While tortoises aren’t exactly known to be the loudest of animals they do make sounds sometimes and clicking sounds are some of the sounds that your pet tortoise may be making
This article looks into why your tortoise may be making clicking noises
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Sulcata tortoise making clicking noise:
Not only do tortoises make clicking noises, these animals make a variety of sounds and for a variety of different reasons.
Here is why your pet tortoise may be making clicking sounds.
Dehydration:
Dehydration may be the reason why you may be hearing clicking noises coming from your tortoise.
If your pet is basking, and it seems to be basking for too long, then the culprit may be that the animal is simply dehydrated.
The sounds that dehydrated tortoises make are more of a “tsk-tsk’ sound.
Other signs that you can look for that indicate dehydration in your pet include difficulty breathing, sunken eyes, a sunken shell, dry skin, a loss of appetite, and lethargy.
What to do:
Rehydrating your pet tortoise is quite a simple task and there are many ways to do this. You can rehydrate the animal by giving it clean fresh drinking water and water-rich foods.
Another way to rehydrate your pet is by spraying/misting the enclosure or using a humidifier in the enclosure.
You can also soak your pet in some water for 15-30 minutes to rehydrate it. Soak the animal in warm water, cold water is not recommended
Eating:
Another reason why you may be hearing clicking noises from our pet tortoise sometimes may simply be because it is eating loudly.
While these animals don’t have teeth, their jaws are still quite strong and when their top jaws and bottom jaws hit each other the sound that this creates is a clicking sound.
What to do:
While it may be odd to hear these sounds coming from your pet tortoise it is quite normal and isn’t something that you need to worry yourself over
You would only need to start to worry about your tortoise if it, along with the loud clicking chewing sounds, started changing its behavior for the negative, started acting distressed, or started acting sick.
If you see these unsettling signs in your pet then consider taking your pet to the vet, or better yet to a herp vet, to assess and hopefully treat the problem.
Mating:
If you see two of your tortoises together and also hear clicking sounds coming from them, then the pair may be going through a mating ritual.
These clicking sounds can come from the male tortoise and are a way of showing off his strength and fitness to the female tortoise, this is his way of impressing her so she can mate with her.
He will also make this noise while in the search for female tortoises to mate with.
What to do:
This is absolutely normal behavior and isn’t something to worry about, it is simply the circle of life.
If you are happy for your tortoises to mate then let them be.
If however, you don’t want your tortoises mating then separate the males from the females, remove nesting materials, spray or neuter the tortoises, and consult with an expert on advice if the animals are still trying to mate.
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: Baby Tortoise Crying Noise At Night Sick, Why Is My Turtle Making Clicking Noises?, Tortoise Making Whistling Noise When Eating, Tortoise Clicking Jaw, Tortoise Swollen Neck, Tortoise Making Whistling Noise, Tortoise Gasping, Baby Tortoise Gasping, Why Is My Tortoise Squeaking At Night?,