I know turtles have their house on their back,but why are they made in that way?E.g. The cheetah runs very fast in order to catch other animals so as to be fed. So,for what purpose do the turtles move so slowly? So as to be cought easily and be eaten by stronger animals....?
2007-02-26 05:43:59 · 8 answers · asked by ♥ Καλ ♥ 5 in Pets ➔ Reptiles
Turtles have been around since the age of the dinosaurs, so they obviously are doing something right. In fact, turtles in general are one of the most successful of reptiles, being found on every continent but Antarctica.
Aquatic turtles are actually pretty fast in the water as well. Due to their choice of habitat and food, they dont usually have to move all that quickly. Most aquatic turtles will happily eat either vegetable or plant matter, however they usually either scavenge or eat things like snails, which do not move very fast themselves
The more predatory species such as snapping turtles and soft shelled turtles are ambush predators, blending in with their surroundings and burying themselves in mud. They use their very long necks to snap out incredibly quickly, taking unsuspecting fish easily.
2007-02-26 06:40:31 · answer #1 · answered by dukedingo 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you've ever tried to catch a turtle thats 10ft from a pond, you would know they're fast as heck. Compared to people, they arent THAT fast, true. But holy crap, I tried catching silver-dollar sized babies at my great grandpa's and they were gone in a second. All the older turtles stared at me like I was stupid, and stayed where they were, but the babies were gone in a flash.
The reason they have their shell is to protect them. They can pull back into the shell and MOST animals cant get them. Some have figured it out, but not that many. Having their shell is like bullet-proof armor. Yeah, a bazooka will get thru it, but not a little bb gun...
so there. Thats why they have their shell...
2007-02-27 02:10:33 · answer #2 · answered by Sputz 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well box turtles and tortoise are slow not aquatic turtles. But this is because the one on land eat plants and plants aren't running from them so they don't have to be quick so evolution gave them a shell to protect them.
The reason why aquatic turtles are fast is because they have smaller shells then the land turtles and they have to be fast so if they are on land they can run back to the water quick or while in the water they have to "run after food" or run away from predators.
Sea turtles are only slow if they are on land because they are sooo big and they have slippers.
2007-02-26 06:03:36 · answer #3 · answered by animalhouser07 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Actually, when you think about it, they don't have to move quickly. They have a built in bomb shelter to hide in when they're "attacked". Animals are given speed as a natural survival tool...either to catch prey, or to keep from becoming prey...that's why rabbits are so fast. They're natural prey for just about every other animal on the planet. That's also why they multiply so quickly...if not, there would be no rabbits.
2007-02-26 05:53:46 · answer #4 · answered by LolaCorolla 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
First as you say they carry their place on the back and besides that they are mostly scavengers, dead animals do not escape!
Of course if they have the chance to eat live they will gladly do it but with the least amount of affort.
2007-02-26 05:54:07 · answer #5 · answered by soytokemonsr 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There is probably no one with an accurate answer to that. however their species has been around for over a million years and they live to be very old compared to humans too. So, it must be a pretty good design for them.
2007-02-26 06:30:25 · answer #6 · answered by Cuppycake♥ 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
OR maybe their house is to heavy. LOL
Anyway they have small legs that don't let them go very fast.
2007-02-26 05:51:52 · answer #7 · answered by Ms. Jay 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
because theyre retarded.
2007-02-26 05:55:25 · answer #8 · answered by ? 1 · 0⤊ 2⤋