For reptiles that spend most of their lives in the water, turtles seem surprisingly willing to haul themselves onto land.
You may have seen a turtle basking on a log or slowly trekking across the beach. But do these aquatic creatures enjoy their time out of the water, or are they just putting up with it until they can return to their liquid home?
In this article, we’ll explore turtles’ complex relationship with dry land. We’ll review the key reasons turtles leave the water and look for signs indicating whether a turtle is comfortable being terrestrially inclined.
Do Turtles Like Being Out of Water?
While aquatic turtles will temporarily emerge to bask, they only stay out of water for necessary purposes, not for enjoyment. Though some species, like box turtles, thrive on land, most turtles prefer their aquatic habitat and limit their terrestrial exposure to 6-8 hours daily. For these turtles, dry land provides vital activities, not leisure.
Why Do Turtles Come Out of Water?
Turtles are classified as semiaquatic reptiles, meaning they split their time between land and water. Here are some of the main reasons turtles leave their aquatic habitat:
Basking
One of the most common reasons you’ll see turtles out of the water is to bask. Turtles can soak up heat from the sun’s rays by climbing onto logs, rocks, or sandy banks.
Since turtles are cold-blooded animals, basking helps regulate their body temperature. It energizes their metabolism and digestion. Getting their optimal body temperature from solar radiation is crucial to turtles’ health and functioning.
Nesting
Female turtles also take temporary terrestrial detours to lay eggs. Depending on the species, the gestation period may be weeks or months before the pregnant turtle can dig a nest and deposit her eggs on land.
Sea turtles are a prime example, as the females lumber onto beaches worldwide to lay their eggs in the sand. Even primarily, aquatic species travel over land to find suitable nesting sites.
Foraging
Sometimes, turtles venture onto land in search of food. Depending on the surroundings, trudging onto land may lead turtles to tasty morsels like fruits, berries, vegetation, worms, or insects not found in their normal aquatic feeding grounds.
Migrating and Dispersal
As water levels change or habitats shift, turtles may need to migrate over land to new aquatic areas better suited for survival. Some juvenile turtles also disperse over land to establish their range away from where they hatched.
Escaping Unfavorable Conditions
Uncomfortable water conditions like flooding, drought, pollution, or overcrowding can motivate turtles to flee onto land in search of refuge temporarily. However, they’ll quickly want to return to a more stable aquatic environment.
Exploring and Territorial Behavior
Short terrestrial forays may be linked to exploring new habitats or asserting dominance within a territory, particularly for male turtles. Some experimental roaming and turf-claiming for breeding rights may entice male turtles from their ponds.
How Long Can Turtles Stay Out of Water?
While aquatic turtles can endure periodic land excursions, their anatomy and physiology are not designed for prolonged terrestrial living. Here’s how long some types of turtles can stay on dry land:
- SEA TURTLES: Can survive on land for up to 2 weeks
- RIVER TURTLES: Can manage 1 week out of water at most
- AQUATIC PET TURTLES: Need water access every 1-3 days
- TORTOISES: Specialized land turtles that can stay out of water indefinitely
Factors like temperature, humidity, activity level, and shelter access impact exactly how long a turtle can stay dry:
Hot and Dry Conditions
Turtles may only manage a few hours on land in arid environments without shade before overheating and dehydrating. Access to moisture by returning to water or finding wet soil is critical.
Cool and Damp Conditions
More humid areas with lower temperatures allow turtles to remain out of water longer without risk of desiccation. A cool, moist refuge extends their dry duration.
Inactive vs. Active Turtles
Turtles digging into soil and burrowing in shaded shelters use less energy and moisture than active, moving turtles. Inactivity helps conserve resources and lasts days longer.
Species Differences
Land-loving tortoises aside, sea and box turtles tolerate dry land better than softshells and narrow-shelled river turtles, who fare poorly once they’re beached too long.
Reasons Turtles Leave Water
Why a turtle leaves the water depends on several factors:
Age
Hatchlings and juveniles may venture onto land more frequently than mature turtles to disperse, explore new areas, avoid cannibalism, and conflict with older turtles in the water. They’re lighter and more vulnerable out of water.
Weather
Turtles bask and nest more during warm seasons but avoid terrestrial exposure in winter cold or summer heat waves. Ideal sunny basking conditions draw them out.
Hibernating or Not
In cooler climates, turtles rarely leave hibernacula during winter dormancy. But active, feeding turtles in warmer regions take more land detours.
Species
Some turtles fare better on land for longer than others (see table). Aquatic habitat preferences also influence terrestrial tendencies.
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How Long Different Turtle Species Can Stay on Land
| Turtle Type | Time on Land | Notes |
| Tortoises | indefinitely | specialized land reptiles |
| Box turtles | several weeks | adept in water and on land |
| Sea turtles | 1-2 weeks | crawl onto beaches to lay eggs |
| Painted turtles | 72 hours | frequent baskers but need water access |
| Slider turtles | 48 hours | land to bask but dehydrate quickly |
| River turtles | 24 hours | Narrower shells lose moisture faster |
| Mud & musk turtles | 12 hours | stay in water & mud most of the time |
| Softshell turtles | 8 hours | Thin shells make terrestrial time difficult |
| Snapping turtles | 4 hours | only leave the water to bask or nest |
Conclusion:
To summarize, while certain turtle species are semi-terrestrial and comfortable moving between land and water environments, most aquatic turtles strongly prefer staying submerged as much as possible. They’ve evolved for life underwater.
Terrestrial excursions are typically temporary for specific needs like basking, nesting, finding food, dispersal, or escaping immediate threats in their aquatic habitat.
Given the choice, freshwater and sea turtles will return to the water within hours or days. Signs of agitation, like pacing along the shoreline, suggest being beached on land goes against their nature.
Turtles thrive best when they can safely follow their instincts. Support turtles in your area by ensuring their aquatic habitats stay clean and accessible.
Constructing turtle ramps can help trapped turtles return to the water. While they may briefly sun themselves on land, allowing turtles to live primarily within their native aqueous element is ideal.
How do turtles survive out of water?
Turtles can survive on land by staying in cool, shaded areas to avoid overheating, burrowing, or hiding to prevent moisture loss. Aquatic turtles utilize anaerobic metabolism on land to extract energy without oxygen, but this isn’t sustainable long-term.
Can turtles stay out of water permanently?
No, except for specialized land tortoises, aquatic and semi-aquatic turtles cannot survive permanently on dry land. Without regular access to water, they’ll eventually dehydrate and die.
Do pet aquatic turtles need a land area?
It’s best to provide some dry dock or basking area for aquatic pet turtles to exit the water when needed completely. But limit land space since they prefer to stay submerged most of the time.
Why won’t my turtle go in the water?
If an aquatic turtle refuses to enter the water, it may indicate health issues, stress, or problematic water conditions like temperature or pH. Check for illness and fix water quality before forcing the turtle to swim.
Can box turtles live on land?
Yes, box turtles are adapted for life on land. They only require periodic water access for soaking and hydration. Box turtles can thrive terrestrially and aquatically, unlike most other aquatic turtles.
