Tortoise By Hannah Dee

Where do they live? · Some tortoises live in India and other countries like South America and Africa. You can tell that they love warm places!!

What does its shell do? ·A tortoise’s shell is quite thick, so it helps protect it when hungry predators are about. · The colour of their shell helps them to become camouflaged in the background. ·They can pull their head and legs in when they feel endangered.

How big is the biggest tortoise? ·The largest land tortoise is called the Galapagos (giant tortoise.) ·It weighs a staggering 230 kg or more and its shell can be1.2m long.

What do they eat? ·Tortoises eat plants, vegetables and fruit and the word we use for this is a Herbivore.

Why are they so slow? ·They are so slow because they have quite a fat tummy and a heavy shell. (Imagine, the oldest tortoise, he lived up to 152 years, and he had to cope with that heavy shell on his back as well!!)

Hibernation ·Tortoises, have a 3 months period of hibernation as the temperature can go down to 5°C. ·They start getting ready for hibernating in early August – late September. ·They then hibernate for the next 3 months until the weather warms up.

How can you tell the difference between turtles and tortoises?? ·Turtles are the ones that swim in the water and their shell is bigger than a tortoises. ·Tortoises are the ones that stay on land but very rarely they go in the water.

How do tortoises adapt to their environment? Heavy shell can slow them down Stretchy neck to pull in when feels endangered Green body to blend into background They may have small legs but they can scurry around quite fast.