Turtles & Tortoises

Classification

Exhibit

Reptile and Amphibian House

Blood

Cold-blooded

How to Tell a Turtle & a Tortoise Apart

There's one major difference between turtles and tortoises: tortoises spend most of their time on land, and turtles are adapted to spend time in water. Because of this, turtles have thinner, more water dynamic shells. They also have flipper-like legs to make it easier for them to swim through water. Tortoises, on the other hand, have more rounded and domed shells. Their thicker legs help them carry their weight across land.

Meet Our Animals

Here's a list of the turtles and tortoises you can see on exhibit:
Snapping turtle
Western Santa Cruz giant tortoise
Aldabra giant tortoise
Desert tortoise
Travancore tortoise
African pancake tortoise
Madagascar flat-tailed tortoise
McCord's box turtle
Chinese three-striped box turtle
Matamata turtle