Turtles aren’t known to be the most active of animals, so, if they do make any movements you’ll likely quickly notice.
But what about if your pet makes movements that you don’t understand, like the turtle extending its neck?
This article is a look into why your turtle may be extending its neck
Table of Contents
Why is my turtle extending its neck?
Turtles have no choice but to communicate to us with their moments so knowing why they do certain things will help you understand the animal more.
Here is why your pet does this:
It wants food:
If your pet seems to be extending its neck once you come in to feed it then the animal is doing this to try to get to food faster.
Turtles love to eat and they get very excited when food comes around, so, they will extend their necks when food is on the way.
The animals may seem very panicked for food when doing this but this is just them begging for food
What to do:
This is normal, you don’t have to worry or do anything if you notice your turtle doing this, this behavior is very normal and natural.
You don’t have to overfeed them if the animal seems panicked about getting food, only feed them how much food they’re supposed to eat, if you overfeed your pet then it may become fat which is bad for its health
To get more heat:
If your turtle stretches its neck while basking then the animal is simply doing this because it is trying to regulate its body temperature.
The bodies of these animals are greatly affected by their environment, they are cold-blooded so they need to absorb warmth from their environment to keep warm.
Your turtle’s shell allows heat to pass through it, and enter into the animal’s body, but this process is not so efficient.
For this reason, the animal will stretch its neck, and its arms and legs, in order to expose more skin to the heat source, this helps the animal warm up.
What to do:
This is normal, you don’t have to worry if your pet doing this, the animal is simply getting warm, this doesn’t necessarily mean that the turtle is sick, just that it is a bit cold
Respiratory infection:
Another reason why your pet turtle may be stretching its neck out may be that the animal is suffering from a respiratory infection. You’ll notice a variety of other signs if your pet has a respiratory infection
Other signs that indicate that your pet is suffering from a respiratory infection are lopsided swimming, the animal basking too frequently, trouble breathing, bubbles coming from its nose or mouth, lethargy, sneezing, and wheezing.
This condition is quite serious but your pet has a good chance of recovery if given appropriate treatment
What to do:
This condition can quickly turn into pneumonia if not addressed so taking your pet to the vet, or better yet a herp vet, is recommended.
These animals will hide signs of illness as best they can, until they are too weak to hide their symptoms.
The animal’s illness may be more advanced than the animal is letting on by the time you notice symptoms like an extending of the neck.
For this reason, you’d need to take the animal to the vet as soon as you can
The ver will take an x-ray of your turtle to get a look at the animal’s lungs for signs of pneumonia. If your pet has a respiratory infection or pneumonia then your pet may need nebulization treatment and oral or injective antibiotics.
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 Orange?, Why Is My Turtle Sticking His Neck Out?, Why Is My Turtle Lazy?, Why Is My Turtle Leaning To One Side?, Why Is My Turtle Scratching His Neck?, Why Is My Turtle’s Neck Peeling, Why Is My Turtle’s Neck Red?, Why Is My Turtle On Its Back?, Why Is My Turtle Neck Swollen?