General Care Discussion :: turtle "whistle"

[ice]

yesterday i noticed a few times when he came up for air, he made some kind of noise. it was kinda of like the noise your nose makes when it whistles

but im kind of worried it might mean something bad. he doesnt show any other symptoms of anything; he swims fine, eats normally, basks regularly. any ideas?

[jenaero]

I notice that when the turts have been swimming around chasing fish. It's almost like they get out of breath and when they take a deep breath it makes a whistling sound. If there are no other symptoms, I wouldn't worry about it.

[Rocky YBS]

sounds allrite to me.
my turts use to make that noise, infact they still do.
if there is not any other symptoms i would not worrie.
it kinda funny tho, listening to turts make noises.
they dont have a voice box but they still manage to be the senter of attention.
lol.

[megcornell]

Sounds like a normal behavior to me, my turtle does that occasionally. Just keep an eye out for any other symptoms of illness- poor appetite, floating, excessive basking etc, I'm sure it's nothing, but it's good that you're so keen to notice tiny changes in your turtles behavior. Should he ever become ill you'd catch on to it quickly giving the best chance for recovery.

[marisa]

People on other forums have written about this noise. In the absence of other symptoms, you shouldn't have to worry.

[ice]

ok thanks.

[grey goose]

My vet described it as a "snorkel effect". They are basically blowing water out of their nose when they emerge from the water. No big deal. If they are making that sound when basking then it could spell trouble (RI)......

[Starchick]

Hercules does it constantly, we worried and had him treated for RI when we first got him, but it didn't go away. It happens when he comes up from underwater, but disappears once he dries off.