# turts and torts can feel on their shells...



## spikethebest (Jul 30, 2008)

I found many sites that note that turtles have feeling in their shells.
I found this at http://www.dem.ri.gov/programs/bnatres/fishwild/pdf/turtles.pdf: "On a side note, it is often thought that turtles do not have feeling in their shells. However, turtles have many nerves in the carapace and the plastron. Because of this misunderstanding, many people unknowingly injure turtles by carving or painting their shells and then releasing them into the wild. If you know someone who harms turtles in this way, relay to them the knowledge that this behavior is actually harmful. Hopefully, it wonÃ‚Â¢t happen again."
I got this at http://www.indianaturtlecare.com/Facts.html: "Turtles have good eyesight, seeing in full color and a strong sense of smell. They have excellent hearing and sense of touch. Their shells have feeling due to nerve endings."


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## sushisurf13 (Jul 30, 2008)

I fully agree. All of my torts respond to the slightest touch. I am convinced that the have as feeling on their shell as their skin. SO GIVE YOUR TORTS A GOOD BACK SCRATCH ONCE IN A WHILE. They love it!


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## ArkansasKelly (Jul 30, 2008)

I also agree that torts are have sensitive shells. Mine do a little tort dance when I rub them.

ARKelly


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## Madkins007 (Aug 2, 2008)

Anyone know how many nerve endings they have in the outer part of the shell? According to Thompson's 'Anatomy of the Tortoise', there are some nerves that end in the actual bone of the shell, but I cannot find any reference to any nerves between the bone and scutes. 

The nerves in and under the bones would certainly carry vibrations nicely but a lack of nerves closer to the surface would explain why they don't seem to mind rubbing their shells against things in ways that seem like they would really bother us.

On a different note, I am not sure I would trust Indiana Turtle Care's fact list as a scientific document, re: hearing, etc. 

They claim "* Some land turtles can out run a human.", which, seeing as how top speed of tortoises seems to run about 0.4mph. Sea turtles can swim at about 20mph, which is faster than a human, but the stated claim seems difficult to swallow. (The fact sheet claims 35mph for sea turtles on a separate line.)

The claim that turtles have an excellent sense of hearing does not line up with what most of the literature seems to say, although there do not seem to be a lot of hard and fast statements about what they do see and hear.

Besides- the dudes totally miss some great facts- Fly River Turtle cloacal breathing, lures on tongues, Mata-Mata eating technique, skeletal adaptations, bite strength of Alligator Snappers... what others am I not thinking of?


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## chelonologist (Aug 3, 2008)

The scutes of a turtle's carapace and plastron are made of keratin, a fibrous protein produced by the epidermal cells of the integument. It's possible that there are nerve endings in the newly formed layers of keratin produced under the old layers, but the older, outer layers are highly cornified and likely do not contain live nerve endings. I suspect that when you touch a turtle's shell, the turtle probably experiences the same sensation that you or I would feel when we touch the backs of our fingernails.


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## Laura (Aug 4, 2008)

I know when mine have new growth.. the ring is very sensitive./ Like a fingernail cuticle.


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