Many a turtle owner have been surprised by unexpected squeaks coming from their pet turtle, these animals aren’t known for these vocalizations so hearing them squeak may confuse you.
This article looks into why your pet turtle may be squeaking
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Why is my turtle squeaking?
There are many turtle species, some species of turtles can behave in odd ways and create peculiar sounds, this will leave many pet owners wondering why this happens.
Here is why your pet turtle may be squeaking:
Normal vocalizations:
If your pet turtle is squeaking after a meal then you don’t have to worry, this is normal. These animals seem to squeak after a meal in order to clean their beaks.
The squeaking can also be a form of communication.
They make this noise by rubbing their upper and lower beaks together.
Squeaking sounds can also come from your turtles if the animal’s plastron rubs against cork bark when they move.
What to do:
You don’t have to worry if your pet turtle is making these sounds, this is normal for this type of animal.
As long as your pet isn’t showing any signs of distress or illness along with this squeaking then your pet should be fine.
Respiratory infection:
If your pet is squeaking, and you see other signs of the animal being ill, then your pet may have a respiratory infection.
Turtles have a mucus barrier in the respiratory tract which helps with swallowing, immunity, and respiratory exchange.
If bacteria breach this barrier and attack the animal tissue then this is known as a respiratory infection
This condition can be caused by parasites, fungi, or bacteria infecting the turtle.
These pathogens are allowed to flourish as a result of poor husbandry, a vitamin A deficiency, or incorrect temperature.
Other signs of this condition in your pet include a loss of appetite, discharge coming from the animal’s nose, mouth, or eyes, sluggishness, watering in the eye, open mouth breathing, limp behavior when basking and wheezing or sneezing
If this condition is not treated it can turn into pneumonia and can be fatal.
What to do:
This illness can progress quite quickly. The squeaking may start off as an everyday thing and then move to be an every hour thing as it progresses.
For this reason, if you see any signs of this condition in your pet it’s recommended that you have the turtle seen by a vet.
The vet will do a visual exam on the turtle, will check for inflammation or fluid in the animal’s body, and will swab the animal or do a blood test to look for microbes.
Once the vet has determined that the animal has a respiratory infection they will administer antibiotics, antiviral or antiviral medications depending on what pathogen infected the turtle.
If you can’t immediately get your pet to the vet then isolate it to keep it from infecting other turtles.
Keep it in a separate enclosure and increase the ambient, basking, and water temperature and this should help the animal’s body fight the infection.
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 Acting Weird?, Why Is My Turtle Gagging?, Why Is My Turtle Pale?, Why Is My Turtle Pooping So Much?, Why Is My Turtle Active?, Tortoise Left White Poop In Bath, Why Is My Turtle So Jumpy?, Why Is My Turtle Going In Circles?, Why Is My Turtle Always Begging For Food?
