General Care Discussion :: Here's something odd

[qxx]

I got 3 turtles all living in 1 tank. Cornelius, Bowser and Shifty are there names.

Every so often Bowser (who's slightly bigger than Shifty, and definately the most aggressive as far as eating and constantly moving are concerned) sometimes Bowser gets in front of Shifty and put her hands forward and inverted (so her hands are next to her head and her palms are on the outside) and she does this little patty-cake thing, where she rapidly moves them left and right in Shifty's face. She only does it with him and not Cornelius.

It's totaly odd and I can't figure out for the life of me whats she's doing. Either way, it's no big deal, it's kind of funny to see. I just feel kinda bad because Shifty has 1 eye so he's at a disadvantage to fight back, even though it doesnt look like he's getting hurt, more just annoyed.

Here's a picture of Shifty, since I know everyone likes pics

[marisa]

I see a very pretty blue eye! The paw fluttering is a sign of dominance in turtles that aren't sexually mature. How big are your turtles and how big is the tank they're in? Small spaces contribute to bullying/aggression. It sounds like you need a bigger tank for them.

[qxx]

Sounds pretty accurate description. We only have a 20 gallon setupf or the 3 of them We have a 55 gallon on stand-by. We're in the process of building up a structure to hold it. The bullying seems pretty harmless for now, hopefully we finish the stand before it escelates. Thanks alot, as always this forum is my savior

[marisa]

I wouldn't consider continuous bullying "harmless"--at the very least it's stressful for the one(s) being bullied and if it escalates, someone could get injured. Getting that structure built for the 55-gallon tank would be good.

[ellman605]

is your turtle missing an eye? it looks like that in the picture...

[reptilegrrl]

Bowser is telling Shifty that Bowser is a boy, Shifty is a girl, and someday Bowser wants to Shifty to lay his eggs.