We all know that turtles are not the most mobile or agile animals, but there can come a time in the life of a turtle when agility and mobility can save its life. That time comes when they are turned upside down.
Can upside-down turtles turn over? Yes, upside-down turtles can turn over, but every turtle species has a different shape and the way they turn over can differ from species to species. Overall most turtles are able to turn over but some of them might not be able to.
There are hundreds of species of turtles and all of them are slightly different, some turtle species have rounder shells, while other species have flatter shells. Some have longer legs while some have shorter legs. And there are other factors that can contribute to their chance of turning over. In the rest of the article, we are going to take a closer look at those factors, as well as how they can get turned over, and what can happen if they stay that way.
How the Shape Influences the Chances of a Turtle to Turn Over
As I’ve mentioned earlier turtles have a lot of shapes, and the shape of the shell can make a really huge difference. Here are some examples of different shapes of shells.
As you can see, the one on the left has a much more rounder shape than the one on the right. And this difference in shape will make the turning over process quite different in terms of difficulty.
Here are two videos, one for each type of shell, and how they turn over:
If the shell is rounder it seems that the turtle will have a slightly harder time getting back on its feet. This is because this type of shape has a tendency to always return to the position where it started. There is an object called Gömböc that is used in science and art that has a very similar shape and follows the exact mathematical rules. If you want to know more about the Gömböc and its scientific applications you can read more about it on its wikipedia page.
Now let’s move to the next part, the limbs.
How the Limbs Influences the Chances of a Turtle to Turn Over
As you’ve seen in the previous videos the limbs also play a very important role in the turning process. In short the longer the neck and legs, the easier it will be for the turtle to turn over.
Here is an example:
Turtles that have long necks, like the one in the picture, will have a considerably easier time turning over, compared to turtles that have normal length necks. There are a few species that have this kind of neck, but every species has a slightly different neck size.
The same thing applies to the legs, the longer the legs, the easier it will be for the turtle to turn over. And just like in the case of the neck, different species have different lengths. There is no universal size, even if most of them are quite close.
On the other hand, the tail length doesn’t really seem to matter, since most turtles don’t see to use it when they turn over. They only use their heads to turn in a direction, and their legs to balance themselves.
Now, there is one more factor that influences the ability of a turtle to turn over, and that is age.
How the Age Influences the Chances of a Turtle to Turn Over
Under normal circumstances, we would expect an older person or animal to have more experience and to know how to properly deal with more situations than their younger counterparts. But as it turns out this is not necessarily the case for turning over turtles.
The biologist Ana Golubović made a study to see how turned-over turtles react based on their age, and the results were quite surprising.
Younger turtles had a better success rate at turning over than older turtles. This is because younger turtles are considerably more vulnerable when they are turned over, than their counterparts. And as a result, a sense of urgency appears that makes them move a lot faster and better.
Older turtles have a much sturdier shell, so they are not as concerned as the younger ones. And they also know that taking their head and limbs out of the shell will make them very vulnerable, so instead, they choose to stay upside down a lot longer.
Here is a link to the study made by Biologist Ana Golubović.
Getting Help from Other Turtles to Turn Over
Turtles are not social animals, in fact, they normally prefer to stay away from each other. But when turtles end up interacting with each other, they do it in a major way, like in this video where one turtle helps another to turn over:
As I said turtles don’t interact with each other too much, but when they do it it’s usually something very special. Turtle interactions overall are very interesting this is why I wrote an article all about the social life of turtles, in this article you can find how turtles interact with each other when they do it, and why they do it, here is a link to the article: Are Turtles Social or Solitary Animals? ( with Pictures and Video )
Now that we know how turtles manage to turn themselves over, let’s see how they get that way in the first place.
How Turtles Get Turned Upside Down
In the wild, the most common way a turtle gets turned over is due to a predator. When turtles are attacked they retreat into their shells, where they will stay until the attacker leaves. And sometimes the predator will leave the turtle alone, but it can leave it in an upside-down position.
Another common way turtles get turned over is due to other turtles. During mating season male turtles can compete between them for a female turtle. And in some cases, they can end up turning over. This is not always the case but in some extreme cases, it can happen.
Another possible reason is their sometimes poor climbing skills. Turtles are not necessarily the best climbers, and as a result, they can sometimes fall over, and sometimes they can fall over on their backs.
When it comes to pet turtles, the reasons are more or less the same. If you have to turtles in the same enclosure they will eventually have a fight and one of them can get turned over. If you let them outside of the enclosure and you have a dog or cat, they will try to play with the turtle which can end up upside down. And the poor climbing skills work the same way.
The only thing left to discuss is what happens if a turtle stays upside down.
What Happens If a Turtle Stays Upside Down
When turtles get turned upside down they basically get stuck, they can’t move from that place so they have no way of getting food. Without food, turtles won’t last for too long under normal circumstances.
Another thing that they won’t have access to is water, and this can be a bigger problem than you might expect. Depending on the weather turtles can get dehydrated really fast, especially if they don’t have access to water or if they stay directly in the sun.
Another problem is that while they are upside down they are a lot more vulnerable to predators. While they still can hide in the shell, they won’t be able to run away. This means that they just became a free meal for a predator.
Small insects can also be a problem, even if they are not as brutal as bigger predators. If for example, a colony of ants was to attack a turtle that is turned on its back, the turtle would be completely defenseless.
One of the most overlooked but serious consequences of a turned-over turtle is the internal organs that will press on the lungs. The lungs of a turtle are positioned at the top of the shell, when they get turned over all the pressure from the internal organs will be applied directly to the lungs. Even if the turtle manages to turn over, if they don’t do it fast enough they will end up with serious respiratory problems.
How Long Can a Turtle on Its Back
Overall nothing good can come out for a turtle that is turned on its back. But if they manage to turn over in a short amount of time, they can leave this situation behind without any problem.
Saying an exact amount of time can be really hard. It all depends on the circumstances. If there is a predator nearby, one minute might be too much. If the weather is really hot, a turtle can have health problems if it stays more than a couple of hours in the sun.
In the experiment that I mentioned above, the turtles were purposely turned on their backs, but if they didn’t manage to turn over on their own in 30 minutes they were turned by the biologist. Since the experiment was taking into consideration the health of the turtles, it means that 30 minutes won’t affect the turtle. But anything more than an hour can be bad for the turtle.
Related Questions
What are turtle shells made of? Turtle shells are made out of bones, and the exterior is covered with a keratin layer. Keratin is the same thing that our nails are made out of. If you want a more in-depth explication you can always read my article: What Are Turtle Shells Made Of ? (with Pictures and Video)
Can turtles recognize their owners? Turtles can recognize you and they will understand that you play an important part in their lives, but they will not feel any familiarity towards you like dogs or cats would. Overall turtles recognize their owners but not in a way you would expect. You can always read more about this in my article: Can Turtles Recognize Their Owners?
How fast are turtles? On average turtles walk at a speed between 3 to 4 miles per hour. The fastest turtles can reach 22 miles per hour ( 35 kilometers per hour ) in water and 15 miles per hour ( 24 kilometers per hour ) on land. The speed a turtle can reach is quite surprising, especially since they are known as very slow creatures. If you want to know what is the fastest turtle in the world, and how turtles compare to other animals when it comes to speed you should check out this article: How Fast or Slow Are Turtles? (with Videos and Statistics)
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