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3 min read
By ralucabgdn
I was walking in nature the other day, and I saw some turtles in the lake. They were quite big and seemed sea turtles, and I couldn't stop asking myself, Can a sea turtle survive in a lake? I did some research, and the answer is entirely unexpected.
A sea turtle can survive in a lake only for a short period. The lake obviously is not its natural habitat and, moreover, the type of water is different, and also it will be hard to procure the right type of food it needs to survive.
Let's discover those differences in detail. I mentioned that a sea turtle will not survive for a long time in a lake because of water. This happens because the seawater is salted, whereas the lake water is fresh. For a short among of time, the fresh eater can be beneficial for the sea turtle, cleaning the external parasites.
It turns up that this procedure is quite common for all the new saltwater fish when they are brought to the major aquariums and they can survive in this habitat with no problems for a few minutes. But the freshwater is not their natural habitat and the right foods vital for them cannot be found here, therefore a sea turtle will not survive in a lake if it is let there for a long period of time.
Sea turtles are aquatic beings, well equipped to stay underwater. They can hold their breath underwater for at least 30 minutes, with no problem. They can hold their breath up to several hours, depending on the level of activity they have. For example, a sleeping sea turtle can hold its breath underwater for 4-7 hours. The same thing happens when it is resting.
In certain cases, specific species of turtles can stay underwater even for months, without going to the surface for a gulp of air. This happens usually when they hibernate. In this case, they will bury themselves into the substrate of the sea, lake, or river bottom, depending on the specie, and the metabolism slows down, allowing them to hibernate, therefore they will have little need of food and oxygen.
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Riley
June 10, 2020
I think it’s interesting that sea turtles live in the water but they can’t actually breathe underwater. I had no idea they could hibernate under water! That is fascinating. Imagine if us humans could hold our breath that long!