What Color Are Turtles Eyes? (With Pictures)

Recently I’ve found some old photos of my turtle from when he was just a couple of months old, and I’ve noticed that there is a slight difference in the colors of his eyes. And that made me wonder, do turtles change the color of their eyes as they grow? Do all turtles have the same eyes color? So I decided to do some research.

What color are turtles eyes? The eye color of turtles can differ from species to species, but in general, they are yellow-brown, or dark brown.

So this is the short answer, but it doesn’t cover everything about turtle eyes color. While doing my research I found a lot of interesting facts about turtle eye color, and a wide range of color variations. And a wide variety of pupils that can be star shepherds, dots, or cat-like. So let me give you the complete answer.

What Color are the Eyes of a Turtle ?

Like most animal species the color of the eyes can differ from individual to individual, but there is usually a defining color among some species.

Most turtles have yellow or yellow-brown eye color, with black pupils. The second most common color is brown and darker variations of it. But there are some species that have very different colors from the rest of them.

For example, the male common box turtles and the spotted turtles often have eyes that are colored in different shades of red. On the other hand, the females usually have yellow or yellow-brown eyes. There is no known benefit of the red color, but most biologists assume that it can be an advantage during the mating season and that females could be attracted to male turtles that have red eyes.

There is also the false map turtle species that is divided into two subspecies, the midwestern false map turtle, and the Mississippi false map turtle. The midwestern subspecies have a yellow-brown iris and a horizontal black bar running through the pupil. The Mississippi subspecies has a white iris, a black pupil, and no black bar.

The adult male mangrove terrapins of India and Southern Asia have an iris that is light-colored, usually white or light shades of yellow. On the other hand, the adult female mangrove terrapins have brown eyes.

There are also some turtle species that have blue eyes. The brown-roofed turtles that live in India are one of those species. Another group of turtles that have blue is those that belong to a subspecies of the Spanish terrapins that live in Morocco.

In general, the configuration of the pupils and pigmentation varies from species to species, but it usually appears as a black circle or a black bar.  But there are also some different shapes that they can take, for example, the alligator snapping turtle has star-shaped eyes. And the Malaysian giant river turtle has brown eyes with an outer circle of blue iris.

Do Turtle Eye Color Change?

For most of their lives, the eye color stays the same, but it’s not uncommon for baby turtles to be born with slightly more intense colors that will slightly fade as they grow older. But this will usually happen within the first year of their life.

And just like it also happens with human babies, it’s not uncommon for turtles to be born with one eye color and then change it as they grow. But those are extremely rare cases, with very few observed.

Do Eye Color Affect Turtle Vision?

At the moment there are no studies that can prove that there is a difference that turtle eye color affects how turtles see. But based on studies made on humans we can assume there is little to no difference.

Eye color doesn’t significantly affect the sharpness of the vision, but it can affect visual comfort in certain situations. It all comes down to the density of the pigment melanin within your iris, which determines what colors of light are absorbed or reflected. Simply put: The higher the concentration of melanin pigment in the iris, the darker the eye color. And a higher concentration of pigmented cells within the iris acts as an internal sun-shade, dissipating more sunlight and radiation. 

But what we can assume is that different turtle species can have very slightly different visions, due to the place they live in, but overall they have the same vision. Some turtles live in the sea, some in the desert, some live both in water and on land, so we can safely assume that their eyes work in a slightly different way, and they are adapted to their habitat.

Speaking of the way turtles see, let’s take a look at how turtles see colors.

How Turtles See Colors

Until a few years ago, it was believed that turtles don’t have a very good vision, and some people believe that they don’t even 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.

The study has found that turtles and birds possess a gene called CYP2J19. This gene has been traced back 250 million years to a dinosaur called Archosaur. The Archosaur is a strange creature, it is believed that he had scaly skin, a head similar to a bird but instead of a beak it had a snout similar to a pig and that it had a shell on its belly. It probably didn’t look as bad as this description, but those are the only things that are similar in appearance.

The CYP2J19 gene is also referred to as the red gene. This is because this gene allows some bird and turtle species 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, this color receptor is called cones. Humans have 3 different types of cones, and each type is able to detect a certain number of colors that they can 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 allow them to do so.

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

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.

Conclusion

I hope this article answered all the questions that you had about turtle eyes colors, but in case you still have questions left, you can always leave them in the comment section and I will answer them as soon as possible.

And If you want to know more about turtles you can always check out the Turtle Facts section of our site where you will find more articles similar to this one.

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!