Identifying Turtles & Tortoises
- 1). Take note of the location where you see the reptile that you are trying to identify. You are looking at a tortoise if you are in a dry location and not near water; it's a turtle if you are in an area that is surrounded by water such as a swampy area, a creek, river or ocean.
- 2). Look closely at the feet of the animal that you are looking at. Tortoises have rounded, stumpy limps that allow them to better get through sand and other dry land areas. Turtles must be able to swim and have webbed feet more similar to the feet of a duck or a goose.
- 3). Take note of the size of the reptile that you are studying. Tortoises are known to grow much bigger than a turtle. The only known exception to this statement is the alligator snapping turtle that can grow more than 20-inches in length. You will be able to tell that an alligator snapping turtle is definitely a turtle based on the fact that is has the aforementioned webbed feet and it lives near water. Notice also that tortoises tend to stand slightly taller than turtles and that turtles tend to have smoother outer shells as opposed to the bumpy and sometimes squarely pointed shells of the tortoise.
Source...