Certain behaviors are quite normal, to see in turtles but others may worry and confuse you, once you see them for the first time. One such behavior is your turtle stretching its neck and opening its mouth.
This article looks into it
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Why does my turtle stretch his neck and open his mouth?
Some behaviors, that you see in your turtles for the first time, will be worrying, but many of the reasons why the animals do this are not something worth being worried about
Here is why your turtle may be stretching its neck and opening its mouth.
Help with breathing:
Turtles need to breathe just as the rest of us need to and the animals may stretch their necks to help with that.
If your pet is underwater then it may stretch its neck to get its mouth to the surface of the water and open its mouth out of water in order to get air in.
What to do:
As long as the animal doesn’t show any signs of illness along with the stretching and open-mouth breathing then your pet should be fine.
Illness:
Another reason why your pet may be stretching its neck and opening its mouth may be because the animal is ill with a respiratory infection.
In this case, the animal will stretch its neck because the neck is swollen and breathing is difficult, the stretching helps get air in more easily and so does opening the mouth.
What to do:
If your turtle is sick then the best thing you can do for the animal is to get it to the vet for an examination and treatment.
Respiratory infections can turn very dangerous for turtles very quickly so getting the reptile to the vet is a must.
Catching prey:
If your pet is stretching its neck then the animal may also do this because it is trying to catch some prey or because it is forging for some food.
The animal will stretch its neck and open its mouth to reach for food close by, or, it will stretch its neck and open its mouth, when in water, to catch swimming prey.
The stretching of the neck allows the animal to find food without having to move their entire body.
What to do:
This is very normal behavior and isn’t something that you’d need to worry about it just means that the animal is working on instinct to find food.
They feel threatened:
Some behaviors only make sense to turtles, one such behavior is the animal stretching its neck as a sign of aggression towards other turtles.
Turtles like snapping turtles do this before they attack, the opening of the mouth is a sign that the animal is about to attack
What to do:
Turtles attacking each other can happen when the animals are competing for something.
If the animals are competing for food or other resources then you can add more of the resources to the enclosure so that the animals don’t fight over them.
If the animals are fighting over mates because it is the breeding season then you can’t do much about it
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 Swollen Foot, Why Is My Turtle Weak?, Why Is My Turtle Whining, Why Is My Turtle Mean?, Why Is My Turtle Water Brown, Why Is My Turtle Water Red?, Why Is My Turtle Water Yellow?, Why Is My Turtle Wheezing?, Why Is My Turtle Walking In Circles