Why Do turtles Eat Jellyfish ? How Do They Eat jellyfish

Turtle eat jellyfish because they are omnivore, which means they eat both

plants and animals. In the wild it easy for turtles to catch jellyfish because they

move very slowly in the water. That is why, if a hungry turtle comes across a

jellyfish, it won’t hesistate to swim up to it and eat it.

You may think that they are very peaceful and only eat seaweed and algae,

but when they are hungry, they won’t hesitate to catch other fish and eat them.

You may now be wondering what else turtle eat and how many jellyfish they

eat on regular basis. So read on to discover the answer to these question and

more.

 

How does A Turtle eat A Jellyfish 

A turtle eats a jellyfish By Swimming up to it and then taking a bite. 

If it’s a small jellyfish, the turtle will take bite until it has eaten the whole thing.

Jelly fish moves  very slowly, so a turtle can take it’s time to eat it 

 

Can Jellyfish Swim Away from Turtles?

Jellyfish move incredibly slowly. They usually pump their bodies and can only

move a few inches ( 2 cms to 5 cms ) every few seconds

Some jellyfish don’t swim at all; they just get carried along  by the current.

A turtle can easyly swim fast enough to catch the jellyfish.

So if turtle want to eat a jellyfish, it always can.

Basiccally, the jellyfish won’t swim away from turtle.

 

Why Doesn’t A Jellyfish Sting The Turtle ?

According to the New York Times, almost all predator fish such as sharks,

swordfish, and Tuna love to eat jellyfis. 

Turtle are type of reptile in the same family as lizards and Iguana 

They have very Thick skin on their insides, like hard leather. This means that

the sting don’t get through.

On the other hand, human have sensitive skin.

That is why when you brush up against a jellyfish or accidentally stand on one

at the beach, it really stings.

This sting hurts so much that you need to put vinegar on your skin to stop it

from hurting.

But a turtle’s skin is very thick and tough, so it doesn’t even feel the sting.

It’s also the same the other fish that eat jellyfish, like shark and tunas. Their

mouth and inside are very tough.

 

But then, not all jellyfish sting is so small that a turtle doesn’t even feel it.

 

How Much Does A Turtle Eat On A Normal Days 

Turtle are omnivore and eat mix of plant and animals.

The small animal they eat include crabs, sea snails, fish, jellyfish, and shrimp.

And the plants that they eat including seaweed, algae coral

According the National Geographic, sea turtles eat about 73% of their body

weight every days

However, this in the summertime when there is plenty of food for them to eat in

the ocean.

Turtle will often eat a lot and then not eat anything for long periods of time,

much like bears that hibernate in the winter 

But each species of turtle is different. Turtle can also go without eating for a

very long time 

Adult turtles can go as long as 6 months without food 

However, baby turtles need to eat more regularly – once every week or so.

But as they get older, they can survive longer and longer without eating.

 

Related Question 

Does anything eat turtles? Turtles get eaten by sharks and killer whales.

Although turtles have a hard shell that shark or killer whales can’t break with

their mounth, they will eat the fin, tail, and the head of a turtle if they get the

opportunity.

Can turtle stay out of the water? Turtle can stay out of the water for

prolonged periodes of time. How ever, they can be attacked by dog, pigs, and

other animal because they move very slowly. So,they generally only stay on

dry land when it’s save or to lay eggs.

 

Parting Thoughs

Turtles eat jellyfish because of their diet.

Jellyfish are easy to catch for turtle when they find them because jellyfish swim

very slowly or not at all

During the summer month, turtles eat an incredible amount of food.

So, they will quikly snap up a jellyfish if they come across one. 

They don’t get stung by the jellyfish because there is very tough.

 

 

Can turtle breath under water

Turtle cannot breathe underwater. They have to come up to the surface to inhale air

because they breathe through the external nares located above their mouth. However,

turtles can hold their breath for long time underwater. This gives a false impression that

they are breathing underwater.

Now that you know turtles cannot breathe in the water, let’s also understand how turtles

breath and how long they can hold their breath underwater.

But first, let us understand why turtles cannot breath underwater.

 

Why Turtles Cannot Breathe Underwater ?

Although turtle are aquatic, They are primarily land creatures.

Unlike fish that need to constantly stay in the water to survive and live, Turtle need to

come to the water surface to breathe air.

Having said that, there are some freshwater turtles that can absorb oxygen from the

water through the internal walls of their Cloaca or anus

They breathe in this manner during their hibernation period

Now, even if most of the turtles cannot breathe underwater, they can stay underwater

for a long time.

They can remain submerged in water during winter by lowering their hearth  rate and

living off their body fat.

 

Okay, if turtle cannot breath underwater, then how do they breath ? let’s talk about now

 

How do turtle breath ?

To get oxygen, Turtles breathe air through the external nares that are located above

their mouth.

When they breathe, air move into the trachea through the glottis.

The trachea of the turtle is elongated and is also flexible that is why a turtle can move

its head in and out of the shell

The trachea splits into two bronchi near the heart to delivery the air to the lungs.

 It is through the lung that the oxygen from the air is absorbed into the turtle’s body.

However, the turtle shell is hard, and it cannot expand and contact to help the turtle in

breathing.

But, the turtle’s shell help in moving the air in and out of the lungs.

Turtles also move their limbs, which helps them in breathing by altering the pressure in

the lungs

Alright coming back to the breath underwater, you just saw that turtle can hold their

breath underwater. But for how long?

 

How Long can turtle hold their breath underwater?

Turtle are fascinating creature. They can hold their breath underwater for prolonged

periods

Different species of turtles have different capacity to hold their breath.

Some turtles can their breath for as short as 30 minutes underwater while other turtle

species, such as sea turtle, can stay underwater for hours without coming up to the

surface to breathe

During routine activities, turtles can hold their breath for 45 minutes to 1 hour

How ever, they usually dive for 5 minutes, and then in between the dives, they come to

the surface to breathe air for few second.

Painted turtles or pet slider can swim underwater for an extend periode too 

The majority of the pet turtles sleep underwater at the night.

They come out of the water only a few time to breathe and then resume sleeping

They increase their rate of blood flow to absorb more oxygen while breathing.

Matama ( Chelus ) are freshwater turtles that reside in river, pond and sluggish

backwaters.

Their can hold their breath underwater for about an hour.

They remain still in murky water sometimes for more than an hour to grab prey for their

meal.

Surfacing out to breathe ruin their chance of catching the fish or other prey that comes

near them because the prey then become aware of the turtle’s presence.

So many times, these turtles remain motionless and hold their breath for more than an

hour

Sea turtles also cannot breathe underwater.

However,they can hold their breath for 4 to 7 hours underwater while resting or

sleeping.

Okay! That was about turtles breathing underwater. But how do they breath when they

are hibernating?

 

Turtle use the but breathing technique when in hibernation. Let’s talk about this now.

 

How Do Turtles Breathe Underwater By Using The Butt Breathing

Technique 

Several species of turtles remain submerged underwater for several months.

This happens particularly in winter when they hibernate. That is when they use the butt

breathing technique to survive .

During hibernation, turtles breath out of their butt. This term is called Cloacal

respiration.

It is not exactly breathing, but they diffuse oxygen in and carbon dioxide out using their

cloaca.

During this period, turtle do not come out of the water to breathe. Instead, they extract

oxygen from water it self

They do this through cloaca as it has a high density od blood vessels that allows the

turtle to absorb oxygen from water through their skin.

As their metabolism rate is slow during hibernation, their need for oxygen also

decreases 

 

So, the oxygen that is diffused from the water running over them is sufficient for them to

survive till spring.

 

Parting Thoughts

Turtles cannot breathe underwater. They need to come to the surface to breathe air,

else they can drown.

However, they can stay underwater for long time.

Turtles breathe air just like humans. They breathe through the external nares above

their mouth.

 

And during hibernation, they use the cloacal respiration technique to take-in oxygen

from the surrounding water