Turtle Thursday: Breathe!

It's been a long held rumor that turtles can breathe through their butts. Even Snapple has put that on their caps as some strange fact. It has been seen in emails about how these animals can breath in this fantastical way.

Perish the thought! Read here:
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/011116.html

There are a couple breeds of aquatic turtles that can bring water in through their anus and absorb some oxygen directly into their systems so they can extend their duration underwater. But it's certainly not a rule for turtles in general. So turtles, like all other reptiles, breath air into and out of their lungs.

Now, dispell this myth, I say!

Randall is a red belly cooter, certainly not of any of the breeds that can absorb oxygen through his tail, however he once exhaled very loudly through it. Hmm. I suppose that was passing gas. Vile creature!