Baby Turtle Height – What are their Heights, Length, and Sizes? Turtles come in many different sizes, colors, and appearances. There are a wide variety of turtles, and although they are all diverse, they do share some common traits. Such as the majority of turtles are semi-aquatic, meaning they can thrive in water and also make their way to land/surface area to lay their eggs and bask in the sun as they are cold-blooded and all reptiles. They use the sun to regulate their internal temperature, and they can generate their own heat.
Other similar qualities are that all female turtles will lay their eggs on land by beaches, river banks, and other sandy places close to water. They burrow holes for their eggs, and once this is done, they leave back to the waters as female turtles are not maternal. Hatchlings will survive without assistance and are independent from birth. Some turtles will lay many eggs, but only 1 in 1000 hatchlings will live a full life. This corresponds to why turtles lay eggs every year and can reproduce for many years. The age at which they mature will differ from different species, with some only maturing at the age of 50 years and others 3 years. Hatchlings are small and very susceptible to predators, which is why they make their way to the water at night in groups in the hopes of survival.
Leatherback Sea Turtle – Baby Turtle Height
The leatherback sea turtles are massive and are longer than most humans are tall. They’re the largest turtle species and measure 5’10 feet (1.8 meters). They get their name from the uncountable tiny bones that make a leathery-looking layer on their shell. They will tend to enjoy their lives in the water but lay their eggs on land as all sea turtles do.
Leatherback sea turtles will usually lay their eggs on beaches, and the hatchlings will make their way to the water; however, many get confused by the lights coming from beachfront houses and don’t make it. The females lay 100 eggs, and the hatchlings emerge from their sandy nests and measure between 2 to 3 inches, which is a big size difference compared to the large size they will eventually be in adulthood.
Pond Slider Turtle
These common medium-sized turtles are semi-aquatic. The most recognizable of the three subspecies is the red-eared slider. They have become quite popular in the pet trade and have made their way around the world by being released back into the wild in different countries. Red-eared sliders are friendly and can create bonds with their owners. In the wild, they enjoy spending their time basking in the sun and feasting on aquatic vegetation.
Pond Slider hatchlings are smaller than the size of a quarter and measure around 1 inch in length. As they grow, they will add on around 2 inches in size every year until they reach their adult size of 4.9 inches to 12 inches.
Common Snapping Turtle
These are medium to large-sized turtles and get their name from their strong snapping jaws, which they use for both eating and defending themselves against predators. Adults can reach lengths of 18.5 inches. They are rigid-looking creatures with a muscular and rugged build.
Their necks can extend at great lengths and are very flexible. Hatchling snapping turtles have more prominent ridges on their shells and are a mere 0.9 inches at birth. Females lay around 25 to 80 and make burrows in sand. Like other turtles, snapping turtles aren’t maternal, and these tiny hatchlings need to make their way to safety on their own.
Common Musk Turtle – Baby Turtle Height
The Musk turtle gets its name from its ability to release a powerful odor to ward off predators. This odor is foul-smelling and comes from scent glands located at the edge of their shelf. These turtles are unique as they prefer to crawl at the bottom of ponds and lakes instead of like other species of turtles.
At birth, they measure less than 1 inch and are very small in size. Females will lay around 1 to 9 eggs which is less than many other turtles lay at a time. They are the smallest turtle hatchlings in North America and are barely larger than a penny.
Spotted Turtle – Baby Turtle Height
The spotted turtle is a very small semi-aquatic turtle that gets its name from its shell, which ranges from black to bluish-black and has tiny little yellow spots which can either be bright or pale in color. The appearance of this turtle can differ, with some either having orange, red or pink spots on their ventral, and some may have a yellow tip on their tail.
Females prefer to lay their eggs in moist soil. They will lay around 3 to 7 eggs and the incubation period is 11 weeks. Spotted Turtle hatchlings are 1 to 1.5 inches in length and are independent of birth, just like all turtles. Even in adulthood, the spotted turtle will rarely reach lengths over 5 inches and are, in general, relatively small turtles.
Bog Turtle – Baby Turtle Height
The bog Turtle is very small and, in adulthood, only reaches a length of 4.5 inches, making it North America’s tiniest turtle. These turtles can be distinguished by two orange spots on either side of their head and their small size. They thrive in bogs and water-fed meadows abundant with grasses and tussock sedges. Bog turtles are very reliant on their environment as they use muddy soil to hide from predators.
They lay their eggs in clumps of short vegetation and also use these to bask in as the sunlight is able to reach these small openings to help incubate eggs and generate heat. At birth, bog hatchlings are only 0.98 inches making them incredibly little.
Green Sea Turtle – Baby Turtle Height
The green sea turtle is known as one of the largest sea turtles. They measure 47 inches and weigh between 150 to 400 pounds. Unlike many other turtle species, green sea turtles are herbivores instead of omnivores. They get their name not from the color of their shell but by the greenish hue of their fat and cartilage.
The green sea turtle hatchling is one of the biggest among other baby turtles, but it still only measures 2 inches at birth. After they reach the shore, they will spend the majority of their time in the open ocean.
Tiny Turtles
The Baby Turtle Height of hatchling turtles from almost all species measures around 0.9 inches to 2 inches and are very small in their adolescence.
