Just need to ask

[Scales Zoo]

I have looked up the answer in a book, but would have felt like an idiot if I had been asked this by some school kids...

Do turtles and tortoises have EARS?

I found no visible ear openings on the tortoises, box turtles, or red EARED sliders, and had never pondered the question before

Just wanted to know what some people had to offer for info

Sheila

[Tim and Julie B]

This is the most interesting question yet! In all my reading I can't say I have honestly come across that. Although one of my three toes does come when you call him. I was using my drill one day putting up shelves right beside my Three toes and one of my males scurried over and mounted a female. Maybe that had more to do with vibration. Back to the books!!


Hey Sheila how are the new box turtles doing? I was hoping you weren't going to get the Ornates too! Missed out on that one. Could you let me know when you reproduce them. It would be greatly appreciated!

[eyespy]

Sort of! They don't have external ears to gather up soundwaves, but do have a similar inner ear structure to mammal, those little bones that wiggle about and generate the nerve impulses the brain interprets as sound. So turtles are about halfway between snakes and mammals as far as hearing goes. They can hear more than just the vibrations that snakes do but might not be able to hear things like pitch.

Marine turtles even use sound to navigate!

[Scales Zoo]

Thanks for the info, it took 3 books to find one that even touched on the subject. Kids have a way of asking questions we have yet to think of, so it is best to be prepared. Furthermore, chameleons are considered to be lizards, which have ears, and I have yet to find the ears on a chameleon. So I guess there are some exceptions in each species.
It was our legless lizards that brought on this train of thoughts.

Tim and Julie, yes, we got the ornates, too. I haven't witnessed any breeding yet, but that does not mean anything. We will be keeping our fingers crossed

Sheila and Ryan

[eyespy]

Chameleons are just like turtles, inner ears but no outers. When they get respiratory infections they sometimes get inner ear infections and have balance problems. It's really strange to see a cham with an inner ear infection trying to do that lurchy walk of theirs on a swaying branch.