How your tortoise acts is an indication of how it feels and of its health, so, if your little reptile starts to exhibit odd behavior, if the animal starts squeaking then you’d understandably be worried.
This article looks into why your sulcata tortoise is squeaking.
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Sulcata tortoise squeaking:
Sulcata tortoises, and tortoises in general, aren’t exactly known to be very loud and disruptive. So, if your pet is loud, if it starts squeaking, then you’d understandably worry.
Here is why these reptiles squeak from time to time:
Obstruction in the nose:
Your sulcata tortoise may be squeaking because there is something up its nose.
Your pet may have inhaled some debris or a foreign object, and the air moving past the debris or foreign object, when the reptile breathes, may cause the animal to make a squeaking sound.
What to do:
The object or debris should make its way out of the tortoise’s nose eventually. Your reptile breathing in and out will eventually get the object out.
If the object doesn’t come out in 24/48 hours then you may need to take the animal to the vet.
It is in a cold environment:
The cold can make your pet tortoise act in quite odd and unusual ways in an effort to maintain its body heat.
One way that these little animals will try to conserve body heat, when cold, is by breathing slowly and shallowly. This way of breathing will sound like squeaking.
What to do:
Make sure that the temperature in your turtle’s enclosure is warm enough for the little animal to feel comfortable in.
Doing this will keep your pet from breathing shallowly/slowly and will get the squeaking to stop.
Mating ritual:
Another odd reason why your tortoise may be making a squeaking sound may be that the animal is participating in a mating ritual.
What to do:
If you know that your pet tortoises are mating, and they start to create these squeaking sounds, then you don’t have to worry, this is quite normal for tortoises and is something that you should expect.
As long as both the male and female tortoise seem okay while this is happening then the animals should be fine.
Respiratory infection:
One of the more serious reasons why your pet tortoise may be making squeaking noises may be because the reptile has a respiratory infection.
The overproduction of mucus, and the accumulation of this mucus in the animal’s respiratory system, causes the animal to make squeaking sounds as it breathes.
What to do:
A respiratory infection is quite serious so taking your tortoise to the vet, or better yet, to a herp vet, if you think that it has a respiratory infection is the recommended thing to do.
If your pet’s condition is caused by a bacterial infection then the vet will prescribe antibiotics and these will help clear the infection.
Keeping the humidity and temperature in your pet’s enclosure high, and isolating the animal, is recommended if you can’t immediately get your pet to the vet.
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: Why Is My Tortoise Making Chirping Noises?, Why Is My Tortoise Squeaking And Not Eating?, Sulcata Tortoise Squeaking While Sleeping, Can Pyramiding On A Tortoise Be Reversed?, Why Is My Turtles Shell Bending Up?, Why Is The Bottom Of My Turtle’s Shell Pink?, My Red-Eared Slider Keeps Opening His Mouth