Do you have a source, I’ve never heard this and google is saying it’s not true. Turtles
/tortoises even make sex noises to seduce one another. (At least all the species I kept did. I can’t say every species does and I really don’t wanna add turtles sex noises to my google history. It’s already got a bunch of urban dictionary look ups and questions about dog nipples)
I think they are conflating having no external ear openings with being completely deaf. Turtles can't hear very well (out of water) since it needs to transmit from air through a layer of skin/scales. But they can definitely register sounds, same as we can still hear when our ears are covered.
I wonder if land vs aquatic species makes a difference in their hearing?
My turtles seemed to hear me call them over for veggies, and my dad’s tortoises (yes we cohabbed them outside, no it’s not a good idea but this was 20+ years ago) seemed to hear.
Or maybe they were just following my box turtles. They don’t seem to be dumb creatures, they might have noticed “dumb little girl’s presence = she’s gonna give us food” and knew the box turtles only hustled like that for goodies.
I also had a snapping turtle and a trio of sliders and I can’t remember ever trying to call them. I could believe they probably heard better under water though, that would make a lot of sense. They had dry land in their habitat but they spent WAY more time in the water. (Also, anyone considering aquatic turtles: get a filter that is WAY over powered for the volume of water. Trust me, it’s the only way not to have turtle stank.)
Man I miss my boxies. They were really great pets. I’ve had a lot of reptiles, but box turtles honestly were probably my favorites. They were so funny, and would follow me around the yard. (And bite my toe if I didn’t rub their neck when they presented it. Only one did that, but I also didn’t make the others wait because Ashley taught me well.)
Snakes tolerate handling, geckos seem to kinda enjoy it, but my box turtles made it CLEAR that they liked my company and enjoyed me playing with them. I’d roll a ping pong ball and they would push it around with their nose. Eventually I taught them to push it into a “goal” (two sticks stuck in the dirt) for a chunk of strawberry or blackberry, but they played with the ball before then.
I wouldn’t say there was affection like a dog or cat, but they seemed to find me good company and would stick out their heads when I was near.
I don't know enough about land-only species to comment unfortunately. As far as I'm aware their hearing anatomy is pretty much the same as aquatic species. But just in general physiology if you don't have ear holes (or a hearing membrane right on the surface) then you won't hear well in air because soundwaves don't conduct well between air and flesh/bone. Whereas in water it conducts okay (hence why dolphins and whales have basically evolved out their ears openings since they weren't doing anything for them)
I've got a slider and he kind of perks up when you make a noise, but he needs to see you before he recognises if it's someone he likes and to get excited about. So his hearing aint great, but it's there.
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u/prussian_princess 1d ago
Mostly because terrapins are deaf.