General Care Discussion :: Turtles and loud music / noises...

[TurtleKeeper48]

HI all. I'm in the process of setting up a big turtle tank. I have decided to set it up in a basement room - and that room is probably the most "low traffic" room in the house, and it has solid floors so weight is not an issue with a heavy tank, so that's all good.

BUT - Also in the same room, we have a loud stereo and all of our music gear. My son plays drums (full drum kit - lots of cymbals) which is probably about as loud as it gets. I play bass and sometimes jam with him - but drums always set the volume level for loud music.

So - is it harmful to turtles to occasionally be in the same room with loud drums and other sources of loud music?

[jay2487]

I'm not sure anyone will be able to help you with that. It's not going to be something that's been studied. I know that if you had fish in the tank it would most likely stress them and could cause death, that's why they tell you don't tap the glass even though in some cases it's 2 inches thick and a 9mm couldn't break it(like at public aquariums)but they still hang a sign that says please dont tap the glass. Fish's hearing is mostly through vibrations in the water where turtles have the ability to leave water and still hear. I know how loud a set of drums are and I'm sure you can vouch can cause hearing loss in humans so I would think it could do the same for turtles. As for causing discomfort? I just dont know, i can say that I built my stand right next to my tank with plenty of banging and beating and my turtles weren't the least bit effected.

[Zeusy]

Yeah jay makes a very good point about this being studied. I would also make the same assumptions as jay about the sound neither bothering or harming your turtles. like jay said, in humans it can cause discomfort or damage so its probably safe to assume the same is for turtles. Then you can think about all the crazy heavy metal headbangers who love the metal and im sure if your turtles show no signs of discomfort then they may probaly like it too lol. Again im no scientist but common sense is obvious

[jay2487]

Let me add that while my turtles weren't visibly effected at all when I built my stand next to them I did lose 4 fish so there is something to loud noises and tanks

[V Lou]

Thank you for this. I was wondering the same thing. I was thinking about asking my drum circle friends to come over to play our drums at my house. Bummer. But, I sort of knew. The vibrations would be annoying to the turtles, at the least.

[mike hill]

Turt-k-48 Their carapace is how they sense things. They can tell the difference between you and someone else walking, etc. Yep the loud noise will be tough on them. Most likely you will not find them on the basking area while the loud noise is going on.

[TurtleKeeper48]

You know - last night I suggested to my son that he stick his head in the tank and I would play the drums and he could tell me what he hears... he thought I was pretty crazy.

We're hoping it'll be a bit like when we're under water in the swimming pool - that the water might muffle things.

I know they won't bask with drums and noise going on.

[V Lou]

A bathtub would work better for sticking his head in to see how loud it would be for a turtle in an aquarium. Can you get a drum near the tub?

A swimming pool is really big and its large water mass would have greater resistance to carrying the sound vibration than the tiny water mass of an aquarium or bathtub would have for muffling the sound....

[rosarocks14]

we (im the drum playing son he metioned) set our res seem perfectly fine and not bothered at all so its all good

[rockyntrixi]

My turtles actually get freaked out over the vacuum. They start bouncing all over the tank and it takes them awhile to get calmed down.

[theartbook35]

The sounds that we hear will not bother a turtle, because, they don't hear like humans do. However, they feel vibrations of noise, and if you like to blast your stereo until the house shakes (something my neighbor does), your turtle will likely get agitated. I would avoid playing any instruments or loud musical activities in the same room as the turtle.

[TurtleKeeper48]

Well, as my son said above - we moved three turtle into the same room and have been testing this out. So far, the turtles don't seem bothered by playing the drums.

I observed and interacted with the turtles while he played drums and I didn't see any reaction from any of them. A turtle that was eating from my hand continued to do so when the drums started, a turtle swimming under water continued to do so, a turtle begging for food continued to do so... no reaction.

Which is good - we can't move the drums each time we play any more than we can move the turtles each time. Music and turtles must co-exist in our house!

BTW - Rosarocks14 - check your spelling and grammar before clicking "submit"

[vear]

Well, as my son said above - we moved three turtle into the same room and have been testing this out. So far, the turtles don't seem bothered by playing the drums.

I observed and interacted with the turtles while he played drums and I didn't see any reaction from any of them. A turtle that was eating from my hand continued to do so when the drums started, a turtle swimming under water continued to do so, a turtle begging for food continued to do so... no reaction.

Which is good - we can't move the drums each time we play any more than we can move the turtles each time. Music and turtles must co-exist in our house!

BTW - Rosarocks14 - check your spelling and grammar before clicking "submit"

That's great, I'm glad it doesn't bother them.

I was wondering why you were giving spelling/grammar advice to one of the members lol, then I realized he's your son. haha. That's something my father would do

[TashasTut]

It's good to hear it doesn't bother them. My boyfriend loves blasting his stero if we have to do cleaning or anything in the house such as chores. So far Tut seems unbothered by it, he actually seems a little more bothered by the vaccuum than the music XD

[hill]

Turtles hear (feel viabrations) very well. They can feel you walk in room and may/will react. I would suggest that if you are going to volume up that you start out low at first and then be about your business. Good Luck!