While turtles may seem quite harmless, because they are very slow and small, they can still cause harm and they can cause harm when biting, even towards themselves.
This article looks into why turtles bite their feet.
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Why do turtles bite their feet?
Biting in any animal is usually a show of dominance, they do this to protect themselves and keep themselves safe.
But what if a turtle bites itself? Here is why your turtle may be biting its feet:
Shedding:
One of the simplest reasons why your turtle may be biting its feet may be that the animal is shedding its skin.
Your pet’s skin grows quickly, so quickly that its skin needs to shed off as it can’t grow along with its body.
The reptile’s skin will shed because the skin can’t keep up with the animal’s rate of growth.
These animals shed skin in patches, and the shedding patch on your pet’s foot may be irritating your pet.
Your turtle will shed the skin at its feet and this may be uncomfortable so the animal may bite at the skin on its feet.
What to do:
This is quite normal behavior and isn’t something to worry about, while the shedding may be uncomfortable for your turtle, it isn’t unbearable.
You can let the turtle be if it starts biting itself once it starts shedding.
Infection:
Another of the reasons why your pet may be biting at its feet may be because the animal has a skin infection.
Any infection will cause a reaction from the animal’s body and the reaction may be redness, swelling, and general discomfort at the infection site.
If your pet’s foot is infected then the animal may start to chew at the foot to relieve itself.
What to do:
Infections are best treated by antibiotics so taking your reptile to the vet is recommended.
The vet will do a blood panel to test for an infection.
Once your vet has diagnosed your pet the vet will prescribe antibiotics to treat the infection.
Starvation:
While your pet turtle does not want to cannibalize itself, if the animal has bad eyesight, and is starving, then it may bite itself at its feet.
Your pet may have food to eat but may not eat because it doesn’t know where to find food.
These animals are quite opportunistic feeders and will feed on almost anything, including themselves.
What to do:
Moving your little pet to a smaller enclosure, so it doesn’t have to wander too far when looking for food, and leaving your pet food close to it should help with this situation.
Because your pet has bad eyesight, it is recommended that you serve the reptile strong-smelling foods so the animal knows exactly where to go when looking for food.
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other tortoise/turtle related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Sulcata Tortoise Leg Problems, Why Is My Tortoise Limping?, Tortoise Back Legs Stretched Out, Can Tortoises Break Their Legs?, Tortoise Having Trouble Walking, Tortoise Not Using One Leg, Why Does My Tortoise Bite His Leg?, Why Is My Turtle’s Back Leg Swollen?, Why Does My Turtle Sleep Standing Up?