how do turtles breathe underwater?

Answer 1

Well, they don't technically "breathe" underwater. This may sound gross, but it is true: they take water in thru their anus and there are a lot of blood vessels close to the surface which help filter out the oxygen inside the anus. This allows turtles to sleep underwater overnight. Since they aren't moving when they are sleeping, they don't need much oxygen. But once they wake up, they still need to come up for air & breathe with their lungs, just like a person breathes. They don't have gills.

I have had my Red-Ear Slider turtle for 17 yrs already & have done a lot of research/reading on turtles. Hope that helps!

Answer 2

Can Turtles Breathe Underwater

Answer 3

How Do Turtles Breathe

Answer 4

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Turtles do not have a way to process oxygen out of water (no gills). Therefore they must come up for air however some turtles like the sea turtle can hold it's breath for over 5 hours. Being a cold-blooded creature and having a slow metabolism anyway, reduces its need for oxygen. Being asleep would decrease your turtle's need for oxygen even more.

Answer 5

This is a misconception: Water turtles don't breathe underwater, they hold their breath and come up for air. Box turtles can drown, because they're not built to swim though many float and kick. Hope this helps!

Answer 6

"Although many turtles spend large amounts of their lives underwater, all turtles and tortoises breathe air, and must surface at regular intervals to refill their lungs...Some species have large cloacal cavities that are lined with many finger-like projections. These projections, called papillae, have a rich blood supply, and increase the surface area of the cloaca. The turtles can take up dissolved oxygen from the water using these papillae, in much the same way that fish use gills to respire" The cloaca is equivalent of an anus in reptiles and birds.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turtle#Ecology_and_life_history

Answer 7

They don't "breathe" underwater... depending on the species, they either breath through their anus of through their nostrils.my western painted turtle breathes through his nostrils.either way, they breathe in and hold it while underwater.
I have had my western painted turtle gilligan for almost 6 months and have done research on turtles for a long time before that...hope this helps.

Answer 8

"Black" and "rock" are wrong. No turtles are able to extract oxygen (dissolved oxygen) from the water. You must have gills to do this. No turtle has gills even when they are young. They are reptiles and have lungs similar to humans. They can not breathe through their skin like a lot of amphibians can. They must come to the surface for air.

Many active turtles can hold their breaths for hours. Some species hold their breath longer than others. Sea turtles can swim to great depths for 2-3 hours at a time. Softshell turtles can hold their breath a long time, but they still breathe like all other turtles.

In the winter time, species of turtles in colder climates hibernate in the bottom of lakes, ponds, and rivers. Because they are cold-blooded, they metabolism slows down a great deal during cold weather. When they hibernate, their bodily functions slow down so much they would appear dead. Their heart-rate slows to a few beats per hour! Also, during this time they may hold oxygen in their lungs for several months in a row! Even terrestrial species like box turtles burrow into the ground to hibernate. They too, do not have a lot of oxygen available but are saved by their low metabolism.

When the weather warms in the spring. The metabolic rate speeds up, and turtles exit their winter homes and their primary need is to get oxygen.

Answer 9

Some sea turtles have evolved gills near the anus to assist with respiration. These are distinct from the pharyngeal gills (which fish have, and which are lost during embryonic development in turtles). But usually they just come up for air every so often, because they can hold their breath for a long time such as dolphins and whales can.

Answer 10

As nomogobro said, they get some oxygen from the water.

Most turtles are strictly are-breathers. They are cold blooded so their body does not need as much oxygen to survive.

Add to this the fact that some have amphibious traits... That is some breeds of turtles absorb oxygen through their skin - like a frog. However, these turtles still don't "breathe" water and would drown if they tried.