Odd behavior coming from your turtle will likely raise your eyebrows a bit, odd behavior like one turtle biting another turtle’s tail. You may worry about both turtles in this scenario
This article looks into why one of your turtles is biting the tail of your other turtle.
Table of Contents
Turtle biting other turtle’s tail:
Turtles do everything for a reason, the reasons why turtle’s do things may seem odd and foreign to us but these animals definitely do things for a reason.
So, by that logic, turtles will also bite the tail of another turtle for a reason.
Here are the reasons why one of your turtles may bite the tail of another turtle.
Territory:
One of the reasons why one of your turtles may bite the leg of another turtle may be over territory issues.
The territory of an animal determines what food they can eat, what water they drink, and what shelter they have access to, so, these territories are very prized to each animal.
So, if you bring one turtle into an enclosure that already belongs to another turtle, and there isn’t space for the both of them, then the initial turtle may start to bully and fight the other turtle for its territory.
One way that turtles fight is by biting each other’s tails and this may be what you’re seeing.
The bigger more dominant turtle, which may be the second or the first turtle in this case, will start to become aggressive.
What to do:
Getting more space for the reptiles in this case is the way to go.
This would either look like giving each turtle their own enclosure that can accommodate them or getting the two animals one big enclosure that can accommodate them both.
The rule of thumb is that turtles need 10 gallons for every inch of their adult shell size. This is the case whether you’re giving the animals their own enclosure or separate enclosures.
It thinks it’s food:
Another reason why one turtle may be biting another turtle’s tail may be that the turtle’s tail may look like a worm. This can happen in turtles of all types but is more common in turtles who have bad eyesight.
This biting of the tail isn’t malicious, it simply means that the animal is hungry and is biting the other tail as a reflex.
What to do:
This isn’t uncommon behavior but is something to keep an eye out for, if your pet is bitten then check for injuries to the tail, if the tail is not injured then you can leave the turtle be, if the turtle is injured then give the animal medical attention.
What may also help would be leaving more food, and more worms, in your pet’s enclosure so it has worms to eat and won’t have to bite the other turtle’s tail
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 Turtle Suddenly Aggressive, Are Turtles Aggressive To Each Other, My Turtle Killed My Other Turtle, Turtle Biting Other Turtles Feet,
