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Turtles in World of Warcraft are similar in appearance, but much greater in size than their real-life counterparts. They can be found both on land and in water.

Background

Turtles of different species are found all over Azeroth. One of the most famous species is the giant sea turtles used by the goblins during the Second War. They were originally believed to be native only to the South Seas but have also been discovered in Northrend.

The most important distinction between the different kinds of turtles is which drop Turtle Scales and which do not. In general, turtles of a higher level have a better chance of dropping Turtle Scales. The turtles in Dustwallow Marsh rarely drop scales, while the ones in Tanaris may drop two or three at a time. The turtles in Thousand Needles never drop scales. Farming Turtle Scales is the primary reason to kill a turtle.

Tortoises (land turtles) are pretty much interchangeable with turtles in the game, since they all look the same. You can assume it is a tortoise if it doesn't appear near a large body of water (lake, river, or sea).

Some turtles can grow to enormous sizes. During the Second War, the orcs used them as submersible war machines. Their shells were so large that several orcs could fit inside them, and they attached goblin-made rockets to the top of their shells.

The goblins themselves also seem to have taken up turtles as a mount; a pair of mounted goblins can be seen on turtles in Booty Bay. With the recent discovery of Pandaria, it has been revealed that the pandaren also use dragon turtles as mounts.

Hunter pet

Specialization (upon taming)
Tenacity
The Turtle eats

The Turtle comes with

All pets come with

Turtles make for notably sturdy tanking pets with their special ability Shell Shield, which reduces damage taken by 50% for 12 seconds.

Though hunters can respec their pet turtles into Cunning or Ferocity, they are inherently Tenacity. In addition to the abilities that come standard with all pets ([Cower], [Growl], [Avoidance]) and those given to their natural or retrained specialization, all turtles are given the following:

Subspecies

Giant turtle
Sea turtle
Giant sea turtle
Dragon turtle
In Manual of Monsters Appendix Three another type of turtle is described, the Giant Snapping Turtle, but the validity of the source is disputed.

The subspecies below can be tamed by hunters. Pandaren hunters start with a green dragon turtle.

The turtle category also includes ancient turtles.

Blue

A H [14-15] Oasis Snapjaw
N [16 Rare] Scalebeard
N [20 Elite] Kresh
A H [31] Gammerita
N [36-37] Stolid Snapjaw
N [45-46] Steeljaw Snapper
A H [47-48] Surf Glider

Green

N [7-8] Lake Snapper
N [16-17] Lakebed Snapper
N [22-23] Snapjaw
N [22-24 Elite] Aku'mai Fisher

Grey

N [6-7] Marsh Snapper (Worgen only)
A H [8 Rare] Terrapis
A H [31 Rare] Ironback
N [35-36] Mudrock Spikeshell

Orange

A H [8-9] Child of Volcanoth (Goblin only)
A H [23-24 Elite] Aku'mai Snapjaw
N [24 Rare] Cranky Benj
N [30-31] Saltwater Snapjaw
N [50] Sorrowmurk Snapjaw
A H [70 Elite] Dragon Turtle

White

N [6-7] Ancient Island Turtle (Goblin only)
N [12-13] Plagued Snapper
N [15-16] Coralshell Lurker
N [43-44] Stranded Sparkleshell
N [70] Sand Turtle

Ancient

A H [23-24 Elite] Ghamoo-ra (non-fire)
A H [81 Rare] Terrorpene (fire)

Look for spiked varieties as well in the categories below.

Black

A H [87 Rare Elite] Bloodtooth (spiked)
N [90] Brineshell Snapper

Brown

N [85] Seadragon Hatchling
N [86] Seadragon (also golden)
N [87] Shoreshell Snapper
A H [88] Elder Shoreshell Turtle (spiked)

Camo (brown shell, green skin)

N [84-85] Pearly Tortoise
A H [85] Muck Snapper
N [86] Bulgeback Tortoise
N [87-88] Saltback Yearling
N [88] Rankbite Tortoise
N [88] Riverbank Barbshell (also golden)
N [88] Rankbite Ancient (spiked)
N [90] Saltback Turtle

Golden

N [86 Elite] Elder Seadragon (spiked)

Green

N [84] Jade Snapping Turtle (Horde only)
A H [86] Razorback Snapper
A H [86] Krosh (spiked)
N [88] Sharpshell Wader

Red

N [86] Wyrmhorn Turtle
N [89-90] Chillwater Turtle

Named

Mobs with levels can be tamed by hunters.

A H [87 Rare Elite] Bloodtooth
N [24 Rare] Cranky Benj
A H [31] Gammerita
A H [23-24 Elite] Ghamoo-ra
A H [31 Rare] Ironback
N [20 Elite] Kresh
A H [86] Krosh
A H Nemesis
A H Optimistic Benj
N [16 Rare] Scalebeard
A H Scar-Shell
A H Shelly
N Shen-zin Su
A H [8 Rare] Terrapis
A H [81 Rare] Terrorpene
A H Tooga
A H Tor-Tun
A H Torta
A H Tortolla
A H Volcanoth

Vanity/Battle pet

Transportation

Main article: Turtle mounts

Main article: Dragon Turtle mounts

Notes

One of the demigods in the War of the Ancients was a reptilian warrior with a shell reminiscent of a turtle.^{Sund 210}
In the Mount Hyjal zone, players encounter the turtle god Tortolla.
A few turtles may actually be mobs that have been polymorphed. Beware of any unusual turtles in unexpected locations!

Patch changes

Patch 3.1.0 (14-Apr-2009): Bonuses equalized. Damage had no bonus and now has +5% bonus. Health had a 10% bonus and now has a +5% bonus.
/ Patch 3.0.2 (14-Oct-2008): Major changes. Turtles can now eat bread. Armor had a +13% bonus and now has a +5% bonus. Health had no bonus and now has a +10% bonus. Damage had a -10% penalty and now has no penalty.

External links

Petopia

WarcraftPets