Turtles do not have teeth. Instead, they have a sharp beak that helps them to eat. Some turtle species have ridges along the inside of their beaks, whereas others have powerful jaws and sharp, pointy beaks. Hatchlings have a tooth known as the egg tooth or caruncle that does not last long.
Now that you know turtles do not have teeth, let’s understand what they have instead of teeth that acts as a replacement.
What Do Turtles Have Instead of Teeth?
Turtles have no difficulty in eating their food without teeth. They use their large mouth and jaw to bite their food.
Turtles can eat food without teeth because they swallow their food completely using their tongues.
The best example of this are sea turtles. The primary food of these aquatic species of turtles is small fish and insects.
They often put their tongue out to lure the small prey underwater and then pull the prey in their mouth.
Sea turtles then close their jaws and swallow the prey easily.
Now, this works well when turtles can swallow their food directly.
But what if they have to cut their food into small parts to consume it?
For cutting the food, turtles have sharp beaks that do the work of teeth.
The beaks are very strong and exert tremendous pressure to bite off food into small chunks.
Turtles then take this bite-sized food into their mouth and move it to the rear of the mouth for swallowing.
They do this with the help of their tongues. Snapping turtles are the best example of this as they have a strong beak.
However, some soft-shelled species of turtles have soft lips instead of sharp beaks.
So, although turtles do not have teeth, they have strong beaks and jaws that act as suitable replacements.
That was about adult turtles, but what about baby turtles? Do they have teeth? Let us find out.
Do Baby Turtles Have Teeth?
Turtles are not livebearers. Female turtles lay eggs, but the eggshells are tough to crack.
So, the hatchlings are born with an egg tooth. This tooth is also known as a caruncle.
It is very sharp. The hatchlings use this tooth to break open the eggshell and come out of it.
Once the baby turtles are free from the eggshells, the egg tooth falls on its own within the next few days.
Afterward, baby turtles use their beak and jaws to eat food, just like adult turtles.
Alright! So, baby turtles have an egg tooth that does not last long.
Now let’s see what the other turtle species have in common regarding beaks and jaws.
Do Snapping Turtles Have Teeth?
Snapping turtles do not have teeth in their mouth. Instead, they have a bony and robust beak.
Snapping turtles are considered to be voracious eaters, and they often cherish eating small mammals such as ducks and mice.
They use their beak as a weapon in the wild to hunt and sustain.
Do Red-Eared Slider Turtles Have Teeth?
Red-eared sliders are yet another common species of turtles. They are favorites among pet owners and are widely kept as pets.
Red-eared slider turtles also do not have teeth.
Instead, they have pointy ridges. The ridges have sharp groves on their upper and lower jaws.
Red-eared slider turtles use these ridges to bite their food.
Do Leatherback Turtles Have Teeth?
Leatherback turtles are one of the largest species of turtles. They have a huge and scary mouth.
However, Leatherback sea turtles also do not have teeth, just like other turtle species. Instead, they have sharp jaws.
In addition to the jaws, they have frightening sharp spines called papillae.
The papillae are backward-pointing and line up in the turtles’ mouth and throat.
Leatherback sea turtles treasure eating jellyfish. It’s their primary diet.
The jellyfish is very sticky, and the turtle’s spines come in handy to eat it.
The jellyfish does not stick in the turtle’s mouth due to the sharp spines and gets swallowed easily.
Leatherback sea turtles are omnivores. Apart from jellyfish and other small fish, they also feed on grass and sea plants.
Do Sea Turtles Have Teeth?
Every species of turtles have a varied diet.
As per their diet, turtles either have a strong beak, jaw, or spines to catch hold of their prey and eat it.
Just like snapping turtles, Sea turtles also do not have teeth.
They have sharp beaks and strong jaws that help them to catch their prey and crush it for eating.
Now that you know turtles do not have teeth, you might be wondering how they chew their food?
How Do Turtles Chew Food Without Teeth?
Turtles usually do not chew their food like humans or other animals.
They primarily swallow the whole food or cut it into small pieces to swallow it.
In the absence of teeth, the beak helps the turtles to eat their food.
However, the construction of the turtle’s beak is different in all the turtle species.
Herbivores turtles mainly rely on vegetation and fruits for their survival.
So they have a strong beak that enables them to cut the plants.
Some herbivores turtles also have ridges on their beaks. This makes it easy for them to cut the plants.
On the other hand, carnivores turtles primarily rely on meat-based food.
So they have sharp and pointed beaks that can pierce through the skin.
The sharp beaks enable them to break the meat into small pieces for consuming it.
Omnivores turtles eat both plant and meat-based diets. So they have beaks that are sharp and strong.
This helps them to eat either meat or plants as per their need.
Do Turtles’ Bite Hurt Without Teeth?
Turtles primarily do not bite. However, in the wild, turtles may bite to defend themselves.
Pet turtles may also bite sometimes if they feel threatened by your presence.
Even though turtles do not have teeth, their bite can sometimes cause serious injuries.
A smaller turtle’s bite is not too dangerous and does little to no harm.
However, the bite of a fully grown adult turtle can cause severe damage.
The intensity of a turtle’s bite largely depends on the diet and the size of the turtle.
As said earlier, the carnivore turtles have a sharp and pointy beak. So their bites are powerful and can be dangerous.
Similarly, adult turtles usually have a strong jaw. So their bites will hurt more than the bites of small turtles.
The other factor that determines the intensity of the bite is the person who gets bitten.
If you have a red-eared slider as a pet, its bite can be painful to young kids with small fingers.
However, if it accidentally bites an adult’s fingers or toes, the bite is usually not very painful.
Nevertheless, the red-eared sliders do not bite unless they are mishandled or hurt.
Parting Thoughts
Turtles do not have teeth. Instead, they have beaks that serve the purpose of teeth.
Different species of turtles have different beaks and jaws as per their needs.
Herbivores turtles have strong beaks as they primarily eat plants or vegetation in the wild.
On the other hand, carnivore turtles have a sharp beak to cut the flesh.
Omnivores turtles have a strong and more pointed beak as they eat both meat and plants.
Turtles usually do not bite other than for self-defense.
So, a pet turtle’s bite does not hurt much unless the turtle is giant, and its jaws are powerful.
However, small children will feel a lot of pain by a turtle’s bite as their fingers are little and delicate.
