General Care Discussion :: Odd Behaviour

[liberation nyc]

I have two turtles that are about 6, 7 months old. I have noticed they do this weird little dance where they float facing eachother, almost nose to nose, and fluttler their front feet. It looks like they are giving eachother Eskimo kisses.

Has anyone seen this before? I think it's cute but I want to make sure they are not getting ready to chew their faces off lol.

[crock1120]

It could be one of two things.

1.) They could be mating.

2.) A territorial threat.

It's nothing to worry about. It's perfectly normal, my turtles do it every now and then. Just make sure they don't bite each other.

[liberation nyc]

Oh my! Could they mate this young? There front claws don't seem to be too long so I am thinking they are both female but I could be wrong...

[crock1120]

how big are they, cuz a lot of times you can't tell if they are male/female until they grow to be around 4". They are too young to be mating, I was just letting you know that's what that could mean. Even if they were more mature, it's usually about 90% of the time territorial.

[GPRenegade]

It is a sign of aggression, not mating.

The only way it could be linked to mating is if one of the turtles is unwilling to mate and the other becomes frusturated. This dosn't seem to be the case given your turtles' size.

The best thing you can do right now is keep a close eye on them and try to solve whatever seems to be causing the aggression. The first thing I would try is feeding them seperately and getting a larger tank. Luckily your turtles are the same size so the chances of one turtle injuring the other is relatively low.

If the aggression continues to get worse you may need to seperate them. As their owner you are the only one who can determine if they are safe, so do what you feel is necessary.

[liberation nyc]

I'm estimating they are about 3 1/2 inches or so. I got them both at the same time and they seem to get along fine. They just do that little dance every other day or so. They don't snap at eachother until it's eating time but that's usually by mistake because they are obviously competative eaters They just get in eachother's way...

Are they known to turn on eachother?

[steve]

They're basically telling each other to back off. It could always escalate and aggression/bullying is not predictable. It is more likely to happen with males.

[liberation nyc]

Thanks for all the feedback, everyone! I will keep an eye on the pea heads

[marisa]

Their shell lengths without the curve are each 3 inches? If so, what size tank are they in? Having them in an adequate size tank can lessen the chance of bullying/agression (although this isn't a 100% guarantee they'll stop).

If they're as young as you say they are and are the size you say they are, they're rather large. What are you feeding them, how much and how often?