General Care Discussion :: Interpretation of behaviors?

[albobear]

I have two little hatchlings, and the bigger one likes to mount on top of the smaller one's shell. He does this once in a while when both of them are basking on their dock. Sometimes I see the litte one mounting on top of the bigger one, except the little on kinda has only one or two hands on the shell.

What do you think they are doing?

[SpotsMama]

I think the one on top is trying to get closer to the heat source. They are heat seeking little critters.

[missibsu]

It's called stacking! I think it's the cutest thing ever. Between that and the superman pose it's hard to resist the little guys and gals.

[albobear]

yeah, I think the big one might be trying to get warmer.... and yeah the superman pose is hilarious lol... i love it when they both sleep in similar positions and done in parallel =D

[Boston_Zhao]

what does Pyramid mean? I thought stacking was pyramiding....hehe

[missibsu]

pyramiding is when each individual scute is raised in the shape of a pyramid. It causes the shell to have a bumpy look. It comes from overfeeding and a diet that is too high in protein. It is also usually a sign of other internal problems from those same factors. Your turtles shell should be smooth from one scute to the next.

Stacking is when one turtle gets on top of of the other turtle(s) in an effort to better reach the heat.