Do you plan to get a turtle as a pet any time soon? There are a lot of questions that one needs to answer before you start. One will always wonder how smart they are or do they eat a lot, what they eat, why they eat, or how many years they live. These questions just show how much you care. Let us just check how smart these creatures are. Additionally, we will also see how smart the red-eared slider turtles are.
Before you think about getting a pet, you prefer if the pet can be trained easily or not. Furthermore, it should be able to learn quickly to make the job easier for the owner. Getting a pet turtle is also the same, and you would expect the turtle to learn faster too.
Firstly, do turtles have feelings?
The feelings of turtles and humans are different. A turtle cannot explicitly explain or show the feelings such as sorrow, hate, or love. However, they do experience feelings. For example, turtles can experience pain. Additionally, they have noise receptors that bring a painful sensation when the turtle is hurt. They know when the shells are in pain.
There is a striking similarity between turtles and humans when they have fear. However, it is one of the reasons why they can survive well in the wild. They can easily tell when there is danger ahead. Furthermore, they can also experience stress. Research says that the turtles with less stress heal much faster in case of injuries or pain.
But the bottom line is that turtles are smart nonetheless. Other feelings such as anger, happiness, and sadness are much more complicated. Smart turtles do not show any anger but they are capable of fighting with other turtles. The reasons usually deal with food or female turtles.
The reason for the fight is competition. Next, when it comes to happiness or sadness, they technically do not know what is happiness or sadness. Therefore, they do not get sad if they lose the owner. When one talks about keeping the turtle happy, it simply translates to the fact that you keep them comfortable.
Do turtles have the capacity to recognize you?
Turtles are simple yet smart animals. Furthermore, they can recognize you if you feed them. They care very little, but mostly about their survival, food, basking, and reproduction. Anything else beyond this scope doesn’t matter to them. These smart turtles’ top priority is nothing but survival. The main thing they recognize about you is that they help you to survive. They know that you protect them and help them to thrive. Additionally, you give them food that is necessary for survival.
These survival instincts and selfishness make them very bad animals, but they are just this way. The turtles are smart enough to not get too affectionate toward you. If you choose to give them away or let them loose in the wild, then they will find other ways to survive. Everything said and done, pet turtles are good to keep and are very cute animals. They just go about serving their purpose as well as recognize you as their owner and protector. Additionally, they are smart enough to recognize you.
Are Red-eared slider turtles smart?
On the outlook, turtles do not appear smart, they just look so dumb. It is pretty easy to assume that they don’t understand anything at all. However, research says that the brain of a turtle is similar to that of a bird. Among other turtles, red-eared sliders are the most widely kept animals. They are known to not only recognize the owners’ voice, but also the looks of the owner.
Furthermore, they can solve problems, particularly on how to escape while not in their aquarium. They respond to their names and react properly to certain commands. Additionally, they can get some commands that look like a form of treatment to them.
The red-eared slider turtles can get really smart if you train them the right way. People who pet these turtles say that they can recognize the time for a meal rightly. They even move to the feeding area when it is time for meals.
Are painted turtles smart too?
These turtles are cousins to the red-eared sliders. They have a great sense of smell and really good eyesight too. Painted turtles are just smart enough to recognize that you bring them food. Additionally, they spend a lot of time in water and do not fear any heights. Along with red-eared sliders, the painted turtles are another famous set of pets. These turtles are smart enough to know how to survive.
In conclusion, turtles may not be as smart as cats or dogs, but they are not completely nonsense. They have the capacity to understand quite a bunch of things. Furthermore, we can conclude that turtles have a short span of memory. They do have memories but these memories only last for a short span of time. Nonetheless, they are smart, but their smartness revolves only around their survival.
