how do turtles breathe?

Answer 1

Turtles are reptiles, so most of them breathe pretty much the same way that you do. There are exceptions, though.

A few species of turtle have a special adaptation that does allow them to extract some oxygen from the water that they're in. These more resemble the villi in your intestine than gills on a fish, though. These cavities are located on their posterior for those that have it (so yes, some CAN breathe through their butts).

No turtle has proper gills. Only amphibians and fish have those things.

Answer 2

I think everyone else missed the point. Turtles ( and other reptiles ) do not have a diaphragm as we do, therefore, they must respirate themselves through expansion of the body cavity through moving of the rib cage, or in the case of turtles, movement of the muscles around the body which are connected internally to their organs and the inside of their shell. Many of these muscles are also connected to their limbs. This is why you will often see a turtle on land moving it's legs slightly when it is breathing.

Also, contrary to other answers that have gotten scientific ( and also wrong ), with statements that claim oxygen exchanges "easily" through the skin; reptiles specifically have evolved a skin which is very IMPERMEABLE. The reason is because if they had permeable skin like mammals, they would lose moisture and dry out. So, reptiles in general do not exchange gases ( or breathe ) sufficiently through the skin. Aquatic turtles have skin that is a little more permeable than other reptiles, but not enough to be a viable method of respiration for them, or even a good example of cutaneous respiration. Amphibians can breathe through the skin, but they are very prone to drying out in less humid conditions. This is why you find them in damper conditions all the time, whereas many reptiles live in the desert or very dry conditions. Even the aquatic turtle can go for extended periods away from the water where an amphibian would have died because of it's permeable skin. I have found aquatic turtles here in Texas, amongst cacti, and nearly a 1/4 mile away from the nearest pond.

Aquatic turtles can respirate from their cloaca though, using vascularized sacs called bursae. This is more of an aid to respiration, and they still need to use their lungs. But it helps them stay under water for long periods of time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reptile

Answer 3

Turtles, like all reptiles, have lungs. They have to
breathe air. They must come to the surface to breathe.
They can go anything from a few seconds to several
hours (when they sleep) to several weeks (when they
hibernate in winter) without extra air.

They also store air in their cloaca. They particularly
draw on this air during hibernation. So, how does this
work?

All tissues are more or less permeable to various
molecules. In the lungs, capillaries are as close to the
surface of the body as possible, they practically "touch"
the air. Exchange of O2 and CO2 easily takes place through
the skin. Gills work in the same way, just in water.
Intestinal tissue also has a lot of capillaries close to the
surface for the purpose of absorbing nutrients. However,
since the gas exchange is simple osmosis, nothing prevents
this (or any other tissue high in capillaries) from
also taking on O2. For example, we all breathe through the
skin, even in water! If a human's skin was completely covered to make it air-tight, the human would suffocate.

Answer 4

They have two little holes at the end of their snout which lead to lungs, just like humans. Water turtles can't breath under water so they have to go up to the surface to breathe, like whales.

Answer 5

Through their little turtle nostrils.

Answer 6

Through two small holes in the base of there beak like mouth.

Answer 7

They can breathe through their butts.

Answer 8

they have lungs

Answer 9

they have lungs

Answer 10

through there butts