Papo Wild Life Hermann's tortoise 50264

Tortoises differ from the aquatic and terrapins in that many species sometimes bathe but can hardly ever swim and therefore do not need a streamlined shell. In fact, many tortoise species would drown if they got into deeper water. The shell is usually very hard and convex in shape, aquatic turtles usually have a softer and therefore lighter shell that is much flatter and therefore more streamlined. Another characteristic is that most tortoises live mainly or entirely on plants, some also eat carrion.