Not only are tortoises known as slow animals, they are also known as quiet animals, no one expects tortoises to rumble around speeding through the wild and no one expects them to make sounds like other animals in the wild do.
However, tortoises do make noises, they make croaking noises. This article looks into why your tortoise makes croaking noises.
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Tortoise making croaking noise:
If you keep tortoises for a while you’ll realize that the animals actually make a variety of sounds including whistling, clicking, and croaking
Here is why you may be hearing croaking noises from your pet tortoise:
Mating:
Mating season changes how animals act and the sounds that they make, this is also true for tortoises.
The croaking sounds are made by the male tortoises and are a sign to the females that they are ready to mate, these sounds are meant to attract the females.
It is also made by the adult males during the mating season as a way to show where their territory is
Different species of tortoises will croak slightly differently but what you’ll usually hear is a deep guttural sound coming from these animals.
The female tortoises on the other hand will croak only during courtship. Her croaks won’t sound like his, they will rather be higher in pitch and will be softer than male croaks.
What to do:
This is normal behavior for these animals and isn’t something that you’d need to worry about, as long as the animals aren’t showing signs of being in distress along with the croaking then the animals will be fine.
Stress or feeling threatened:
Another reason why your tortoise may be croaking may be because the animal feels stressed or because it feels threatened.
Tortoises like consistency, so, a change in environment, a loud noise, or being handled can cause these animals to become stressed.
The animals may feel threatened by a predator in the area. If the animals feel threatened they may also hide in their shells for safety. These croaks will also be a warning signal to the predator in an effort to get it to back off.
What to do:
Getting rid of the threat and calming your pet tortoise will get it to stop croaking. You can calm the animal down by gently approaching it and putting it in its enclosure.
Covering the enclosure, so the tortoise doesn’t see the threat, and is in the dark, will also help
Make sure you place the enclosure in a quiet environment if the tortoise is stressed, this will help to calm it down.
Make sure that the enclosure is large and has a variety of spaces where the turtle can hide and feel safe
What will also help is not making any sudden movements with your tortoise especially if it is new to you and is just getting used to you.
If you notice that your pet still seems to be in distress even after you’ve taken the steps to calm it down then you may need to take your pet to the vet for an assessment and possible treatment.
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?, Baby Tortoise Rocking Back And Forth, 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