Tortoises are one of the more popular types of pet when it comes to animal enthusiasts, while they do need more care and attention they are more relaxed animals than most.
However, they can sometimes do things that seem odd and that need to be addressed. If your tortoise’s head is twitching then you’d be right to be confused.
This article looks into why your tortoise head may be twitching
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Tortoise head twitching:
Your pet tortoise may exhibit odd behaviors because of a variety of things and it’s good to figure out why your pet does things to know if you should get your pet medical help or not.
Here is why your tortoise’s head may be twitching:
It is being held upside down:
If your tortoise twitches its head when you’re holding it in an odd way, if it is held upside down then the reason for the twitch may simply be that the animal doesn’t want to be held that way.
In this case, the animal’s whole body may twitch, this may look like a seizure, and the animal’s head may also move from side to side.
Holding your pet in this way is odd and uncomfortable for the animal so it may react badly by twitching.
Being flipped over causes stress and anxiety in your pet causing it to twitch in this way.
What to do:
Flip the animal over to how it normally is and see what happens.
If the tortoise stops twitching its head, and if it goes back to normal when you put it right side up, then your pet was likely just not a fan of being held upside down. It will go back to normal once it feels comfortable.
It thinks it’s catching a fish:
If your pet tortoise twitches its head while sleeping, the animal may think that it is catching fish while it is sleeping.
These animals dream while they sleep, they dream of a variety of things. They also dream that they are catching fish.
What to do:
Dreaming of catching tortoise isn’t dangerous for the fish and isn’t out of the ordinary either, it’s simply something that these animals do on occasion.
As long as the animal isn’t showing signs of stress while doing this then the animal is probably fine.
As long as your pet stops twitching and doesn’t show any signs of illness or distress then your pet is fine, just keep an eye on it.
If your pet does show signs of distress or illness then go ahead and take the animal to the vet for an examination and treatment.
Normal breathing:
Another reason why you may be seeing this in your pet tortoise may simply be that the animal is breathing.
Tortoises move their heads, their shells, or their whole body when breathing, this movement can loo like a twitch. This twitch is clearer to see in young tortoises but can be seen in tortoises of any age.
What to do:
This is quite common and normal for tortoises, it is nothing to worry about.
You should only start to worry if your pet starts to display signs of being ill or distressed like a droopy head or limbs, lethargy, runny eyes or nose, respiratory issues, gaping mouth, vomiting, or weight loss
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: Turtle Kicking Legs While Basking, Red-Eared Slider Scratching Head, Why Is My Turtle Rubbing His Head, Why Is My Turtle Rubbing His Eyes, Why Does My Turtle Twitch While Basking, Why Is My Turtle Spazzing?, Why Is My Tortoise Twitching?, Why Is One Turtle Bigger Than The Other?, Why Is My Turtle Jumping,
