Can Turtles Breathe Out Of Their Buttholes? (What Ones, How And Why)

Turtles are some of the most unique and special animals on the planet. This claim is almost entirely proven by the fact that, yes, some turtles can breathe out of their buttholes.

While this might seem random and unnecessary, turtles that can breathe out of their buttholes (the proper name is cloacal breathing, because we won’t be able to repeat the word “butthole” seriously in this article) should be proud of their unique and important skill.

If you’re still wondering how and why turtles breathe out of their buttholes, and which species can do this odd skill, you’ve come to the right place!

How do turtles breathe out of their buttholes?

Turtles don’t breathe through their buttholes in the same way they can breathe through their nose and mouth. Instead, the act of breathing through their buttholes is a scientific process called “cloacal breathing”.

Cloacal breathing is where oxygen is diffused into the turtle’s lungs, and then carbon dioxide comes out. The cloaca works as the urinary, intestinal, and genital tract, which then has openings called bursae.

Bursae are densely laced with blood vessels, which open and close when the turtle wants to breathe through its cloaca. The water that enters the bursae and the cloaca is then removed of its oxygen, which sends the oxygen to the lungs. Then, it releases the rest of the water and the carbon dioxide.

In the simplest of terms, cloacal breathing is kind of like the reverse of a fart. Except, it actually keeps the turtles alive.

It’s all a bit confusing. Like we said, cloacal breathing isn’t the same as breathing through the nose and the mouth for a turtle. Instead, it relies on the muscles around the cloaca and the bursae openings to filter the oxygen content from the water that goes into the cloaca.

Why do turtles breathe out of their buttholes?

Now we know that it is possible, the next question to ask is why on earth turtles breathe out of their buttholes.

There are some species of turtles that live in parts of the world that become incredibly cold during winter. Instead of attempting to continue life as they normally would, these species have learned to hibernate underwater to store their energy. Cloacal breathing helps to keep them alive without the turtles having to delve further into freezing temperatures.

Here’s where it gets a bit complicated. The oxygen levels in water during winter become increasingly low as the months go on. Some turtle species can survive with their remaining metabolism and anaerobic respiration (where the glucose breaks down the oxygen). This subsequently leads to a buildup of lactic acids, which the turtles then mobilize with calcium to neutralize the acid.

Back to the question at hand, the reason is because of hibernation. While a turtle has a protective shell, the shell is actually a part of the turtle’s body.

Yes, it keeps the turtles safe from bites and obstruction, but the shell works as a chemistry set. The shell releases the calcium bicarbonates that neutralize the acid, so the body works automatically to keep the turtle breathing.

Remember that turtles are cold-blooded animals, so they can easily slow down their metabolism to preserve enough energy to survive freezing temperatures.

The lower the metabolism, the lower the demands of oxygen levels. They won’t have the need to breathe through their nose or mouth, because their butthole can take in the little oxygen levels they need to survive!

What turtles can breathe out of their buttholes?

Unfortunately, not every single turtle has the ability or need to breathe out of their buttholes.

Some of the turtles that can breathe out of their buttholes include:

• North American Eastern Painted Turtle
• Australian Fitzroy River Turtle
• Japanese Pond Turtles
• Pond Sliders

There hasn’t been enough research to prove that every turtle can breathe out of its butt, but it is suggested that some species simply don’t have the need to do it if they don’t hibernate in freezing temperatures.

Can turtles drown?

“Wait, so if a turtle can breathe through its butthole while it’s submerged in water, won’t it drown?”

Unfortunately, yes – turtles can drown. While turtles are experts in cloacal breathing, they can still drown if they rely on breathing through their buttholes in the wrong conditions.

It has to be very cold for a turtle to begin the cloacal breathing process. It’s not like regular breathing, so it cannot simply begin out of nowhere. The turtles have to slow down their entire metabolism system for the cloacal breathing process to begin, which can only successfully work if it is cold enough.

Simply put, if the turtle begins hibernation in the wrong location or time when the water isn’t cold enough yet, then the cloacal breathing can be redundant as the turtle will waste energy because their metabolism hasn’t slowed down properly. This means that they can drown from cloacal breathing.

Normally, a turtle will need to come up for air every 10 to 30 seconds, so they can also easily drown if they are trapped underwater for longer than this.

How long can a turtle hold its breath?

It mostly depends on the species of turtle and the time of year. Most turtles can hold their breath for 10-30 seconds when breathing through their nose or mouth, but when they are relying on cloacal breathing, this can take much longer.

A turtle who can breathe through its butthole can “hold its breath” for days to several months if they have perfected the metabolism process.

The reason they can hold their breath for so long during cloacal breathing is because their slowed-down metabolism requires less oxygen to work, so they only need to rely on the lowered oxygen levels in the water.

If the water runs out of oxygen levels because of the cold temperatures, then the turtle will turn to anaerobic respiration, where the glucose breaks down the remaining oxygen in the turtle’s body. Like we said, it’s a huge chemistry set!