Do shells have feelings?
 

I know my question might be lame but I'm just very, very curious. Can shells feel? If a turtle's shell gets stabbed or separated from his body, does he feel anything? Also with crabs. Crabs are crustaceans, I know (they're of a different kingdom), but do they have nerves to feel? If you get a fork and stab them at their shell-like body do they feel it? When one boils them to death, can they feel?

I know this is unrelated, but since we are talking about sensations. We disected live worms at school before and we only see soil inside. There's no nerves (from what we seae with our naked eyes), so can they feel?

Do amoeba, algae, salmonella, whatever they are called, can they also feel?

Just very, very curious.

Thanks.

:|

I think Bus Lady has stated that a turtle has feeling in their shell.

Ooohhhhhh ... Thanks.

:D

I believe (but am not sure) that real turtles do have feelings in their shells. The Ninja Turtles appear not to, however, or else several of their injuries in various versions would've left them in excruciating pain.

There's no nerves in the upper layers.

the shell is a part of the backbone and ribs of a turtle, right?

I actually thought that it is made up for something a reptile/crustacean version of what mammals have, called keratin, the thing that makes up our hair and nails.

If it's made of calcium (for bones), do reptiles/crustaceans drink milk to enable the shells to grow bigger?

If they listen to Mr. T, they do... :lol:

"I pity the fool ain't got no calcium in his diet!"

But it's not anywhere remotely near the same level of sensitivity as their skin.

Ooga chucka ooga chucka ooga ooga ooga chucka...

My shell has a feelin'...

I think there should be a separate column for Buslady, where she can answer your zoological questions. :)

Turtles do not have nerve endings in their outer most parts of their shells (scutes) but they do have sensation in their shells. This is due to the tissue and various structures connected to the shell. Turtles verts and ribs are fused to the carapace. A good human example of simulating the sensation they feel would be if you touch your teeth. You know when something is contact with your teeth. And yes the sensation is not nearly as sensitive as that of their skin, although it must be said that most reptiles (turtles included) have somewhat weak receptors for pain and sensation. That is, of course when compared to a human.

Maybe real turtles have it, but obviously not the ninja turtles seeing'em throghout the series's.

Emotions? No. Nerve endings? Yes. It's just a giant bone.

Actually it's several bones fused together with a thin skin over it.

It's nature's defense for turtles against predators. A predator comes, they hide in their shells and the shells absorb the bites/clawing/etc.. It's not supposed to be sensitive... but that doesn't mean they can't tell when something is f***ing with it.

Why in god's name would a predator consummate a turtle:-?

Oh, right. Kinda like how the skull isn't just one bone...

believe me you lay your hand on the shell and they feel it just as anything else

the shell is full of nerves and blood vessels, it IS their body, there's no separation of shell and flesh. You can not remove a turtle from a shell. About the level of pain they experience, turtles feel pain, if you saw the expression of a turtle being sawed in half ALIVE...he was in excruciating pain.

The shell is made of bone complete with nerves and blood vessels, then a layer of keratin over that and then the scutes, also made of keratin. The shell is like our skull, all those little bits knitted together.

I had to treat my adult female for a case of shell rot and I had to debride the infection down to the bone, she was not happy cos it hurt. Then i had to dip her in pale betadine. I had to give Jessie shots in her arms, she pulled in cos it hurt.

Lots of animals predate on turtles, humans are the worst. Some raptors in Africa will pick up a tortoise and drop them to break their body open.

what is REALLY amazing about the shell, it can take alot of damage. There are turtles my friends have rescued, their shells broke,, guts hanging out, really nasty...but somehow the turtle is alive. They've been literally put back together. Their innards put back and cleaned, the shell stapled, glued and bandaged to keep it all together and some cases, not all sadly, they live.

It's silly to me that most of the time TMNT dont seem to feel pain or they act like their shell is their life saver, hit it hard enough it should hurt like hell!

As for emotions..i swear my 2 year old turtle is depressed cos her brother is being a bully taking the dominant role in the tank. ugh!

for a second, I thought you where talking about your own kid. :o