Why do the turtles not require any water?

[DJwessie]

In real life turtles like to swim. In Planet Zoo, they do not require water and can't swim. I found this rather odd.

[audiolady]

That IS weird. I can't remember if Tortoises swim or not, since I thought they were found in dryer areas of the world. Forgot where.

[master_seer]

Hi, you're perhaps confusing turtles with tortoises. The game has two habitat tortoises: the Aldabra and the Galapagos, which are both terrestrial animals. The only turtle that we have is an exhibit animal, which is granted mostly water in the exhibit 'tank'.

[audiolady]

You're right I forgot about that. Never placed any, so I forgot they existed!

[Thorstorm]

Tortoise are land-dwelling, they don't even swim, so no it's not odd lol.

[DJwessie]

Originally posted by master_seer:

Hi, you're perhaps confusing turtles with tortoises. The game has two habitat tortoises: the Aldabra and the Galapagos, which are both terrestrial animals. The only turtle that we have is an exhibit animal, which is granted mostly water in the exhibit 'tank'.

From Dutch translated in English it translate to Giant Turtle, so sorry.

And here in the Reptile Zoo, a care centre for reptiles, those XXL turtles need water, they have a very large water reservoir where they actually swim/bathe in. I aint a animal expert. But that just have raised the question to me why there were not.

[SLG]

It depends on the species and where they live. Some live in deserts.

[HareMoose]

Oh hey! I've raised red foot tortoises and currently have marginated.

In captivity, humidity is important for the growth of all species of tortoises (even the gopher/desert tortoise), so ideally they should have an area where they can soak until they are adults. Once they are juveniles, they can get a lot of their water from their diet and don't need a regular soak. Some individuals like soaking, most don't care and if they ever go into the water, it's because they're just passing through to get to something they want.

I've actually seen a sulcata (an African grassland species) "swim" but it's nothing like an actual aquatic turtle. It is very taxing for them to paddle. They're just not built for it.

Given how heavy they are, it is probably too risky for zoos to chance them flipping over or getting stranded in a pond. It is neat that there are zoos that give them the option :)

[DJwessie]

Originally posted by Crow Crash:

Oh hey! :summer2019tortoise: I've raised red foot tortoises and currently have marginated.

In captivity, humidity is important for the growth of all species of tortoises (even the gopher/desert tortoise), so ideally they should have an area where they can soak until they are adults. Once they are juveniles, they can get a lot of their water from their diet and don't need a regular soak. Some individuals like soaking, most don't care and if they ever go into the water, it's because they're just passing through to get to something they want.

I've actually seen a sulcata (an African grassland species) "swim" but it's nothing like an actual aquatic turtle. It is very taxing for them to paddle. They're just not built for it.

Given how heavy they are, it is probably too risky for zoos to chance them flipping over or getting stranded in a pond. It is neat that there are zoos that give them the option :)

This makes sense to why.

Thank you for explaining.