Other Turtle Discussion

Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 10:16 am **Can turtles make noises?**

Alright so everyone thinks that I am crazy, but my turtle has made some sounds as if he was whining/crying. It was a few months back when his tank companion, a rosey red minow, died. I was in the other room and heard this noise and I thought it was my cat. So I followed the sound and went into the room the turtle was in. I heard it yet still didn't think it was coming from him so I walked out of the room. I came back a few minutes later when I heard the noise again. I looked at him and noticed that he was making the noise. He was sitting on his basking spot with his head extended up and moving this throat and the noise was coming from that motion. I can't quite explain the noise but it sounded like a whine you might get from a puppy with it's mouth closed. After that I though he was lonely and I went to the petstore and bought him 4 more rosey reds. He still has them it has been over 4 months and I have never again heard him make any noise. And I have had him for about 2 years. So let me know if you have had this experience or if I am just crazy. :shock:

This is my "Cereal Box" (Just before a cleaning, last week)

Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 10:51 am

That's awfully weird! The only time i've heard of any noises coming from turtles is when they have a respiratory illness, but i don't think (but i am not an expert by any means) your turtle has that because it only happened that one time. Or maybe he was sick and got better? Has he been active and normal? I'll be interested to see what other have to say on this. Oh btw Cereal Box is a really cute name!

Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 10:59 am

My boyfriend's son named him, he was 5yrs old at the time.

So no he is and was at that time very active, no signs of illness. And I only heard the noise those two times and it didn't sound like a breathing problem. Like I said it was more of a crying noise, which I wish I could explain better.

Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 11:36 am

Poor little guy.

I'm glad you were able to cheer him up with some new tankmates!

That is really interesting. I found this after doing a search and it could explain how he made the sound...
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20061022165546AAHummG

I could see if he were really stressed because of not having his companion around he could push air out his nose and by straining his neck like that, cause the whining sound through the restricted airway. No doubt he was reacting to the loss of the fish. Turtles definitely do have strong likes and dislikes, so if he really liked having the fish around, it seems reasonable that he would also be very upset/stressed after it was gone. That was a very cool observation on your part. Thanks for sharing it with us! It helps me to understand my turtles a little better.

Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 12:02 pm

Aww he really was crying?!? That's so sad! You have a sensitive little guy there, my turtle just eats his tank-mates!

Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 12:23 pm

lol!

Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 4:02 pm

Spot's never made a sound except a hiss when he's mad or frightened, and the snapping sound of his jaws when my fingers get too close.

I'm mostly kidding about the snapping. He's only really bitten me once. He's usually quite docile.

Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 7:14 pm

Sometimes if my turtles feel frightened they open their mouth and hiss at me

Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2007 7:03 am

my turtles allways hiss if they are scared!!!
i have herd it make a snapping noise with her jaw when she is trying to bite me.
and i have herd another noise which i cant explain!!!

Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2007 10:53 am

I have never heard a hissing noise and he has never snapped at me. I wonder if he will ever make the noise again.

Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2007 11:35 am

Maybe he does it all day while you're gone because he misses you

Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2007 11:44 am

My big female hissed and snapped at me when I first picked her up from her previous owner, but now she is so friendly and tame. She just always wants to look at me. It melts my heart.

Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2007 1:13 pm

DavidY wrote:It melts my heart.

Haha they tend to do that, don't they?

Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2007 1:23 pm

Yea, I think that's one of the things that makes the RES so loveable, is their attention to their owners. They're a lot like dogs in that way, always wanting to know where we are and checking us out. It's kind of neat for a reptile. My Beardies are like that too, but they tend to like to do their own thing a lot too. I just love animals!

Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2007 2:15 pm

It is strange to think that the saying you "must be cold blooded" really doesn't make sense if you think about how our turtles behave.

And I too just love animals, I have way too many, because of a soft spot in my heart for them.

Other Turtle Discussion :: Can turtles make noises?

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