Allowing turtles and newts to live together is not ideal for a number of reasons. The first being that the turtle will most likely end up making the newt its dinner. The second being that amphibians are known to produce toxins that are released through their skins, this could be harmful to your turtle. For instance, if you turtle decides to eat your newt its going to result in the death of both pets. Some newts are also cool water dependent and need temperatures not much warmer than 70 degrees while turtles typically require at least 80 degrees.

A few problems that one might run into when trying to house turtles and newts in the same tank are the changes in temperature requirements, differing dietary requirements, and predation. It is quite common for a turtle to bite off a newt’s tail and injure it in doing so.

Newts typically require a water depth of at least 4 inches as they have to have adequate swimming room. If a newt’s water temperature is higher than 70 degrees Fahrenheit the creature becomes sluggish and inactive. Turtle’s on the other hand require a 55 gallon tank at minimum with at least 40% land and 60% water. Heaters and UV lights are mandatory, and these are not ideal for newts. Turtles also require a basking spot that is 5-10 degrees hotter than the main temperature of the tank.

Turtles and tortoises are both reptiles, have scales, lay eggs, and are ectothermic creatures. However turtles and tortoises are different from one another in where they live and how they use their habitat. For instance, turtles are typically known to spend most of their lives in water. They tend to have webbed feet for swimming and are especially adapted for aquatic life. These creatures possess long feet that form flippers and a streamlined body shape that makes swimming an easy task.

Generally turtles rarely leave the ocean, except for when the female comes ashore to lay her eggs. Other turtles live in fresh water, lakes, and ponds. These turtles can swim but can also be commonly found climbing out onto banks, logs or rocks to bask in the sun. In cold weather, they burrow in the mud until spring brings warm weather again.

Tortoises on the other hand are land dwellers that eat low growing shrubs, grasses and sometimes even feast upon cactuses. These creatures are unlike turtles as they do not possess webbed feet. Rather, their feet are round and stumpy for walking on land. Tortoises live in humid, dry habitats and use their strong stumpy legs to dig burrows in which they slide into to hide when the sun is too hot.

Most tortoises are also different from turtles because many of them have a high dome shaped shell. Some tortoises live in mountains or forests. When it is time to hibernate they bury themselves in soil or underneath rotting plants until it is time to reemerge.

Tortoises are generally much larger than turtles. Some are very large, such as the Galapagos Tortoise which grows to about one and a half meters long. These creatures can even live for about 200 years or so.

It is true that turtles breathe through their tails in a way; however they also breathe using their lungs. The type of breathing through the tail is referred to as cloacal breathing. During this breathing process the turtle pumps water into the vent called the ‘cloaca’, which in reptiles is the opening they excrete and reproduce through (two sacs) located near the tail.

The air in the water is absorbed by blood rich tissues lining the cloaca, which allows the turtle to stay underwater longer. These sacs located near the turtle’s anus are similar to the turtle’s throat as they have tiny capillary blood vessels that are equipped to absorb oxygen needed from the water.

In addition to the cloacal breathing, turtles also have a set of lungs that they can breathe with. As its activity increases so does its demand for air. The turtle, depending on the species can hold its breath underwater for a long time. Most species can hold their breath anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 hours. How long the turtle can hold its breath is also in direct proportion to how active it is and if it is able to find pockets of air. These pockets of air can be found in small caves and/or under ice.

All turtles are indeed oviparous. Oviparous animals are animals that lay eggs with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive method of all turtles, along with most other reptiles, amphibians, fish, monotremes, insects, some mollusks and arachnids, and all birds.

All turtles lay their eggs on land, and for many species this is a process that requires lots of hard labor as they dig a pit and lay many eggs usually in a “nest” or by burrowing them into the sand so they are well hidden from predators. The hatching turtles have what is known as an “egg tooth” at the end of their beaks that help them break open their egg when it is time for them to hatch. They lose this tooth later on in life. For turtles that reside in the water the process of reproducing can be exhausting as it requires them to drag themselves ashore, dig a pit, lay the eggs, and then drag themselves back to the water.

Turtles and lizards cannot and should not live together. The first reason being that turtles are aquatic animals and lizards are not. The two have different living standards. They require different landscaping and their body temperatures differ which means it would be difficult to maintain a proper temperature within the tank that is adequate for both.

Keeping a turtle and a lizard confined together can cause major stress to both creatures. Turtles are also omnivorous creatures that are notorious for eating just about anything it can fit in its mouth, so it would most likely injure or kill your lizard in an effort to try and make it its latest meal. Turtles have been known to rip off lizard’s tails and seriously injure them.

Amphibians release toxins through their skin and can be deadly if ingested. This is one of the biggest reasons the two should not be put in the same tank.

Although it has been said that some species of lizards such as the Chinese water dragon and turtles can be kept together and live in harmony, in most cases this is when the tank is huge and costs a lot of money. The best option is to pick either a turtle or a lizard as a pet or to own both but keep them in separate habitats. Doing so will ensure the safety and well being of both parties.

Turtles can hear, however they do not have an outer ear that sticks out from their head as most animals do. Rather, they are equipped with inner ear mechanisms as well as auditory nerve and brain centers that are required for hearing.

The outer ear gathers sound vibrations to make them louder. It is for this reason that turtles do not hear airborne sounds as loudly as we humans can. However they do have a keen sense and can interpret vibrations within their environments. Hearing is not very important to turtles however, because their senses of vision and smell are excellent. What they lack in one area of the brain center, they definitely make up for elsewhere.

Turtles are consumers as they eat producers or organisms that eat producers. The word consumer in biology is used to describe an organism that cannot synthesize energy from the sun and therefore does not produce its own food, but instead eats other organisms. Producers make their own food. For example, plants are producers as they make their own food using photosynthesis. Furthermore, when considering producers and consumers turtles would be considered both primary and secondary consumers as they feast upon both plants and animals.

The diet of turtles depends on the particular species, however in their natural habitats they typically eat a variety of foods according to the season.

Most turtles are territorial however some are more aggressive than others; it really just depends upon the species. Red-eared sliders for instance are notorious for being aggressive and territorial creatures. It is for this reason that many suggest only putting them in tanks by themselves unless you have a very large tank where they can stay away from one another.

Other species such as the snapping turtle are solitary creatures that prefer to live alone. Even though many turtles may be found in a small area, their social interactions are often limited to aggression between individuals. Males are especially prone to this type of behavior. Snapping turtles are known for being quite vicious and also kill other turtles by biting off their heads. It is suggested that this behavior might be a means to protect their territory from other turtles.

Many pet owners have learned the hard way that male turtles do not often like each other’s company. Typically after a male turtle becomes larger than 4 inches and is more mature it is nearly impossible to get them to get along with the other males in the tank. In this case, they should almost always be separated from one another or kept in a very large tank so they might be less likely to fight.

Aquatic turtles are especially territorial, and male turtles that are housed in an environment that is too small to live in together peacefully, will often be found fighting and trying to force the other turtles away. Mating can also turn into a territorial and sparring process as the males show off to try and impress a female turtle to mate with during this time.

In most cases male turtles attempt to establish dominance when it comes to territory, mates, and/or food. It is common for turtles to become very aggressive towards one another and they may even begin biting or “clawing” at one another when this happens.

Turtles and frogs should not be kept together in the same tank for a number of reasons. The most important reason that they should not live together is that turtle’s are notorious for killing and/or eating frogs. Watching a turtle kill a frog is quite grotesque. The turtle grabs the soft amphibian in its hooked beak and then rips at the frog with its front claws until the frog is eventually ripped completely open and is then disemboweled by the turtle.

Since turtles are reptiles and frogs are amphibians they both require different things within their habitats. This includes different water temperatures, different diet requirements, different amounts of water, etc. Therefore making it difficult to keep the two in the same tank.

Another main reason that frogs and turtles should never live in the same tank is because many amphibians produce toxins that are released through their skins and are also deadly if ingested. This is a no win situation for both creatures in many ways. If the turtle eats the frog, both will most likely die as the frog will poison the turtle once it has been ingested and the frog will be no more as it has become a meal for Mr. Turtle.

Many people may believe that turtles are slow creatures that never know how to put a little giddy up in their step; however the truth of the matter is that turtles are very fast when in water. On land however the average turtle is typically only able to move about 1.07 miles per hour. Another interesting fact is that turtles can actually swim even faster than we humans can. This is mainly due to the fact that they have light shells that do not weigh them down in the water, streamlined bodies that help them travel through water efficiently, and strong webbed feet to help them keep moving.

It has been said that the average turtle swims at a rate of about 10-12 miles per hour but some have even been recorded to swim as fast as 22 miles per hour. New born hatchlings on average swim about 25 miles in 30 hours. While species such as the soft shelled turtle are very active creatures, more active than other species even and are quite mobile and able to strike with the speed of a snake and the agility of a mammal. These creatures are also able to move their limbs at rates comparable to those in birds and mammals and are very powerful swimmers that can even run on land at astounding speeds!

When turtles swim they use their flippers as paddles. The most efficient undersea paddlers are the giant sea turtles. They are clumsy and almost helpless on land when they come ashore to lay their eggs, however they are fast migrators in the sea and can reach speeds of 10 knots and are very agile creatures. The giant sea turtle has been said to swim as fast as 35 miles per hour!