Turtles aren’t exactly known to be aggressive animals, like predators are, but turtles can be, so much so that you may think that one of your turtles is trying to bite the other one’s head off
This article looks into why this happens with your turtle
Table of Contents
Turtle biting other turtles head off:
The sudden biting at your other turtle’s head or neck by another turtle can be quite distressing to watch.
These animals don’t have teeth but they do have sharp beaks that can injure when biting.
Thankfully the reason why this may be happening with your turtle is normal and natural, the animal does this come breeding time:
Breeding:
Courting is done by male turtles who have the desire to mate and pass on their genes. Neck biting is one thing that turtles do to court female turtles.
They will bite to get the female’s attention, hold on to her, or he will act out if she refuses him.
To get attention:
The male turtle may try as he might but this doesn’t always mean that he gets the attention of the female.
If he isn’t getting the attention he wants he will gently bite her as a way of getting her attention, it’s like saying “Hey there, I exist” to her.
Holding on:
If she notices him, and accepts him, then the two will mate. The male will need to mount her during mating.
The pair will thrash around while mating so he will need to hold onto her neck during mating. This also helps to stabilize the female.
Harassment:
If she doesn’t accept him, and he doesn’t accept this rejection, the male turtle will start to get aggressive with the female and harass her by biting her and may also bite her head.
Egg relaxing:
In some turtle species, neck nibbling will get her to release her eggs, this is less like her head being bit off but rather more like gentle biting on the neck
What to do:
If the male is gentle about the neck biting then the female will be fine, this is normal behavior and isn’t something that you’d need to be worried about at all
If the female is being bitten hard by the male, because he is harassing her, then you’d need to intervene so she doesn’t get hurt and she doesn’t get further hurt
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: What Kills Pet Turtles?, Do Turtles Eat Their Babies?, Male Turtle Biting Female Neck, Why Is My Turtle Attacking My Other Turtle?, Why Is My Turtle Biting The Other One?, Why Does My Turtle Try To Bite Me?, Do Male Turtles Eat The Eggs, Turtle Scratching Shell On Toothbrush, Why Do Turtles Put Their Feet Up At Night?