When dinosaurs and other great reptiles walked the earth and swam its waters, life must have been even more dangerous for slow-moving creatures than it is now. To escape being eaten, certain small reptiles developed two hard outer shells, one above and one beneath. Between these the whole body could hide in times of danger. When he felt safe, the animal pushed out his head, legs and tail, and walked or swam about in search of his own dinner. This arrangement seems to have been satisfactory, for it has been the fashion among the descendants of those ancient reptiles through all the ages from the time of the dinosaurs to the present. We call such reptiles turtles, and many of them are also known as tortoises or terrapins. They are found on land and in the sea, in many parts of the world. Some of them live in the oceans, but a larger number live on land, or in. lakes, ponds, and rivers.
The largest turtles or tortoises of modern times live on the Galapagos Islands, in the Pacific not far from the coast of Ecuador. Some of these have shells four feet long. They live largely on vegetables and fruit. Some turtles spend all their time in the water, and have soft, leathery shells. Others, which go about on land, have shells which can be shut together like a box, and are called box tortoises. Many turtles are good to eat, and some are so much liked that they have become rare and are very expensive. Diamond-back terrapins, which are considered the best of all, are sometimes raised on turtle farms. In some parts of the world people eat turtle eggs.
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In ponds and brooks about the Midwest we often meet the snapping turtle. Once in a while we see him on land, especially in dry weather, if he is looking for a new place to live because the old one is dried up. This is our biggest turtle, often having a shell more than a foot long.
He is dull in color, with a warty skin and a rough shell. If you meet him it is wise not to interfere with him, for he was not named snapping ' turtle for nothing. His long neck can reach farther than you would think, and although he has no teeth, his strong, horny jaws have such a sharp edge that he could easily bite off a finger or two!
The mother snapping turtle lays her eggs early in the summer. Instead of making a nest and brooding as a mother bird would do, she buries her eggs in a warm, sunny spot, and leaves them. When the young turtles appear, hatched by the warmth of the sun, they are ready to take care of themselves at once. Snapping turtles spend much of their time under water. Coming up suddenly under a swimming bird, the strong jaws snap on a foot, and the surprised bird is pulled under, torn to pieces, and swallowed. If it is a large bird, it may escape, leaving a toe or a foot in the turtle's mouth. When a farmer sees his ducks going lame, he thinks at once of a turtle in the duck pond. Although he is an air-breathing animal, this turtle apparently cannot swallow unless his head is under water. Besides birds, he eats other small reptiles, fish, frogs, insects, and sometimes leaves.
The pond turtle or painted terrapin is also fairly common. He is smaller than the snapper, and prettier. His smooth back or black upper shell is marked with yellow and has a brown and red border which is particularly bright on the under side, where it shows around the edge of the yellow under shell. The brown head and neck are striped underneath with yellow. When frightened the pond turtle folds his feet and tail against his body, under the upper shell, and pulls back his head and neck until the tip of his nose disappears under the edge of the shell. If you want to handle him pick him up carefully by the back half of the shell, for though he is less strong and dangerous than the snapping turtle, he also can bite. Often you can buy baby turtles of this kind in pet stores. They are interesting to watch, but do not put them in the goldfish bowl. Even if they are much smaller than the fish, they will bite off pieces of fins and tail, and may even kill them. Keep your little turtle by himself in a place where he can have water in which to swim, and a stone or piece of wood on which to rest when out of the water. Feed him chopped raw beef or fish, earthworms, soft insects, and a little lettuce. If you are kind to him, he may even take food from your fingers. June.
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