Hello from the painted turtle! He’s even waving his little foot!
Painted turtles are one of the most well-known types of turtles, as they make popular pets. However, there may be a not-so-well-known fact about these brightly colored turtles…
They can breathe through their butt!
At least, that is what I have heard. So, let’s break this down a bit and see how true this statement really is!
First, we need to look at the anatomy of the turtle. Painted turtles have what is called a cloaca, which is basically where the gastrointestinal, reproductive, and urinary systems all meet and exit- Kind of like a chicken! Though unlike chickens, turtles have small outpouchings near the end of the cloaca which can store water. These out pouchings are called cloacal bursae.
Lots of blood vessels pass through these bursae, and thus during long hibernation months (called brumation in the turtles case), oxygen can be absorbed into the bloodstream through these water-holding pouches! This is called Cloacal respiration.
So, perhaps the more accurate statement would be:
Turtles can absorb oxygen through their cloacal bursae!
Maybe not as catchy-but there you go!
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