Turtles love to burrow, it is common for these animals to do this, but you may not know why they do this. In fact, many turtle owners don’t know why turtles burrow
This article is a look into why your turtle is burrowing
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Why is my turtle burrowing?
Turtles do things because they are moved by instinct, burrowing is instinctual. T reasons why turtles may choose to burrow are different.
Here is why your turtle is burrowing:
They are hiding:
Turtles are prey animals, and while their shells protect their bodies, for the most part, these animals can still be attacked, they have thus developed the instinct to bury themselves when they are scared or uncomfortable or even when they are tired.
These animals have somehow figured out that burrowing in the sand keeps them safer. so they do this when they feel unsafe
This phenomenon is the animal’s fight or flight response, they don’t fight so they will try to get away from the threat by burrowing
What to do:
While this is normal, figuring out what is making the animal uncomfortable or scared is necessary.
Once you’ve figured out what the treat is you’d need to remove the threat. Your pet turtle should relax once the threat is out of its eyesight, when relaxed your pet will come out of the hole
Your pet cat or dog may be causing the turtle to feel threatened. Another threat of turtles are humans that it isn’t used to. So you’d need to keep both of these away from the reptile
Looking for a way out:
Another reason why your pet turtle may be burrowing may be that it is trying to look for a way out of the tank.
These animals are explorative, curious and are able to roam around in the wild freely.
If your pet feels that the tank is boring or too small then it may try to escape by burrowing in the sand and trying to find its way out.
What to do:
You may not be able to give your turtle as much space as it would have in the wild, but you can take the animal out of the tank and allow it to explore your home for some time.
When doing this make sure that you remember to turtle-proof your home.
You can also slightly change your pet’s environment.
Keep in mind, when changing the environment, to not change too much. Changing the environment too much will make the turtle afraid and confused.
Also, make sure that its tank is big enough for the turtle. The recommended ratio is 10 gallons of tank per inch of turtle shell
In addition, make sure that the tank has adequate hiding spots, basking areas, and decorations, this will keep the turtle from becoming bored.
Gravid turtle:
Another reason why your turtle may be burrowing may be that your female turtle is trying to create a hole to lay her eggs in, she is gravid. Gravid is a turtle’s version of pregnant
These animals will lay eggs even if the eggs have not been fertilized, these unfertilized eggs won’t hatch
What to do:
If you want to keep the eggs safe, because they are fertilized and you want to hatch them, then you’ll need to watch when she lays her eggs and remove the eggs from the hole once laid.
If the eggs are left alone then the turtle will turn around and eat the eggs, she doesn’t realize that she is eating her own young
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 Does My Turtle Hiss At Me, Why Does My Turtle Pee On Me?, Why Is My Turtle A Picky Eater?, Why Is My Turtle Swimming Frantically?, Why Is My Turtle Panicking?, Why Does My Turtle Have A Lump On His Neck?, Why Is My Turtle Digging In The Rocks?, Why Does My Turtle Move His Rocks?, Why Is My Turtle Digging In The Sand?,