Observing your baby tortoise’s behavior will help you quickly notice any issues in your pet and quickly remedy what your pet may be suffering from
If you notice your baby tortoise rocking back and forth then you’d understandably start to worry.
This article looks into why your tortoise is rocking back and forth.
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Baby tortoise rocking back and forth:
Any behavior that you’ve never seen before I’m your baby tortoise will likely be quite alarming to you, will prompt immediate concern, and in some cases prompt immediate intervention
Here is what you need to know if your baby tortoise is rocking back and forth:
The baby is breathing:
When tortoises breathe they end up moving their whole body and this can be seen in baby tortoises because they have smaller bodies.
With each breath, your little pet will extend its legs out a little and rock back and forth somewhat. The legs may rock back and forth as the animal breathes or the animal’s whole body may move back and forth as the animal breathes.
What to do:
Nothing needs to be done if you see your baby tortoise breathing in this way, this is quite normal and you will see more of this as the animal grows up, you may also see more of this in your other tortoises if you look closely
As long as the animal rocking back and forth isn’t accompanied by any signs of illness or signs of distress then your baby tortoise is likely perfectly fine.
However, if the rocking back and forth comes with signs of illness or distress then a vet visit would be recommended
Stress:
Another reason why your pet baby tortoise may be rocking back and forth may be that the animal is stressed.
Signs of stress in your young tortoise include the animal rocking back and forth, this rocking back and forth can make the animal’s heart rate go up.
Because the tortoise is stressed and the animal’s heart rate going up will cause the animal’s breathing to be more visible.
Another sign that your pet is breathing harder than usual is a movement that the animal’s throat.
Another sign that indicates that your pet is stressed is the animal shelling up. Shelling up is when the tortoise tucks its head and legs into its shell when faced with a threat.
This can usually be seen in tortoises feeling threatened in the wild and it can also be seen if the animal’s environment changes, if there are loud noises in the area, or if your tortoise is frequently handled.
What to do:
You can get your baby tortoise to stop rocking back and forth by calming it down and removing the stressor.
Removing the stressor may look like not handling the animal and putting it back into its enclosure, getting rid of anything that is making loud noises, and allowing your pet to get used to its new environment over time.
Once your pet is back to being calm its breathing will go back to normal and the rocking back and forth will stop.
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other turtle/tortoise related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Tortoise Shaking Head Side To Side, Why Is My Tortoise Shaking?, Tortoise Making Croaking Noise, Tortoise Rocking Back And Forth, Tortoise Throwing Up White Foam, Tortoise Throwing Up Blood, How To Bond With Your Tortoise, Turtle Vomiting White, How To Discipline A Tortoise