to see anything. But after you spend some time in that room your eyes will be able to see things again. The same thing applies to turtles. They are able to see in the dark to some extent just like us, but they will need a period of accommodation to be able to do that. The extra colors don’t influence this process at all.

I mentioned that turtles don’t see in the dark, now let me quickly tell you how we know this thing, as it’s also related to the way turtles see colors.

In order to be able to see in the dark an animal must have a tapetum lucidum. A tapetum lucidum is a reflective membrane that is positioned behind the eye, and it acts similar to a mirror. The tapetum lucidum will resend photons back to the eye to be reconnected.

An easy way to see if an animal has a tapetum lucidum is to take a photo of the animal with a flash. If the animal has a tapetum lucidum, then in the photo you will see its eyes glowing. But if the eyes don’t glow it means that the animal doesn’t have a tapetum lucidum.

As cameras have evolved, it’s getting harder to see this happening. Because all phones and most cameras remove things like glowing or red eyes as soon as the picture is taken. But you can try to stop the effects oy your camera and take a photo with a flash of a dog and one of a turtle and see the difference. Here is one example.

How Turtles See Colors Underwater

The vision of a turtle is the same on land as it is underwater. They are able to see the exact same things, and the exact same color. But this is mostly due to a small trick.

The only impediment to their vision can be the dirty water. If the water is dirty and unclear, the turtles won’t be able to see as far. But those kinds of things affect everybody. Even eagles who are known for their great vision, can’t see anything if they are caught in smog or in fog.

But turtles have a little something that allows them to overcome dirty water up to a certain extinct. That thing is found in their tears. Turtle tears contain some kind of mucus that covers their eyes and allows them to see underwater without their eyes being affected by the salt or bacteria that lives in the water.

When I say tears, I mean the kind of tears that help the eyes stay hydrated, not the kind of tears we produce when we cry because we are in pain. Even if they are similar, they appear for different reasons.

Why Turtles See More Colors Than Us

So, it’s quite clear that turtles can see more colors than us, but things weren’t always this way. At one point in history, humans were able to see just as many colors as turtles do. But due to the way we evolved we gave up a few genes that allowed us to see the “extra” colors. Turtles on the other hand decided to keep them.

The extra colors that turtles can see are extremely useful when they are trying to spot predators and food.

Humans have evolved to live in groups that lived in small communities, that over time grew bigger and bigger. And instead of hunting and foraging for food we started to tame animals, and farm land. So over time the extra colors didn’t help us too much, so we reallocated the resources that were used for those extra colors somewhere else.

Since those kinds of changes take thousands of years to take place we can’t exactly say for sure when it happened, but we know for sure that humans were also able to see the extra colors at some point.

How Colors Influence Turtles

The way we see things has a huge influence on us, and the same thing can be said for turtles.

While turtles don’t have a favourite color to influence their choices, the fact that they see more red than us will drastically influence their behavior. Let me give you an example.

A turtle gets out of the pond to look for some berries to eat. If the vegetation around the baries is full of life and it’s green everywhere, the turtle will be able to spot the berries immediately. As the predominant color is green, the red berries will be easy to spot.

But if it’s autumn and the whole area is covered with dried up leaves, the berries will be much harder to spot. While we would see the leaves yellow or orange, the turtles will see them red and orange. Here are a few pictures for you to see the difference.

This is how we see:

This is how turtles see:

The Takeaway

Turtles can see colors, in fact they can see them better than we can, due to a gene called CYP2J19 which allows them to see more shades of red.

In the dark the same thing happens, turtles are able to see more shades of red, but that’s it. They don’t have any kind of night vision.

Underwater turtles are able to see better than us due to the mucus that they secret through their tears, but colorwise the thing stays the same way, they are able to see more shades of red.

While being able to see more red has it’s advantages in some situations, in some cases this ability becomes a disadvantage. But overall it helps the turtle spot predators and food.

I hope this article answered all of your questions, but if there is anything else that you would like to know, leave a comment in the section below and I will answer you as soon as possible.

Related Questions

Should I leave the lights on for my pet turtle during the night? No, turtles don’t need a light during the night. But if you want to look at your turtle during the night, you can buy a special light just for that. They are very dim, usually red or blue lights, that were created just for that purpose.

How long should you leave a light on for a turtle? The best practice is to let the lights on the same amount of time that the sun is in the sky. The winter is the only exception, because the sun is up for a very short period of time. During the winter  you leave the lights on for 10 to 14 hours.

Can turtles see humans? Yes, turtles are able to see humans very well, and they are also able to distinguish between us, based just on physical appearance.

Do turtles have ears? Turtles don’t have external ears, instead they have small flaps of skin that are better at catching vibrations underwater, than sound on the outside. After they catch the vibrations they transport it further to the internal ear of the turtle. If you want to know more about how turtles hear check out my article: Do Turtles Have Ears? Can Turtles Hear? (with Pictures).

Do turtles like music? Turtles don’t perceive music the same way humans do, but some sounds are more pleasant to them than others. So turtles will like certain types of music and they will dislike other types. If you want more info on what kind of music turtles like check out my article: Do Turtles Like Music? (and What Is Their Favorite Genre).

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