A tortoise’s shell is its most prominent feature. But you may wonder what else lies beneath the surface. Does a tortoise have legs? Do they even have eyes? What about ears? And how do they breathe? The answers to these questions and more await you below.
Tortoises do not have visible ears. They have ears located behind the eye and just above the jawline. These ears cover the internal ear as it goes directly to the eardrum. Scientists are divided on whether tortoises actually have good hearing.
So, while we can’t see them, tortoises do have ears. Here we take a closer look at what those ears look like and how they work.
Find a tortoise ear by searching online
A tortoise has external ears that resemble those of humans, but its ears are not located within its head. They are positioned on top of the shell and are used to detect sounds coming from outside.
Tortoises have external ears that are covered by scales or flaps. They also have a bony box called an otic capsule around each ear. This protects the inner parts of the ear from damage. Tortoises are the only animals to have this type of ear structure.
Tortoiseshell turtles have distinctive black and white stripes along their back. To locate where their ears are located, look just behind the ears and just above the jawline. Look around this area for a dark spot on the skin. This will be the turtle’s ear. Not really the ear, but the flap or scale that covers its ears.
Don’t poke around with your finger to feel the tortoise’s ears. You can hurt or damage your tortoise’s ears by doing this.
Is tortoise deaf?
Tortoises hear differently than humans do, but they aren’t completely deaf. Some studies show tortoises are better at hearing low deep sounds than high-pitched ones.
Tortoises do not hear very well because their ear openings are small compared to those of mammals. They rely on vibrations transmitted through the ground to detect predators.
Many studies are inconclusive on whether or not ear plugs improve hearing, but I couldn’t find any that said they made you completely deaf. They just improved your hearing enough to know what was going on around you.
So, this had me wondering if my tortoise could hear me so let’s see..
Tortoises have excellent hearing but they cannot hear us if we whisper.
Tortoise Hearing isn’t great, however that doesn’t mean they can’t hear us. They respond to some sound frequencies better than others. Low deep sounds are thought to be the best frequency to allow your tortoise to hear better. While a tortoise’s hearing may not be great, its vision and sense of smell are much better.
Barry White was known for his smooth voice and soothing music. He was also known for being very kind and gentle towards animals. If you give him a chance, he may just respond to you too. Try it out.
Tortoises have been around for over 100 million years, surviving in the wild for millions of years without any sense of smell.
Tortoises have excellent vision and smell, but they also sense vibration very well, not forgetting an excellent intelligence level.
The vibrations made on the ground travel through the tortoise’s legs up into its shell and then into its ear.
Tortoises have a unique ability called “super senses” that allows them to detect danger before it happens. This sense helps them escape predators in the wild while allowing them to feel water running through the ground. They also rely on vibrations to locate water sources.
Can tortoises get ear infections?
Tortoises have been known to suffer from ear infections just like other animals including dogs, cats and even people.
Tortoises can get ear infections, unfortunately. You can tell when a tortoise has an ear infection if you feel a lump on the side of its head. While it is rare it does happen and you should visit your veterinarian for treatment. If it becomes an abscess only surgery is likely to fix it.
Tortoise ear infections are very rare, but they do occur. They can be caused by mishandling, so looking at your tortoise’s ears with your own eyes instead of touching them is recommended.
Conclusions
So there we have it – tortoises do have ears after all, even though we may have thought otherwise when looking at them. Their ears are just hidden from our view.
Our tortoise can hear us clearly, even though we cannot see him. He must have some hearing capabilities.
Tortoises do not hear as humans do; however, they can detect sounds at much higher frequencies than humans can. They can even distinguish between different types of sound waves. The debate on whether tortoises can hear high frequency sounds will continue for many years, but as owners, we can also test the theories out ourselves. Testing different pitches to see if our tortoise responds better to some over others is something well worth doing.
The tortoise uses its vision sense of smell or vibration in the ground to detect danger.
Many people mistakenly think that a tortoise does not hear because its head looks like a shell without ears. They assume that since the animal cannot hear, it must be blind.
