Just like a person can potentially scare off an intimidating mountain lion by spreading their jacket, animals have been known to engage in tricks to form a more imposing figure. Turtles do something similar when they engage in stacking.
For examples, one of pond turtles greatest possible threats are alligators. When they sit on top of each other, they can seem to an alligator like a much more difficult snack. One little turtle on its own might look like an easy grab, but a stack of turtles would be more difficult to deal with.
He would have to bite through two or more turtle shells in order to get to any meat. A turtles shell can be extremely tough, tough enough to make an alligator think it might just not be worth it. Another possibility is that turtles could be using safety in numbers to keep a lookout from up high.
More eyes can see better than two after all. If a turtle sees danger and dives off the stack, that would alert the other turtles that danger is near. However, by turtles simply doing whats good for them, they help each other. Besides safety in numbers, another reason pond turtles like to stack could be all about the location. Ponds can have a lot of water great for swimming, but without a lot of desirable places to bask and dry off. There may be just a few good logs or rocks for a turtle to hang out and absorb some of the suns rays.
Turtles love to sun worship, and exactly like avid beach goers minus the sunscreen will settle for nothing less than that perfect spot. So you end up with few spots to bask, but lots of turtles needing to bask. Rather than fighting each other and risking harm to themselves and turtle kind as a whole, they have found a more peaceful manner to resolve it.
The turtles can simply chill out while warming up and share with each other by getting on top of each other. Some people have tried to see how many people can fit in a Volkswagen Beetle. So do turtles with their basking logs and rocks. Pond turtles, like painted turtles and red-eared sliders, need to dry and warm themselves up to a certain temperature before they can dive back in to the pond. When they stack, their bodies collect the heat of the sun collectively spreading more heat to each other than they might get by themselves.
This then allows them to reach their desirable body temperature faster so that they can get back to swimming and finding delicious treats to eat. You know all the things that turtles just love to do. So turtles have lots of reasons to stack which seems great, but you may wonder, does all this stacking cause any pain and suffering to poor turtle stuck on the bottom? After you eliminate the stress sources your turtle should start to calm down soon, and it will go back to its normal behavior.
Turtles can get scared very easily, and moving from a place to another can be very frightening for them. They will go from a small cramped tank, that they share with multiple turtles, to a new spacious tank where they can live alone.
And if they were sent through the mail, they will be even more scared. If this is the case for your turtle, you just have to leave your turtle to calm down a little.
After about a week your turtle will get used to the new environment and will start acting normally. Should I leave the light on for my turtle at night? So there is no need for one. Do all turtles bask?
No, not all turtles need to bask. But most turtles that end up as pets need to bask, so you have to provide a proper basking area for them. How often do you have to clean out a turtle tank? A good practice is to clean the tank once a week. But if you want to be more precise you can always buy a water ph test that will tell you exactly if the tank needs to be cleaned or not. I hope you will be able to find and solve your problem with the help of this article.
But if you tried everything in this article and your turtle is still trying to get out, I would suggest you take your turtle to the vet. If there is nothing wrong with the tank, the water in the tank, the diet, and the basking area, there is a chance that your turtle might be sick, and the only way to know for sure is to go to a vet. I've became a member of the turtle owner team hoping that my 26 years of experience with turtles will be of some help to turtle owners all around the world.
Your email address will not be published. Save my name and email in this browser for the next time I comment. Like most animals tortoises need to sleep, but unlike most animals tortoises have a very interesting way of sleeping. Tortoises prefer to sleep in safe spots that will keep them safe from Skip to content.
The most common reasons why a turtle will try to escape are: Water Temperature Dirty Water Improper Diet Pregnancy Improper Basking Area Wrong Basking Area Temperature Stress Scared Turtles will try to escape their tank due to a lot of reasons like stress, bad diet, dirty water, bad basking area, etc. Water Temperature This is probably the most common problem that makes turtles want to get out of their tank.
Dirty Water This is usually a big problem for new turtle owners since turtle tanks can get extremely dirty surprisingly fast. Stress Turtles get stressed very easily. Different types of food provide different nutrients. Diet is what you need to check on here. Improve the diet, and the turtle will stop swimming frantically.
Do you need advice on how to feed your turtle read this post? I always find turtles to be amusing. They have very different ways of doing things compared to other pets.
When a turtle swims towards you, you should feel proud that your turtle recognizes you, and he recognizes you as the provider. The will swim towards you when you approach them, thinking that you carry food for them. This is their way of asking you for food. Try not to disappoint them, and this also gives you a chance to pet them.
They will not get aggressive when you give them something to eat. This is the trick to use if you want to pet your turtle. The most obvious reason for this is that his tank has no hiding place, and he is trying to find an escape. Another reason is that they do enjoy climbing apart from digging. If the environment is not well maintained, he will also try to get away from it.
Turtles swimming in the pool is not a good idea. This is because pool water contains chlorine , and this irritates their eyes. They cannot swim with their eyes closed, so it is just wise to keep them away from the pool. Turtles will get aggressive when they feel threatened. This is to protect themselves from the threat. They are peaceful creatures, and this happens on rare occasions.
They do not get aggressive towards people they recognize. Remember not to get so close to their mouth. If your turtle is juvenile, then he is having fun. To him, that is a form of playing. If he is mature, then the turtle does not want to turn his eyes away from the threat. Most of the time, this is nothing to worry about. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
Skip to content Care Tips. Care Tips. However, when you… Read More. Turtle Facts. You can tell that a turtle is ill and may be dying if it falls out of its usual habits… Read More. Although they will rely on their hard shell for protection against… Read More. Among the most common aquatic animals kept at home are… Read More. To keep… Read More. So, why does my turtle swim frantically? Please Share This Share this content Opens in a new window Opens in a new window Opens in a new window Opens in a new window Opens in a new window Opens in a new window Opens in a new window Opens in a new window Opens in a new window Opens in a new window Opens in a new window.
Can Box Turtles Drown?
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