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Tortoises are the longest-living land animals in the world, although the longest-living species of tortoise is a matter of debate. Galápagos tortoises are noted to live over 150 years, but an Aldabra giant tortoise named Adwaita may have lived an estimated 255 years. In general, most tortoise species can live 80–150 years.
Much of the tortoise's water intake comes from moisture in the grasses and wildflowers they consume in the spring. A large urinary bladder can store over 40% of the tortoise's body weight in water, urea, uric acid, and nitrogenous wastes. During very dry times, they may give off waste as a white paste rather than a watery urine. During periods ...
Arid-living tortoises have bladders that serve as reserves of water, storing up to 20% of their body weight in fluids. The fluids are normally low in solutes, but higher during droughts when the reptile gains potassium salts from its plant diet. The bladder stores these salts until the tortoise finds fresh drinking water. [57]
The relatively immobile and defenceless tortoises were collected and stored live on board ships, where they could survive for at least a year without food or water (some anecdotal reports suggest individuals surviving two years [135]), providing valuable fresh meat, while their diluted urine and the water stored in their neck bags could be used ...
Tortoises are aided in such dispersal by their ability to float with their heads up and to survive for up to six months without food or fresh water. [3] Giant tortoises were once all placed in a single genus (often referred to as Testudo or Geochelone), but more recent studies have shown that giant tortoises represent several distinct lineages ...
The gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) is a species of tortoise in the family Testudinidae. The species is native to the southeastern United States. The gopher tortoise is seen as a keystone species because it digs burrows that provide shelter for at least 360 other animal species. G. polyphemus is threatened by predation and habitat ...
Young Russian tortoises should be soaked 1-2x/weekly in lukewarm water no deeper than their elbows to keep hydrated. Tortoises typically empty their bowels in water to hide their scent; this is an instinct, and it also helps keep their enclosure cleaner. [16] Russian tortoises can live up to 50 years, and require annual hibernation. [citation ...
The African spurred tortoise (Centrochelys sulcata), also called the sulcata tortoise, is an endangered species of tortoise inhabiting the southern edge of the Sahara Desert, the Sahel, in Africa. It is the largest mainland species of tortoise in Africa, and the third-largest in the world, after the Galapagos tortoise and Aldabra giant tortoise.