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| • Anatomy & Physiology Chelochs are big sea turtle-like creatures, with long necks, big spiky shells, big flippers, and the entire body is covered in scales. The average adult Cheloch is about as big as a small fishing boat, big enough to carry at least two or three people on its back. However, Chelochs can grow into giants since they never stop slowly growing throughout their entire lives and they live very long lives, they're a symbol of longevity. When they grow this big they spend their lives far out at sea, rarely coming close to shore. Therefore it's unknown exactly how big or old they can get. The biggest Cheloch shell that has been found was about as big as a small house and based on estimates that individual must have been at least 300 years old. The spikes on their shell can greatly vary in size and location, and Chelochs come in a wide range of different colorations. There isn't a lot of sexual dimorphism within the species, except that females grow larger than males. |
| • Reproduction & Life Cycle A Cheloch is sexually mature at the age of 20 and will annually produce offspring until the age of 120, they lay about 8-12 eggs on average each season. Females lay their eggs on land near the ocean, in little holes that they dig and cover up. When the eggs hatch the hatchlings will dig themselves up from their holes and run toward the ocean as fast as they can to avoid predators. The ones that reach the ocean live their lives among coral reefs and areas semi-close to the shore where it's safer. Once a Cheloch has reached a certain size predators don't tend to mess with them anymore, which makes the child and teen years the most dangerous. Once a Cheloch no longer can produce offspring they swim further out in the ocean and their visits to their old homes become more and more infrequent. When a Cheloch dies out at sea, its body will sink to the bottom of the ocean and its remains become its own ecosystem for many years as the carcass decomposes, just like whale fall. A baby Cheloch is very tiny, small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. |
| • Diet & Feeding While all Chelochs are omnivores and will eat whatever happens to conveniently cross their path, they prefer seaweed, algae, and small mollusks. Their diet tends to change with age, juvenile individuals are a lot more opportunistic than adults and might even take a bite of a fish, jellyfish or crayfish that happens to swim by, while adults mostly feed on seaweed. However, adults who have gone through menopause/andropause barely eat anything at all due to their very slow metabolism. |
| • Behavior & Temprament Chelochs never show aggression and are very calm and friendly creatures, they will happily let other creatures travel across bodies of water on their backs. It seems like they're in a constant meditative state and will also inspire tranquillity and calmness in everyone around them, no matter the species. |
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