Restlessness is quite unusual in turtles, if you see your pet exhibiting this odd and unusual behavior you’d naturally wonder what’s happening.
This article looks into why your turtle may be so restless.
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Why is my turtle restless?
Turtles aren’t known to be too active, if anything they are known for their very calm and deliberate movements so, when restlessness in your turtle sets in, it may confuse you.
Here is why your turtle may suddenly have bouts of restlessness:
The turtle is confused:
One reason why your pet turtle may be restless may be because the animal is confused by its environment, namely by the glass. Glass doesn’t exist in the wild so the animals don’t understand it
If your pet wants to explore, but can’t escape its glass enclosure then your pet will start to become confused, stressed, and restless.
The turtle will start pacing in the enclosure, it will start frantically swimming in the enclosure too.
What to do:
Your turtle just needs some time to realize that there is a barrier in the tank that it can’t swim past, walk past, or climb over. Turtles generally realize after some time that they can’t get out of the tank.
What you can do is tape some opaque tape on the outside of the tank, this will help the animal understand that it can’t get out
Something is wrong:
Another reason why your turtle may be acting restless may be that there is something wrong with the enclosure and environment.
If the animal is scared by something then they may become restless because they can’t get away, they may also turn restless because there are loud noises in the area, because the temperature in the enclosure is incorrect, and because there isn’t enough food in the enclosure.
What to do:
You can stop this restless behavior by making sure that the tank is as safe and comfortable as can be. Remove anything that may have scared the turtle, make sure there are no loud noises in the area, adjust the temperature of the enclosure, and make sure your pet has enough of the right foods.
The turtle is gravid:
One other reason why your turtle may be restless may be that the animal is gravid. Turtles don’t become pregnant like humans do, they become gravid, they create eggs in their body and get ready to lay them.
Gravid turtles will become restless, they will swim non stop they will try to dig with their hind legs to find a place to lay their eggs.
Gravid turtles will pace and may become agitated trying to get out of the tank and will stop eating because they are trying to get out of the tank to lay their eggs
If the female has no male around to mate with then she will produce infertile eggs
What to do:
You can confirm that your turtle is gravid by feeling her. Do this by picking her up and gently sliding your finger where she pulls her hind legs in. If the animal is gravid, then you’ll usually feel the eggs.
You would need to offer your pet a place where she can lay her eggs, if she doesn’t have a place to lay her eggs then she can become stressed, ill, and egg-bound
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 Yawning Underwater?, Why Are My Turtles Eyes Closed, Why Is My Turtle Red?, Why Is My Turtle Pink?, Why Is My Turtle Twitching, Why Is My Turtle Eating Sand?, Why Is My Turtle Yawning?, Why Is My Turtle Tank Foaming?, Why Is My Turtle Whistling