General Care Discussion :: Snapping Jaws

[jwinters]

My turtle has recently started to snap his jaws occasionally while he's basking. He isn't trying to bite at anything. He's just stretched out like usual and sometimes I hear a click, which is him opening and closing his mouth. Is this normal? It actually took me a while to figure out where the sound was coming from.

[Vecinu]

I am not sure how 'normal' this is, he might just be yawning but my turtles have done it on the rare occasion.

They usually snap at me when I irritate them, it really hurts sometimes!

[worldpeace]

My little one does that too once in awhile. I thought he was biting something at first. It could be a sort of yawn...don't know. I could only guess that it's normal since he's not displaying any other symptoms that could point to sickness.

[SINI5T3R]

I read somewhere that a turtle opening his mouth and making noise or no noise at all could mean a respiratory infection. or something to do with the lungs and a infection.

[worldpeace]

Sinister - I think you're referring to something called wheezing which sounds somewhat different than the snapping sounds that Jwinters is referring to. When a turtle has a respiratory infection it opens its mouth frequently (with or without the noise) and it looks like it's gasping for air. That's how you can tell the difference.

[jwinters]

Vecinu: He wasn't snapping at me. I wasn't even near him. It was too quick to be a yawn I think.

Sinister: the sound comes from my turtle closing his jaws. It's just a quick snap here and there. Only when he's basking and it doesn't happen very often. There's no wheezing or other signs of sickness.

WorldPeace: I thought he was trying to bite something too! XD Then I laid low in wait and finally saw that he was doing what looked like smacking his lips. Only with turtles it makes sense that it would sound like a snap.

[marisa]

He could be getting a bit dehydrated. That said, I once had a hatchling RES that made clicking sounds and I do believe it was somehow connected to an RI. I'd keep my eyes open for other signs just to be on the safe side.

What's the temp of the basking area and water?

[LittleResQNorth]

My one older girl clicks her jaw, its not weezing its clicking. She's perfectly healthy so I don't worry about it unless she started doing it all the time or making other noises.

[jwinters]

He does it rarely and always when he's basking. My turtle's tanks are in my room so I'm around them a lot.