General Care Discussion :: Weird turtle dance?

[jpit008]

I have 2 baby res. David is about 8 months old and Johan is about 7 months old. I came home the other day and found them staring at each others faces, only about a quarter of an inch away from each other. They were also flapping their front arms in quick, short motions. Is this some sort of mating dance or maybe a dominance dance? Any help would be appreciated.

[Sk8gal]

The flapping is called fluttering, and since they are so young, it might be showing agression. You should separate them right away before one gets seriously injured or dies

[untsmurf]

Sk8gal is right. Fluttering is a common sign of aggression. What size are your turtles and how big is their tank?

[jpit008]

David is 2 3/4 inches and Johan is 2 1/2 inches. The tank is 50 gal. The rest of the time they are fine together in the tank. I've just seen them do this once or twice.

[untsmurf]

That's a good sized tank, although they are about to outgrow it. Unfortunately, when you see signs of aggression 99% of the time it only gets worse. In fact, I've never heard of a case where turtle aggression lessened with time.

[Take-One]

That's a good sized tank, although they are about to outgrow it. Unfortunately, when you see signs of aggression 99% of the time it only gets worse. In fact, I've never heard of a case where turtle aggression lessened with time.

Well my turtles go off and on the aggression. They will be fluttering like crazy then in a hour there basking and minding there own beeswax. Actully they haven't fighting for a couple of months.

[untsmurf]

I was actually referring to a longer period of time, like over a few years. Remember your turtles will probably live for at least 40 years (as long as there are no health problems). As the years go by, aggression increases.

[momoandappa]

my turtles do that too and it is only the boy one that does it to the girl..however, i red earlier that the young males may try to do the "dance" or fluttering cuz they want to mate even though they really cant at a young age. So maybe david is showing affection.