General Care Discussion :: Aggressive Turtle???

[SpotsMama]

Spot used to be an indoor turtle but has spent the last 3 or 4 months outside in a pond. I've recently upgraded his inside setup and have had him in it to spend the night indoors for a couple of nights lately. Everything has been just fine.

I should say that Spot has always been an active turtle but not aggressive/hostile. I handle him just about every day and he's ok with that. He takes food from my hand, etc.

Well, this morning we moved him inside to spend some extended time in his new tank and he went crazy! I put my hand in the tank to re-attach the rubber suckers of his basking platform and he LEAPED out of the water trying to bite me! (well....not all the way out, but pretty far out.) Later I dangled some food for him from my fingers and I swear I could tell he was looking at my fingers - not the food - and sure enough he LEAPED out of the water again and this time he got me! He bit hard enough to draw blood!

When I go to his tank he swims back and forth with his mouth OPEN....not a friendly look!

Where did all this excess testosterone come from? One thing that occurred to me is that he's seeing reflections in the glass of what he thinks are lots of other turtles and it riles him up. Has anyone else seen anything like it? Will it go away?

[stray_647]

wow, that is strange....maybe moving him to a smaller living space after a long time has made him unomfortable...but I think we'll see what others have to say

[SpotsMama]

His indoor tank is a LOT smaller than what he's gotten used to. I sure hope if that's what the problem is that he can learn to accept it! He'll have no choice but to stay inside for the winter.

[Shavannah]

Wow! That is very strange. Does his new set up have the deco backing around the back and sides? If not, maybe that will help calm him down, if he's freaking on his reflection. Just a thought. I hope he settles down for you. He seemed so easy going when you spoke of him in your other posts before. Keep us updated!

[grey goose]

How large is the tank? Did he let you handle him when he was in the pond? He will probably calm down, It may take him a little while to adjust. Keep us posted.

[SpotsMama]

Thanks for the feedback. Spot's calmer today than yesterday, though still somewhat agitated.

His new tank is 100 gal and I keep it about 2/3 full. But that's a heck of a lot smaller than the pond he was in.

There is deco backing on the back of the tank but honestly, I can still see his reflection in it and I bet he can too I think.

We've always had a very good relationship. I pick him up almost every day to check his shell, etc, he never snaps at me. He's never been teased.

Is this turtle mating season or something??? Has anybody else had a turtle that leapt out of the water to bite them? Like a crocodile?

[grey goose]

Sometimes I have to do what I call "turtle recoveries" mostly in the spring. When they come out of hibernation, they wander around like drunken sailors, and with all the development going on around here, they usually get themselves into trouble. Roadside, drainage ditches, rail road sidings, catch basins, even sewer pipes. But they are all wild, and mostly painteds and snappers. They can get pretty nasty, especially snappers. I had one very large female snapper lunge at me from the bottom of a large catch basin. Scared the crap out of me!

[SpotsMama]

Spots must have some snapper genes.

[SpotsMama]

An update on Spot's personality - after three days he's calmed down considerably and is almost his old familiar self. I think he was upset over the change in his environment.

[z-chic]

My birds do the same thing. We have an aviary for them outside, and several apple trees that I let the clipped ones climb up in. After several hours of "freedom" they can be pretty irritated when it is time to come inside.

[lazixixi]

hmmm well my turtle use to love crawling on my hands but a while back he started to hiss at me everytime i picked him up. Ever since then, I only pick him when I'm cleaning his tank.

[the_orphaned]

I believe its just the sudden change. Most probably he was stressed due to the change in his normal environment. Like how pigs turn feral when left in the outside. Feral turt? Haha, thats something new. But stress is the most probable reason and keeping him in for 3 days must've calmed him down.